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News :: Labor |
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Unions unite as the University continues to stall on employee contracts! |
Current rating: 0 |
by Colleen
Email: ccolleen (nospam) uiuc.edu (unverified!) |
24 Aug 2006
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Pressure mounted for the University’s administration on Tuesday as local and university unions marched together in solidarity to demand fair bargaining and mediation for the thousands of workers currently employed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. |
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Workers and union members from across central Illinois descended in mass on the Alma Mater in a visible display to show their disapproval of the administration’s stalling and union-busting tactics. In possible anticipation of and response to the community outrage, University President Joe White appeared on WILL’s radio program, Focus 580, earlier that morning. Responding to listener’s calls to discuss his views on the impending demonstration and University’s unions ongoing bargaining, President White declared his “respect” for University employees before dropping a thinly veiled threat of outsourcing University jobs if economic compromise in union contracts are not met.
Union members reacted with frustration during the demonstration to President White’s comments, challenging the administration to demonstrate that “respect” for University employees in the bargaining process by providing better health care, living wages, and benefits to all of its employees. The University has also frozen all wages for graduate employees for the fall of 2006 pending the finalization of a new contract with the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO). This union-busting tactic, which prevents employees from receiving any raises until bargaining is complete, has not gone unnoticed by members of the GEO of which 40% can not afford health care for their children.
For more information and updates on the GEO’s bargaining with the University, visit-
http://www.uigeo.org/
President White’s comments from Focus 580 can be heard at
http://www.will.uiuc.edu/willmp3/focus060822b.mp3 |
This work is in the public domain. |
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Re: Unions unite as the University continues to stall on employee contracts! |
by Ricky Baldwin
baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
25 Aug 2006
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Great job! Thanks, Colleen.
The administration is screwing all the campus unions at the moment. AFSCME, for example, has been bargaining for about a year, thier contract expired for months, but the University is offering them no retroactive pay. (That is, any raises would not begin with the start of the new contract - when they ever get one.) Retroactive pay is normal in contract bargaining.
And we should keep in mind that wage freezes, while gas and other costs rise, is effectively a pay cut. Even raises that do not keep up with inflation, or are not retroactive, are effective pay cuts. So is not offering affordable healthcare while those costs are going up.
If Pres. White respects workers so much, he should get his hand out of their pockets! |
