UIC Updates

Upcoming Events | info (ALL DATES for 2026)

(LMM) Labor Management Committee Dates:

• Tuesday, August 4, 2026: 10am-12pm
• Tuesday, October 6, 2026: 10am-12pm
• Tuesday, December 8th, 2026: 10am-12pm

(H&S) Health and Safety Committee Dates:

• Thursday, September 17, 2026 1-2:30pm
• Thursday, November 19, 2026: 1-2:30pm

Stewards Meeting Dates:
• August 4
• October 6
• December 1

Contract Updates

Pros Bargaining – Pros across the University are actively organizing in preparation for their next round of contract negotiations. Want a union meeting with your department or more information on how to get involved? Email Lizzy Bortoto at LBortoto@seiu73.org.

APP Contract – Read the latest update here⭐️

Report Backs | Union Updates

Labor Management Agenda and Notes

Health & Safety – For over a year, Chief Stewards and Stewards on the Health and Safety Committee have continuously discussed concerns with UIC over technical employee floating at the hospital. Nurse Techs are constantly floated outside of their home units, which sometimes leaves 1 Nurse Tech to care for over 20 patients. However, UIC still remains hesitant to see the safety and health risks associated with this current staffing practice, citing patient acuity scores generated by the hospital’s AcuityPlus tool, but not everything technical employees do gets tracked by AcuityPlus. When your Health and Safety Committee raised concern over the tool’s accuracy due to this fact, UIC offered fixes that aren’t at the root of the problem: talk to the charge nurse; use the nurse buddy system.

Last year, Nurse Techs tracked how often they floated, and currently, they are documenting the health and safety impacts of UIC’s floating practice in the hospital. If you are a Nurse Tech and are impacted by floating, be sure to record the number of health and safety occurrences on our Nurse Tech Tracking Sheet [linked here]. Please also provide specific examples of especially concerning health and safety incidents from floating on the back page. Keep this sheet in your locker at work, so you don’t lose it. Your Health and Safety Committee plans on analyzing the data later this summer to identify concrete next steps to address this issue.

New Features

What to Expect from the Member Action Center

What happens after a grievance is filed.
When a grievance is filed by the Union Hearing Officer, the goal is to resolve the issue and/or scheduling a meeting with the member and management to discuss/resolve the issue. At the first step [department level] the HR rep for the division will mediate for the department and the Union Hearing Officer for the members. However, often if there is no response given at the first step and there is the end of the timeline, the Union Hearing Officer moves the grievance to step 2 [Labor Relations]. At this point, UIC appoints a hearing officer from Labor Relations to act as a facilitator for the grievance hearing. When the hearing is scheduled, the SEIU Hearing Officer reaches out to the member to strategize about the upcoming hearing.

Who will contact the member and when

The Union Hearing officer will contact the member if there are further questions or concerns before filing the grievance and/or when a hearing has been scheduled to strategize.

Typical timelines (while noting they can vary).

For most UIC contracts, a grievance can be filed within 30 days of the incident. Most UIC contracts are 10-15 business daysbetween steps if there is no response from management. Management has 10-15 business days to submit their decision in writing from the date of the grievance hearing. UIC timeline is fairly long compared to many contracts.

The role of the steward, MAC, hearing officer, and staff representative.

When there is violation of the contract or discipline was issued without just cause, individual can call MAC at 312-787-5868 ex: 1 and ticket will be created. All supporting documents should be emailed to mac@seiu73.org

The Union Hearing Officer is assigned to represent members in a pre-disciplinary hearing; Once ticket is created, the Hearing Officer will handle disciplines and contract violations through the grievance process that affect individuals or small groups (2-3).

The field organizes handle all-affected grievances.

What the union can and cannot do.

The union generally cannot be involved in harassment, bullying, and discrimination cases until after the affected worker has submitted complaints through HR and OAE and the investigation has been completed. The CBA specifically requires this step. However, a member may request a union representative to join the interview process of the investigation with them.

The Union Hearing Officer cannot negotiate new contract language, protocols, or procedures. They can only enforce existing contracts.  

The Union Hearing Officer is not involved in maintaining or disputing minimally requires licensing, training, or certification needs for workers to maintain employment.

The Union is not involved in merit increases [contact your director], budgeting, or desk audits [unless the worker has submitted a request and does not hear back from UIC within the required 21 days].

The Union is not able to represent workers before the Merit Board. 

Who to contact with questions.

General questions are for a field organizer and the MAC organizers.

Questions specific to an active case/grievance assigned to a hearing officer go to the Hearing Officer. 

FAQ – 2026 Raises:

Professional: 2% increase effective the first full pay period after August 16. 2026Clerical: 2% increase effective the first full pay period after August 27, 2026 Service: 2% increase effective the first full pay period after October 4, 2026 Technical: 2% increase effective the first full pay period after December 17, 2026

SEIU 73 Did You Know?
Service Employees International Union was founded in Chicago in 1921. SEIU now represents over 2 million workers across 150 local unions in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Local 73 represents over 40,000 workers across Chicago Public Schools, City of Chicago, Cook County, Secretary of State, UIC, social services, and many other local municipalities. 

SEIU Longevity Recognition

Recognition Spotlight (25+ Years of Service): We’d love to feature you in our next issue! Please submit a 100–150 word personal spotlight to MsVeeS@seiu73.org. Include your role at UIC, years of service, one or two hobbies, and something you’re looking forward to in the future. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. 🌟