UIC LOCAL FIGHTS FOR RECOGNITION, continued
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Thousands of people have signed a petition on the IFT and UIC United Faculty Web sites to tell President Hogan and the UIC Board to stop wasting money on costly legal fights and to start working with the faculty union to promote the best interests of students and the university. “In light of the fact that the IELRB has ruled in our favor, it’s disappointing and, frankly, shameful to see the administration wasting taxpayer and student dollars on a high-priced union-busting law firm instead of working to improve education for students,” said Darold Barnum, member of UIC United Faculty, Local 6456,
IFT, Locals
Prepare
Senate Bill 7
for
Reforms
and UIC professor of Management and Information and Decision Sciences. Despite the administration’s threats and anti-union tactics, UIC United Faculty has begun writing a local constitution and forming a bargaining committee in preparation for negotiations with the university. The local is hopeful that the president and Board of Trustees will recognize their legal right to unionize so they can start addressing real concerns at the university, including giving the faculty a voice on campus.
SignPetition Visit ift-aft.org to sign a pre-written statement to UIC President Hogan and the board telling them to stop their wasteful, union-busting tactics.
SB 7,” said IFT Director of Field Operations Lee Wilson. “Trained IFT staff will be able to assist members as they navigate through the many ways this complex legislation will impact them and their students.”
LONG BEFORE THE REFORMS CONTAINED IN SENATE BILL 7 WERE SIGNED INTO LAW by Governor Quinn in May, IFT staff and locals across the state had begun the important task of reviewing the complex law line-by-line to evaluate exactly how it will impact current and future members.
Some locals got a jump start over the summer by conducting SB 7 informational sessions. Many more locals are planning seminars and workshops in the coming weeks. The IFT Senate Bill 7 work group will be continuing to develop print and online materials for local leader and member use, as well.
A multi-departmental work group of expert IFT staff was convened in the spring to begin the process of creating materials for use by locals to explain details of the law and answer members’ questions about it. During the summer, the staff group developed materials and conducted one-day training sessions for all IFT staff and the union’s Executive Board.
The IFT was a key voice, along with the Illinois Education Association, Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1, Illinois State Board of Education and education reform groups, in the collaborative process that resulted in the passage of Senate Bill 7 earlier this year.
“The IFT wants to ensure that our leaders and members have all the information they need as school districts statewide begin implementing aspects of
LearnMore For more information about the new law, visit ift-aft.org regularly for updates and materials as they become available.
Correction
An error appeared in the June/July issue of the IFT Union Link on page 7. In the article entitled “Changes in Educator Licensing Pass in SB 1799,” the phone number to contact the Illinois State Board of Education for information about educator licensing was incorrect. The correct number is 217/557-6763. We regret the error and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. U N I O N L I N K | A U G U ST/SEPTEMBER 2011
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