Higher Education activities within the IEA include both organizing higher education locals and providing support to existing locals and membership. Higher education members include four-year faculty members, two-year faculty members, academic professionals, part-time faculty members, civil service employees and ESP’s.
Higher education staff and members also recognize that activities within the higher education community are dependent upon the commitment of IEA/NEA to recognize higher education affiliates as vital members within the association.
- A large number of colleges and universities-faculty, part-time faculty, non-tenure track faculty, ESP’s, etc. remain unorganized
- The largest potential for adding new members to IEA is with higher education
- Higher education faculty and staff do not have the advantage of negotiated contracts as do the greatest majority of PreK-12 staff and faculty
- Organizing faculty and staff at higher education institutions faces the following obstacles:
- A large number of buildings housing faculty and staff on campuses-For example, there are approximately 245 buildings on the UIUC campus
- Higher education faculty and staff may not have opportunities to talk with each other on a consistent basis due to the positions they hold
- Higher education faculty and staff on some campuses are just beginning to understand the advantages of organizing for collective bargaining purposes
- Administrators on higher education campuses often fight aggressively to keep labor unions from organizing on campuses
- The positions at higher education institutions vary tremendously
- Organizing at higher education institutions may take more time than PreK-12 organizing but once organized higher education faculty and staff become committed and stable union members and leaders
- Higher education staff and faculty often have lower salaries and fewer benefits than many PreK-12 faculty and staff
