After months of stalled negotiations, the union representing faculty and staff at City Colleges of Chicago is planning to strike.
The Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600 will picket outside Harold Washington College and announce a strike date before City College’s board of trustees meets on Thursday, just over two months after its contract with the schools expired.
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The union has been negotiating with City Colleges since February and is still “far from reaching an agreement,” according to a Tuesday news release.
Last week, 96% or 1,388 of the union’s eligible faculty and staff voted to authorize a strike against City Colleges of Chicago, with a 91% turnout. Contracts for faculty and professional staff expired on July 15.
While negotiations continue with a federal mediator, the union is prepared to announce the date its members will strike if no agreement is reached during City Colleges’ board meeting on Thursday. Union members plan to picket outside Harold Washington College before making the announcement.
“This vote gives our negotiating teams real leverage at the table. But the vote itself doesn’t win us a fair contract. It’s a springboard, not a finish line. We have to keep building power in this campaign, and that takes all of us, not just the members at City Colleges,” union President Tony Johnston said in Tuesday’s news release.
Specifically, staff and faculty union members are seeking a contract that protects against artificial intelligence, reduces student barriers to education, provides free development education and noncredit courses, and reduces class sizes. The union is also seeking wage increases that “reflect current economic conditions,” according to a Sept. 24 Illinois Federation of Teachers news release.
The union’s plan to strike comes nearly four years after the union found itself in a similar position while negotiating its previous contract with City Colleges. The union also voted to strike and got close to an official walkout in fall 2022 before reaching a deal with City Colleges in late October of that year.
City Colleges serves over 73,000 students a year through its network of multiple public community colleges, according to its website.
In a statement to the Tribune, City Colleges of Chicago spokesperson Veronica Resa said City Colleges “looks forward to finalizing agreements with faculty and professional staff as we continue to support students in achieving their educational and career goals.”