SEIU Local 73 Negotiations – 2/2 Bargaining Update

February 5, 2018

Arts and Sciences Colleagues:

Loyola University Chicago and SEIU Local 73 met Friday, February 2, for their most recent bargaining session. We are committed to ongoing and transparent communications with all of our faculty throughout this process. To that end, I will email you an update after every bargaining session, and the same update will be posted to https://luc.edu/bargaining/cas-bargaining/.

Friday’s session was respectful and productive, with two new Tentative Agreements reached on the important topics of Faculty Rights, Duties, and Responsibilities, and Faculty Evaluations. The agreements reached are designed to further clarify the roles of unionized faculty and to ensure faculty evaluations are both fair and effective.

The parties agreed to two Tentative Agreements:

Proposal XXVI: Faculty Rights, Duties, and Responsibilities – Loyola University Chicago and SEIU Local 73 agreed to language setting forth the responsibilities of unionized faculty. Specifically, the parties agreed:

• To add language stating that unionized faculty members will strive for excellence in the areas of teaching and other academic duties described in the proposal.
• That language on professional development belongs in the Promotion and Professional Development proposals.
• That there are no research duties required of unionized faculty members.
• That the section of the proposal on “Non-Loyola Activities” does not apply to part-time unionized faculty members, as it relates to sections of the Faculty Handbook that require full-time unionized faculty members to secure permission before seeking employment elsewhere. Part-time unionized faculty can work elsewhere without securing permission.

Proposal XIX: Faculty Evaluations – This Tentative Agreement clarifies the processes for evaluating non-unionized faculty using course evaluations, classroom observation and formal evaluations. These processes help ensure Loyola honors its commitment to create an environment of academic excellence, which is in the best interest of students, faculty, and the entire Loyola community.

• Student Course Evaluations: The parties agreed that student course evaluations for full-time and part-time unionized faculty shall not be the sole criteria for evaluating the performance of unionized faculty members.
• Classroom Observation:The parties agreed:
  • The University shall observe teaching performance of any unionized faculty member in the classroom consistent with the current policy and practice as applied to other faculty. This means that the date and time of the classroom observation shall be decided in advance by mutual agreement between the departmental chairperson and his/her designee and the faculty member. However, the University may observe teaching performance at any time if there is a concern regarding performance or as part of an investigation.
  • The observer shall provide written feedback, and the unionized faculty member is free to add their own comments to the observation feedback. The designated observer may meet with the unionized faculty member being observed to discuss the observation feedback if requested by either party. The observation feedback and any comments from the unionized faculty member shall be included in the unionized faculty member’s personnel file.
  • Unionized faculty members may request a second classroom observation if there are extraordinary circumstances, and that request shall not be unreasonably denied.
  • Formal evaluations for unionized faculty:
    • Full-time unionized faculty on renewable appointments: The parties agreed that the performance of each full-time unionized faculty member shall ordinarily be formally evaluated annually for the prior year’s performance.
    • Full-time unionized faculty on non-renewable appointments: The parties agreed that these faculty members will participate in a discussion with the departmental chairperson or his/her designee at the end of the term of appointment. 

Loyola shared a new non-economic proposal, which was discussed by both parties:

Proposal XXX: Course Cancellation Fee – Loyola proposed that part-time unionized faculty shall be paid a course cancellation fee of $167 per credit if the course is cancelled or reassigned to a full-time faculty member within seven calendar days before the first scheduled class meeting for the course. If the course is cancelled or reassigned after the first scheduled class meeting, the unionized faculty member shall be paid the course cancellation fee plus the pro-rated amount for classes taught. This dollar amount is more generous than the language in many other SEIU contracts such as Georgetown University and American University, and recognizes the time and effort non-unionized faculty put into preparing for a class. The Union presented a counterproposal seeking higher financial compensation, which the parties discussed and will continue to discuss in future bargaining sessions.

What’s Next?
Loyola and SEIU Local 73 will meet for their next bargaining session on February 14. In the meantime, we have added an “Ask a Question” button to the bargaining website. If you have a question about the bargaining process, you can submit it via the form (please note this function is not anonymous), and your question will be answered as quickly as possible. We have also added additional information to the Frequently Asked Questions section of the website.

The University remains committed to bargaining in good faith and with a sense of urgency in order to reach a fair and reasonable contract that is good for our faculty, our students, and the entire Loyola University Chicago academic community.

Sincerely,

Tom Regan, S.J.
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences