City Colleges of Chicago faculty, staff set Oct. 19 strike date

Faculty and staff at the City Colleges of Chicago announced that they will be going on strike on Monday, Oct. 19, if no agreement is reached before that date.

The Cook County College Teachers Union said contracts expired July 15 after bargaining began in February.

Last week, 96% of union members voted in favor of authorizing a strike.

"That is not a small group of frustrated people," Tony Johnston, president of Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600, said at a rally and news conference Thursday in front of Harold Washington College downtown. "That is a workforce speaking with one voice."

Illinois state Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) pointed out at the news conference that his mother went back to school at City Colleges when he himself was in high school. Now, Simmons said, there is a concern that AI may jeopardize education.

"We want control over artificial intelligence in our classrooms and colleges, because we don't want to lose our work, we don't want to lose our jobs, and we don't want to lose learning," he said.

Simmons also said City Colleges staff are demanding academic freedom, smaller class sizes, fair scheduling, expanded paid time off, a consistent remote work policy, and fair treatment for part-time professional staff "who carry a large share of the workload without the pay, without the benefits, without the job security of their full-time colleagues."

The union members cheered and beat drums as the speakers laid out their demands. One participant brought a vuvuzela.