Chicago Sun-Times
Faculty and supporters hold signs during a strike at the University of Illinois Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, the first day of the walkout. The UIC Faculty United union is demanding higher salaries, mental health support for students and improved job security. Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
Faculty and supporters hold signs during a strike at the University of Illinois Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, the first day of the walkout. The UIC Faculty United union is demanding higher salaries, mental health support for students and improved job security. Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times

Students at the University of Illinois Chicago who just started their winter semester are facing a third day of canceled classes on Thursday as many instructors continue to strike.

Talks between members of the faculty union and administrators failed to yield a contract agreement during bargaining Wednesday. The two sides have been at the table for nine months. The union said no additional bargaining sessions have been scheduled.

UIC’s 900-member faculty union is pushing for higher minimum salaries and more investment in student mental health services. Administrators have said they are limited by tuition revenue and state funding.

The work stoppage has students like Makayla Hamilton scrambling to learn course material on their own. The junior is studying math and computer science and said she’s been asking classmates and teaching assistants for help. She’s also tried YouTube and Khan Academy videos.

“I’m worried about my grades, especially this first exam that’s going to be coming up next month,” said Hamilton, who was hanging out at the UIC student center on Wednesday. “Since we just got into our material, I’m worried that I won’t be able to do everything that’s on the exam.”

WBEZ
Makayla Hamilton is a junior majoring in computer science and math at UIC. Since the strike began she’s been watching YouTube and Khan Academy videos to try to learn her course material on her own. Lisa Philip / WBEZ

Hamilton is one of nearly 22,000 undergraduates enrolled at UIC. One in three are first-generation college students.

Hamilton said she values the teaching experience her professors bring to the classroom.

“So I kind of need them to come back soon,” she said.

Sam Phillips agrees. The freshman psychology major was out picketing on the first day of the strike in support of faculty. The Near West Side campus has been busy with faculty picketing and rallies.

“I hope it doesn’t go on too long,” Phillips said as she took a break from demonstrating to eat a doughnut. “But we’re willing to stick it out with our teachers and professors, however long it takes.”

Phillips grew up outside of Aurora and sometimes saw teachers there working the same part-time gig she worked as a high school student. She said educators in general, and especially her professors at UIC, need to be paid more.

“Our teachers are going to do a better job if … they have enough money to be able to put their time into it,” she said.

Phillips, who has been diagnosed with depression and a learning disability, said she appreciates how the faculty is advocating not only for higher pay, but also for increased student access to mental health services.

“That’s the kind of stuff I personally need … to even be here at a university,” she said.

The faculty’s focus on student mental health is big for sophomore Andre Reynolds, too. The business management major said the faculty is right to fight for UIC students to get the same mental health services provided to University of Illinois Urbana Champaign students, specifically free neuropsychological tests for struggling students for conditions like ADHD, autism and depression.

“I think that’s crucial, especially in today’s environment, where going into the real world is really stressful, and a lot of students aren’t necessarily prepared and are struggling with things mentally,” Reynolds said. “And at the end of the day, if you’re fighting battles mentally, you’re not going to be able to put out your best self and present your best self into the real world.”

Reynolds, who just started his first semester at UIC after playing for the Chicago Fire, said he hopes the union and administrators come to an agreement soon so he can get back to class.

“It’s making things a little bit difficult, just because we’re having to learn all this content on our own and not really getting any review,” he said. “But there have to be sacrifices made for progress to be made as well.”

Lisa Philip covers higher education for WBEZ, in partnership with Open Campus. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @LAPhilip.

Chicago Sun-Times
Faculty and supporters hold signs during a strike at the University of Illinois Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, the first day of the walkout. The UIC Faculty United union is demanding higher salaries, mental health support for students and improved job security. Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
Faculty and supporters hold signs during a strike at the University of Illinois Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, the first day of the walkout. The UIC Faculty United union is demanding higher salaries, mental health support for students and improved job security. Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times

Students at the University of Illinois Chicago who just started their winter semester are facing a third day of canceled classes on Thursday as many instructors continue to strike.

Talks between members of the faculty union and administrators failed to yield a contract agreement during bargaining Wednesday. The two sides have been at the table for nine months. The union said no additional bargaining sessions have been scheduled.

UIC’s 900-member faculty union is pushing for higher minimum salaries and more investment in student mental health services. Administrators have said they are limited by tuition revenue and state funding.

The work stoppage has students like Makayla Hamilton scrambling to learn course material on their own. The junior is studying math and computer science and said she’s been asking classmates and teaching assistants for help. She’s also tried YouTube and Khan Academy videos.

“I’m worried about my grades, especially this first exam that’s going to be coming up next month,” said Hamilton, who was hanging out at the UIC student center on Wednesday. “Since we just got into our material, I’m worried that I won’t be able to do everything that’s on the exam.”

WBEZ
Makayla Hamilton is a junior majoring in computer science and math at UIC. Since the strike began she’s been watching YouTube and Khan Academy videos to try to learn her course material on her own. Lisa Philip / WBEZ

Hamilton is one of nearly 22,000 undergraduates enrolled at UIC. One in three are first-generation college students.

Hamilton said she values the teaching experience her professors bring to the classroom.

“So I kind of need them to come back soon,” she said.

Sam Phillips agrees. The freshman psychology major was out picketing on the first day of the strike in support of faculty. The Near West Side campus has been busy with faculty picketing and rallies.

“I hope it doesn’t go on too long,” Phillips said as she took a break from demonstrating to eat a doughnut. “But we’re willing to stick it out with our teachers and professors, however long it takes.”

Phillips grew up outside of Aurora and sometimes saw teachers there working the same part-time gig she worked as a high school student. She said educators in general, and especially her professors at UIC, need to be paid more.

“Our teachers are going to do a better job if … they have enough money to be able to put their time into it,” she said.

Phillips, who has been diagnosed with depression and a learning disability, said she appreciates how the faculty is advocating not only for higher pay, but also for increased student access to mental health services.

“That’s the kind of stuff I personally need … to even be here at a university,” she said.

The faculty’s focus on student mental health is big for sophomore Andre Reynolds, too. The business management major said the faculty is right to fight for UIC students to get the same mental health services provided to University of Illinois Urbana Champaign students, specifically free neuropsychological tests for struggling students for conditions like ADHD, autism and depression.

“I think that’s crucial, especially in today’s environment, where going into the real world is really stressful, and a lot of students aren’t necessarily prepared and are struggling with things mentally,” Reynolds said. “And at the end of the day, if you’re fighting battles mentally, you’re not going to be able to put out your best self and present your best self into the real world.”

Reynolds, who just started his first semester at UIC after playing for the Chicago Fire, said he hopes the union and administrators come to an agreement soon so he can get back to class.

“It’s making things a little bit difficult, just because we’re having to learn all this content on our own and not really getting any review,” he said. “But there have to be sacrifices made for progress to be made as well.”

Lisa Philip covers higher education for WBEZ, in partnership with Open Campus. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @LAPhilip.

Melba Lara: You're listening to WBEZ. It's day two of a strike by faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago. It's the second strike since professors there unionized in 2012 and the first to make student mental health a top bargaining issue. WBEZ Higher education reporter Lisa Philip is here to give us an update. Lisa, good to talk to you.

Lisa Philip: Hi Melba.

Melba Lara: So who's on strike exactly, and tell us about the main issues at the bargaining table.

Lisa Philip: Yeah, the faculty union is on strike. This is the union that represents both full time tenure track and also non tenure track faculty members at UIC. It does exclude some of the professional schools. The biggest sticking point so far at this moment is pay. Faculty want minimum salaries that reflect inflation, geography and their contributions to the university. They teach a student population that is mostly minority and one in three undergraduates are first generation college students and the faculty says this is important work and these students need to have faculty that are supported. UIC administration on the other hand, they say they can't do much without tuition increases and without more state funding. Public funding for higher ed. across the country has been diminished in recent years, and this is certainly true in Illinois as well. Faculty at all three U of I system campuses have gone on strike in the last 10 years.

Melba Lara: Lisa, tell us about the student mental health concerns and what are the supports that the faculty are asking for?

Lisa Philip: Yeah, so college students mental health was already an issue before the pandemic. And the pandemic brought that into focus for faculty. I've talked to many faculty members who say they regularly have students breaking down, not just in their office, but in class too. And you know, faculty are not trained counselors and they're trying to figure out how to supports students who are struggling and that takes time in research and they want to be compensated for that increased workload. The faculty also wants free neuropsychlogical assessments for students who are struggling. That's something that's provided at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. So they're asking for that to be provided at this campus.

Melba Lara: And Lisa you're there on campus. What's been happening on the near west side campus since the strike began yesterday?

Lisa Philip: Yeah, I'm at the student center right now, that's some of this noise you're hearing. Uh faculty members have been out picketing. There was a rally earlier this afternoon and I've talked to several students who say they support the faculty members in their push for more pay. One student shared with me yesterday that she herself has depression. So she really appreciates that the union is pushing for more student mental health services. But I've also talked to students who are concerned about the fact that their classes are canceled for a second day. I talked to a student this morning who is studying biochemistry and she has a couple of difficult courses and she's concerned that these classes getting canceled or going to affect her ability to pass her classes. So yeah, we'll see how, how students fair with the these next few days.

Melba Lara: Do you have any sense on how long the strike might actually last or what's next now?

Lisa Philip: Um I think that's really up in the air. Faculty Union members went back in to negotiations with the administration earlier this afternoon and the situation is really in flux. I talked to one faculty member who has taught at the university for 10 years. He was telling me this strike is very different from the last time the union went on strike in 2014 in that they don't know when this might end. Um, and I talked to a union rep who said going into this negotiation this afternoon they're ready to stay in there all night. So it'll be interesting to see when this might wrap up and whether, you know, faculty and student support sort of keeps up with the union as the, as the days pass.

Melba Lara: Lisa, thanks for the update.

Lisa Philip: Thanks so much for having me Melba.

Melba Lara: I've been speaking with WBEZ Higher Education reporter Lisa Philip about the strike by faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago.


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