SAIC non-tenure-track faculty files for union election
Photo by Apollo Nava
Dear colleagues:
It might take two to make a thing go right, but it takes many, many, many more to make a thing ignite — and we’re out here, forged by fire, with a tremendous announcement: this morning, we — the non-tenure-track faculty of Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU) — filed for our union election with the National Labor Relations Board. Hit it!
We spent much of the Winter underground, finding and connecting with one another, reaching across ranks and departments — no easy task, given our mighty numbers, and granted the reality that for *so many of us,* survival means holding down multiple gigs, positions, side hustles, and even identities. This past May, we stood on the steps of the AIC in solidarity, speaking truth to power about our working conditions, and how, by bargaining together, we could transform our two-tiered reality. We called for a more just and equitable SAIC, and we spent the summer organizing, engaging in hundreds and hundreds of conversations with our colleagues, and growing our pride (groan).
Just last week, after we hand-delivered a request to President Elissa Tenny, asking for recognition of our collective action and solidarity, we took to the steps between the lions once more! Fueled by the brilliant testimonials of our colleagues and supported by Rep. Delia Ramirez and Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza, we marched alongside our students, our colleagues from the School and the Museum, and our public supporters, to rally together outside the Neiman Center.
We are emboldened by the truth of our situation: precarity may have shaped us, but it doesn’t define us. Who and what we are matters, and so too does the work that we do — without it, and without us, our institution falters in its mission and purpose. We could not — and would not — have sought recognition of our union without you. The overwhelming support for AICWU shown by our non-tenure-track colleagues — and evidenced by the strong majority of cards we have filed with the NLRB — is a powerful step, but our union election is the main event: a chance for us all to show the administration that we know the power we hold when we refuse to be divided, and say, “Yes!”
Yes! to bargaining together, in solidarity, for a fair contract, because as long as the most precarious among us are marginalized and devalued by our institution, we all are;
Yes! to holding our upper-administration accountable: to our students and our shared future; to investing in the livelihood of its NTT faculty; and to realizing equity, inclusion, and diversity, not as email talking points, but actionable values;
Yes! to dignifying the work we do and have done, as arts workers, educators, mentors, artists, scholars, writers, and designers, who teach because we believe — and sustain — something much greater than ourselves.
Voting YES for our union is voting for us — and the belief that together we can change our material conditions. As we prepare for our election, we call upon senior leadership to stand down and remain truly neutral: no boilerplate anti-union websites, no bait-and-switch false rhetoric about the “democratic” virtues our upper administration upholds, and no misconstruing the powerful, transformative, and ongoing work we’ve done to come together and demand change in how we are viewed, supported, and valued.
Colleagues, we know that we are smart enough to reach an informed decision on our own, and we urge management to commit to a free and fair election without interference, misinformation, or fear of retaliation. Our struggle is not over and there is much work ahead of us, but we have made our decision with the same care that brought us together in the first place: since a strong majority of us believe that a union is in our best interest, we hope our administration will extend care in return — by ceasing their interference, and respecting our choice.
In the coming weeks, we encourage you to get informed and get involved: please join us (at AICWU organizing meetings as we build momentum for the election. If you haven’t signed a card yet, do so now, and help to shape who we are and what we can do together. If you have, spread the word about how we are bargaining together to make history, by saying “Yes!” to our union, and building a better SAIC.
Solidarity, horizontality, transformation, and all power to the people,
Your AICWU SAIC Faculty Organizing Committee
Photo by Apollo Nava
