@UICUF strike 2/18/14

…@USAS students & CWSC support strike & petition for a #FairContractNow—msg from Roxana Delgado…

Students at the University of Illinois-Chicago, like myself, are proud to be a part of our campus community. Members of United Students Against Sweatshops Local 15 at UIC are driven by our goal of making UIC live up to its promise of making education accessible and to transform the world in positive ways. We are a student organization on campus that has mobilized students in support of justice for campus workers and garment workers. 

On the eve of a faculty strike on our campus, we believe its time to recognize solidarity as an important virtue for UIC and to remember the original mission of the university.

As you may have heard by now, our professors at UIC are going on a two-day strike from February 18th to 19th. Will you sign our letter to University of Illinois President Bob Easter demanding a fair contract for faculty now?

After 16 months of attempting to negotiate a fair union contract the faculty, represented by UIC United Faculty Local 6456, see no other option. Our faculty will be the first to say that the intention is never to hurt students or disrupt their education.

The university will not be shut down. Some classes will still be held and other critical operations on East/West campus will not be interrupted. Faculty, however, will be on STRIKE, picketing on the campus to show their dissatisfaction with the way that UIC administration has treated them. We need students to be right there with them to show our solidarity and voice our concerns, too!

UIC was built to provide a pathway to higher education for the working class communities of Chicago. However, the data shows otherwise. Since 2007, enrollment at UIC has increased by 13% while tenured faculty positions have decreased by 1%, all while tuition has increased by 25%. Enrollment for Black and Latino students has remained stagnant.

Pledge your support for UIC faculty as they prepare to strike. Sign our petition to President Bob Easter, and we'll also send you more information about how to support the strike on campus.

In solidarity,

Roxana Delgado, United Students Against Sweatshops – Local 15

Other members of the Campus Worker and Student Coalition (CWSC) at UIC:

• UIC United Faculty – Illinois Federation of Teachers Local 6456
• Graduate Employees Organization – UIC
• SEIU Local 73
• Roots of Justice at UIC
• Students for Socialism at UIC
• Illinois Nurses Association

United Students Against Sweatshops | USAS.org
Organizing for Student and Worker Power