Illinois State University's 2024 financial data recently became publicly available, and our team crunched the numbers last night. To no one's surprise, these numbers run completely contradictory to the doom and gloom financial messaging we've been receiving since last Fall, and to the budget holdbacks we've endured and the cuts we've been told are coming. But none of us were expecting to see such a significant gain to their net income ($14.2 million) and net position ($666 million). This is more than enough money to be able to give all tenure line faculty the fair compensation we are asking for at the table.

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All UFISU members, check your emails (including your spam folders). Around 5pm last night, UPI Vice President Steve Frankel sent a link for our Final Stretch Survey to your non-ISU emails. PLEASE RESPOND BY MONDAY MORNING! This survey will give our table team important information for our next two mediation sessions where we anticipate that we will be doing some hard bargaining on economics, and we will bargain as hard as you tell us to.

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The next General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, March 19 at 5:30pm (location TBD). 

​ICYMI, after much union advocacy, one of former President Joe Biden’s last actions was to sign the Social Security Fairness Act into law, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. This move restored full Social Security retirement benefits for 150,000 public servants in Illinois and millions nationwide. The Social Security Administration has since released an update, stating it will immediately begin paying retroactive benefits and increase monthly payments in April for the millions of people affected.  

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Our UIS Non-Tenure Track members need your help today!

In Illinois, we are facing a local challenge at the University of Illinois Springfield.

The non-tenure track faculty members of UIS Instructors United (UISIU/UPILocal 4100) have been negotiating their first contract for one year now. Unfortunately, the UIS Chancellor and University of Illinois administration continue to drag their feet. A fair contract recognizes the value of the faculty to the students they teach and the institution they serve. It is time for UIS administration to settle a fair contract!

Last week the UIS Instructors Chapter overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike. We are simply asking for what the non-tenure track faculty at UIC and UIUC already have in their contracts. You can help.

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