Dear UIS Students,

Since July 2025, many professors at UIS (represented by the UIS United Faculty union) have been in negotiations with the university administration over a new labor contract. During that time the administration has slow-walked progress: not bringing their entire team to meetings; decision-makers not attending bargaining; not seriously considering even no-cost union proposals. Negotiations are ongoing but lack of progress has forced union leadership to demand outside mediation and ask union members to authorize a strike if the administration continues stone-walling.

Because faculty working conditions are student learning conditions, many of the union’s contract proposals would benefit both faculty and students. However, the administration:

• has proposed professors receive NO raises this year (and only 1/2% raise next year). This, despite every UIS administrator receiving a cost-of-living raise this year. Competitive pay attracts and retains professors to reliably offer courses students need to complete their major and graduate on time;
• won’t commit to providing safe, healthy, and clean classrooms, labs, and studios even though these are at the center of UIS students’ education;
• won’t commit to providing individual, private, and secure faculty offices where professors can meet with students (even though student privacy is required under federal law);
• won’t commit to an anti-bullying policy which leaves faculty vulnerable to abuse in the workplace;
• won’t commit to gender-neutral restrooms even though they are required under Illinois law, would only require a minor modification of existing facilities, and would benefit students, staff, faculty, and campus visitors;
• won’t commit to not using artificial intelligence to replace or surveil faculty in the classrooms, which would destroy the human teaching and learning relationship between students and professors;
• won’t commit to written policies/procedures for layoff or recall of faculty;
• won’t allow the faculty union a voice in the review or elimination of academic programs;
• claims to “seek the status quo” of prior contracts while attempting to reverse provisions in those contractsincluding caps on TRAC/parking fees; minimum faculty starting salaries; pay for summer teaching and teaching extra classes; ability to purchase release time for union leadership, etc. Many of these effectively represent cuts to faculty pay.

None of what professors have proposed in contract negotiations would increase student tuition or fees, which are set by the UI Board of Trustees, not UIS. Rather, they would force the administration to devote a greater share of the university’s budget to teaching and learning—the primary function of all universities.

Compared to peer institutions, UIS has fewer instructors and more managers (see graph). The size and pay of the UIS administration ballooned from 2010-25, but enrollment has now declined to 2017-18 levels. Yet, the UIS Provost and Chancellor have refused to answer questions about steps they’re taking to ‘right size’ the administration. At the same time, they’ve proposed eliminating academic programs in Theatre, Math, Philosophy, African-American Studies, and Women and Gender Studies.

During the week of March 16th, UIS United Faculty will ask its membership to give the union’s Bargaining Team the power to declare a strike if the administration continues stone-walling in contract negotiations.

A strike would harm faculty/administration relationships, cost faculty pay, and interrupt students’ educations. Your professors don’t want that! Yet, the University of Illinois typically forces employees to strike (or threaten to strike) before it will agree to bargain fair labor contracts. UIS professors were forced to strike in 2017 and threatened to strike in 2022.

If forced to strike this year, over 100 UIS professors will stop teaching classes, answering student emails, grading assignments on Canvas, conducting research, and holding office hours. Instead, we’ll be walking a picket line until the administration meets us at the table and agrees to a fair contract!