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Last Updated: 8/29/23

We started bargaining all four of the SEIU 73 Collective Bargaining Agreements on June 13, 2023. See the presentation we gave to management on our first day with our bargaining goals and approach here.

Bargaining is open for member observers to attend during times during the day when you are not working. RSVP to attend a bargaining session here.

A union is as strong as the members! So sign up to join the contract action team and take action in our fight to improve working conditions at UIC!

Bargaining Update — August 21

Last week, we completed our second round of bargaining sessions for the Technical contract (July 26), the Clerical contract (July 28), the Service contract (July 31), and the Professionals contract (August 17). In our Service session, we fought hard for Building Service Workers to bid for shift assignments based on seniority, and we were happy to make progress on the issue, reaching our first Tentative Agreement since we started negotiations in June.


Unfortunately, our efforts throughout these sessions to improve work/life balance, workload, and fight for transparency and fairness in job descriptions have been met with stonewalling and stalling. Even though the Professional contract expired* just the day before our session last Thursday, management showed us that they weren’t even willing to acknowledge our concerns, much less reach an agreement. Not only did they fail to provide us with any solutions or counterproposals, but they went so far as to accuse us of trying to fix problems that didn’t exist.


This is also consistent with what we’ve experienced in the Technical and Clerical sessions. When workers shared stories of their colleagues leaving because of the lack of predictability in their work schedules and work duties, management claimed we were trying to take away their supervisory rights. When your bargaining team members made the case for all employees at UI Health to have the right to work a regular shift and schedule (instead of a flexible one), management told us the supervisors always work with employees to accommodate their schedules. When Division of Specialized Care for Children workers shared stories about how the long list of duties and qualifications arbitrarily added to their job description this summer was impacting morale and staffing, management said nothing. How can UIC expect us to be their partner if they won’t even acknowledge our concerns as real problems?


During our last contract cycle, management dragged out our negotiations for months, ultimately withholding raises during the height of the pandemic. Your bargaining team is not interested in playing their games, but we need your help to tell our stories and show our strength at the table.

  1. If you have a story about a time when your supervisor failed to accommodate your schedule needs, or if you have a story about a time where lack of clarity in your job description impeded you from doing your job, you can help by sending a written testimony (please include the who, what, when, where, why) to mbunnage@seiu73.org.
  2. We have bargaining scheduled for Clerical (August 22), Service (August 23), Professional (August 31), Technical (September 8), and all four contracts (September 12). Show management that members are paying attention by attending one of the upcoming bargaining sessions. RSVP here!


*The last day of the Professionals contract was August 16. Remember that even though the contract has expired, employees are still protected under the same contract with the same rights until a new one is agreed upon.

For previous bargaining updates, please review the purple Wednesday newsletters below.

To show UIC that we are standing united, it’s time to relaunch #PurpleWednesdays! Participation is easy, just wear your Local 73 purple swag – buttons, hats, t-shirts, or hoodies – or any purple on Wednesdays. Join your coworkers by purpling up next Wednesday!

Your union will be sending biweekly Purple Wednesday emails with updates on bargaining, campaigns, and other important information.

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – August 23

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – July 12

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – June 20

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – June 07

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – May 16

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – May 03

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – April 18

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – April 05

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – March 23

Purple Wednesday Newsletter – March 07

Purple Wednesday Newsletter- February 22

Purple Wednesdays Are BACK!

Staff at the local are assigned to work with specified buildings, departments and colleges of the university. These assignments may change from time to time. Please see the list below for an updated breakdown of which staff are assigned to which areas and their contact information. If you do not see your area listed below, reach out to Melinda Bunnage, Deputy Director of Higher Education, at mbunnage@seiu73.org.

Cheriell Jackson (CJ), cjackson@seiu73.org

  • UI Health
    • Outpatient Care Center 
    • Ear & Eye Infirmary 
    • Rehab Services dept 
    • Labs & Pathology dept 
    • Medical Call Center dept 
    • Patient Access, Patient Accounting & Patient Logistics depts 
    • Ambulatory Care 
  • Chicago’s West campus
    • Neuropsychiatric Institute 
    • College of Medicine Buildings 
    • Clinical Science Buildings 
    • Medical Sciences Building 
    • Marshfield Ave Building 
    • West Research Office Building 
  • Chicago’s East Campus
    • 715-722 & 704 Maxwell 
    • Family Medicine Center & Departments 

Felix Ortiz, fortiz@seiu73.org 

  • Division of Specialized Care for Children 
  • UIC School of Law 
  • Miles Square Clinics 
  • Chicago West Campus
    • Hospital Building Service Workers 
    • Biologic Resources Laboratory 
    • College of Dentistry 
    • College of Pharmacy 
    • Miles Square Clinic Main 
    • Campus Building Service Workers and House Attendants
  • Chicago East Campus
    • Building Service Workers and House Attendants

Abby Schultz, aschultz@seiu73.org  

  • UI Health
    • UIC Hospital 
    • Specialty Care Building 
    • Dialysis dept 
    • Continuum of Care dept 
    • Clinical Nutrition dept 
    • Info Tech Services dept 
    • Radiology

Andrew Yale, ayale@seiu73.org 

  • College of Medicine Peoria 
  • College of Medicine Rockford & LP Johnson 
  • Chicago Campus
    • All East Campus Colleges & Programs (Science & Engineering, Chemistry, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Education, etc.) 
    • Technology Solutions 
    • Campus Housing 
    • Campus Facilities (Parking, Telecommunicators, Mail, Procurement 
    • Healthy Cities Collaborative 
    • Student Center East & West 
    • Daley Library & Library of the Health Sciences 
    • Student Services Building (East) 
    • Disability, Health, and Social Policy Building (East) 
    • Human Resources Building (West) 
    • School of Public Health (West) 
    • Applied Health Sciences Building (West) 
    • Administrative Office Building (West) 

Look here for a complete list of UIC stewards. Every department should have a steward. If you don’t have a steward in your area, nominate yourself or someone else here!

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