UIUC nontenured teachers go on strike
After negotiating for two years with no results, nontenured track teachers have called for a strike
Not having classes all day may sound great, but it’s not when the reason you don’t have class is a strike. Losing out on class time is the last thing teachers want for their students.
Faculty began striking at 8 a.m. outside of the English Building, located directly on the main Quad. Almost 60 union members could be found marching outside the entrances to the building. Their signs said various phrases including “No contract, no peace.” Faculty and students also began chanting phrases like “hey you UIUC, come out here and strike with me.”
Many flyers were handed out as well, such as the one pictured below.
The main message of the protest, as the signs and chanting tell, is not to change how the entire system works, but to do something to change the direction education is going in.
Nearly 40 percent of undergraduate classes are taught by nontenured track faculty. The strike, above all, is to ensure that students can continue to rely on faculty members throughout their college careers. With contracts that only last nine months, that becomes something unattainable.
A mass email sent to all university students this morning gave updates on the strike. The email stated that the Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition (NTFC) and the school have reached 14 tentative agreements, but no negotiation has been reached for multi-year contracts.
As a student in the English Department, this directly effects me. Yet, not having class for a day or two, poses less of a threat than faculty members feeling like they are being abused as workers.
The strike is to continue into tomorrow.