UIC Civil Service Workers Ratify Union Contracts with Transformative Pay Raises

After 11 months of bargaining, UIC Civil Service workers overwhelmingly voted on May 24 to ratify their new union contracts. An incredible 94.3% of votes cast were YES votes, locking in their agreements to bring UIC one step forward to fully funding the needs of students, patients, and workers.

SEIU Local 73 represents nearly 4,000 Civil Service workers at UIC. The agreements with the administration are for multi-year contracts for four bargaining units represented by the union at the Chicago, Rockford, and Peoria campuses: service, technical, clerical, and professionals.

The new contracts include across-the-board pay raises and retroactive pay; significant increases to the minimum pay rate for every title in every contract; transformative and equitable new pay scales for workers in the service, technical, and clerical bargaining unit; longevity pay for workers in the professional bargaining unit and clerical workers at DSCC; expanded bilingual pay across campus; and paid time off to attend professional development opportunities.

Additionally, workers represented in the professional bargaining unit won flexible scheduling for salaried employees. The new technical contract also provides an eight-hour break for workers who have worked 12-hour shifts and an agreement not to schedule workers more than two Saturdays in a row. Building Service Workers represented under the service contract won a transparent shift-bidding and overtime process.

“For nearly a year, UIC workers fought at the bargaining table for the wages and respect they deserve. Today, they emerge victorious with a contract that will begin to reverse UIC’s campus disinvestments. The UI System has taken a step closer to fully funding the needs of students, patients, and workers. These courageous UIC workers prove that when we fight, we win,” said SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer.

“The bargaining committee couldn’t have reached this tentative agreement without the full support of our members. Over the past year, Civil Service workers utilized our collective power and refused to back down until we won the respect we deserved. With this agreement, we are moving forward more united and powerful than ever before,” said LaVitta “Vee” Steward, UIC Administrative Aide, and SEIU Local 73 Vice President.