The Non-Tenure Union Faculty Coalition took to the University’s Main Quad for a solidarity rally today at approximately noon after being in negotiations for their third contract since December 2023.
In a statement posted to Instagram on April 13, the NTFC announced the rally would be hosted in partnership with local unions such as SEIU Local 73 and AFSCME Local 698.
“Three of us (SEIU, AFSCME and NTFC) are currently bargaining new contracts with administration, so this is a great time to bring a strong show of solidarity,” the post said.
Theresa Dobbs, Communications Chair of the NFTC, said that previous negotiations with the University have resulted in pay increases that don’t reflect national inflation.
“The University has offered us the bare minimum,” Dobbs said. “SEIU, which represents building service workers and food service workers on campus, they got offered a 1% raise, which doesn’t even keep up with the rate of inflation — inflation is 3% to 4%, you know, offering them a 1% raise is really a pay cut.”
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The demonstration began when a group of about 100 started the rally at the entrance of the Illini Union facing the Quad with chants ranging from “Hey-hey, Ho-ho, poverty wages have got to go” to “This is what democracy looks like.”
After approximately 45 minutes of chanting outside, the demonstrators began marching in a circle surrounding the Quad — the group passed the steps of Foellinger Auditorium while holding a banner with the NTFC’s emblem, eventually making their way back to the Union.
Outside of the Union, for approximately another hour, speakers took turns speaking in solidarity with the mission of non-tenure campus workers and supporting ongoing negotiations with the University.
“We’re still waiting to get into bargaining with the University, but we hope it’ll be a swift and successful bargaining session,” one speaker said.
Dobbs added that speakers from various unions united to stand in solidarity with University workers.
“We have representatives from each union who are speaking,” Dobbs said. “We had speakers from the two AFSCME locals on campus, 3700 and 698. We had a speaker from SEIU; we had a speaker from UFO, which is the Uni High faculty union — they’re not bargaining right now, but they came out to support us.”
Clara Belitz, co-president of the University’s Graduate Employees Organization, says her union was present at the rally in solidarity with the NTFC and all campus workers.
“When any workers on this campus win a strong contract, that benefits all of us because it sets a precedent for future bargaining,” Belitz said. “It means that we have more solidarity and union power to demand the dignity and living wages that all workers on this campus should have the right to.”
The rally dissipated at 1:50 p.m. — about two hours after its beginning.
