CHICAGO – The membership of the City Colleges Contingent Labor Organizing Committee (CCCLOC) voted overwhelmingly to reject City Colleges’ “last, best offer.” By a margin of nine to one, CCCLOC members came together and said no to a five-year deal.
CCCLOC negotiators are urging City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) to join the union in pursuit of a fair and reasonable contract, and to return to the bargaining table.
“This offer was unacceptable from the moment it was made. Our members know that adjunct professors are paid 15 to 18 percent less than their peers in the Chicago-metro community college market and part-time librarians are paid 20 to30 percent less than the market rate. This offer would have left us behind those averages all the way through 2025. And over the next five years, that pay gap is only going to widen. The college negotiators need to come back to the table to work out a fair deal,” City Colleges Contingent Labor Organizing Committee (CCCLOC) President Randy Miller said.
CCCLOC represents more than 1000 part-time faculty, librarians and vocational lecturers, who teach 65 percent of credit hours at City Colleges. CCCLOC works with students at all seven City Colleges campuses and five satellite campuses across Chicago.
Under CCCLOC’s contract proposal, adjuncts would gradually catch up to the average adjunct salaries paid at Chicago-area community colleges by fall 2022. Under management’s proposal, adjuncts would still fall below 2020 average salaries in the year 2025.
On Jan. 27, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved a resolution calling on City Colleges to provide equal pay for equal work for adjunct faculty and part-time librarians. The resolution was introduced by Ald. Sue Sadlwoski Garza.
“City Colleges has spent millions of dollars on three new buildings and hired scores of additional administrators over the last five years. It’s time to invest in the classroom, where the biggest impact will be felt by our students,” Miller said. “A living wage for adjuncts is cheaper than a new building. In order to prepare the workforce of tomorrow, CCC needs to pay its adjunct faculty and librarians today.”
CCCLOC’s contract expired on June 30 and adjunct faculty are currently working without a contract. During negotiations, City Colleges repeatedly rejected CCCLOC proposals that would provide pay equity with City College faculty and staff while also aligning part-time faculty and librarian wages with average salary rates at other Chicago-area community colleges.
###
The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state’s largest education employee’s organization. IEA represents preK-12 teachers outside of the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.
