Category Archives: Labor/Economics

SEIU Statement Regarding the Changes in the Building Services Department at UIUC

Posted on 09/06/2020 by Justus Fortado

The University decided in mid-spring that it would reopen for the 2020 fall semester, a decision that would require drastic, “emergency” changes in our department and to the working conditions of SEIU members. Management didn’t notify union leadership until July … Continue reading →

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The Pandemic and Pro Wrestling

Posted on 06/04/2020 by Neil Parthun

In the November, 2019 Public i, I wrote about one of the earliest gig economies: professional wrestling. There, independent pro wrestler David Starr discussed the incredibly imbalanced power dynamics of the corporate wrestling scene in America. While watching corporations and … Continue reading →

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Fighting for the Soul of Public Education

Posted on 03/18/2020 by Stephanie Fortado

The administration of the University of California, Santa Cruz announced on Friday, February 28 that it would fire fifty-four graduate instructors who are on strike at the University. The announcement comes as the latest move in a nation-wide wave of … Continue reading →

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A Bad Year Turned Good? Lessons of Setbacks and Victories

Posted on 09/10/2018 by Patricia Simpson

Labor Day has come and gone. It is always a great day for celebrating the history and contributions of American workers and the achievements of the country’s labor unions. In the wake of the holiday, however, an assessment of labor’s … Continue reading →

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Janus v. AFSCME Council 31

Posted on 05/04/2018 by Dan Gilbert

By Dan Gilbert   Dan Gilbert teaches in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois. In a matter of weeks the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in Janus v. American Federation of State, … Continue reading →

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History Matters: Remembering Two “Dangerous” Labor Union Women

Posted on 03/27/2018 by Stephanie Fortado

By Stephanie Fortado Dr. Stephanie Seawell Fortado is a Lecturer at the University of Illinois Labor Education Program, providing workshops and extension programming for unions and the general public on the Champaign-Urbana campus and throughout Illinois. Before joining the University, … Continue reading →

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Abused: Working Women Face Widespread Harassment and Violence

Posted on 03/26/2018 by Patricia Simpson

By Pat Simpson Pat Simpson, Emerita Professor, Loyola University, formerly taught in the Labor Education Program, UIUC. A longtime labor and social justice activist, she is  currently a member of the Chambana Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and of the … Continue reading →

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GEO Rally for Fair Contract

Posted on 10/19/2017 by Public i

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Graduate Employees’ Organization held a rally for a fair contract. The union had been without a contract for 50 days.  

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The Extremes of Struggle at the Monster’s Heart: The Black Working Class and Socioeconomic Realities under Obama’s Neoliberalism

Posted on 02/23/2017 by Augustus Wood

“International capitalism cannot be destroyed without the extremes of struggle. The entire colonial world is watching the blacks inside the U.S…We are on the inside. We are the only ones who can get at the monster’s heart…”  — George L. … Continue reading →

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History Matters: A Look Back at the Champaign County Labor Movement of the 1920s

Posted on 11/18/2016 by Stephanie Seawell

For the past two years, newspaper headlines across Illinois have carried grim reports of budget impasse and inadequate funding for core state services and institutions, including for our flagship University in Urbana-Champaign.  Unfortunately, such dire reports are nothing new. “University’s … Continue reading →

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“Labor Hour” Now on WRFU, the Radio Station of the UCIMC

Posted on 11/18/2016 by David Johnson

After 21 years at radio station WEFT, the World Labor Hour radio program has moved its weekly 2-hour program to radio station WRFU (104.5 FM/wrfu.net) in the IMC/downtown Urbana Post Office building. The World Labor Hour radio program (originally called … Continue reading →

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Demands for a Transformed University

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Public i

On September 9, 2016, a “Rally for a Transformed University” was held at the alma mater on UIUC campus. It corresponded with the release of a list of demands. Led by Black Students For Revolution, the coalition of student organizations … Continue reading →

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News-Gazette: Always Right

Posted on 07/13/2016 by David Prochaska

The News-Gazette has always been Right — right-wing Republican, and in its smug self-righteousness, right. The paper presents itself as “respectable Republican,” as representing the values of “proper,” polite society. It abhors what is impolitic, impolite. That the News-Gazette is … Continue reading →

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In Memory, Honor, and Love of Gene Vanderport

Posted on 06/27/2016 by Belden Fields

It is difficult to write about an untimely death of someone whom one has known for almost half a century. Gene was my student, my comrade, and my friend since the late 1960s. Only a couple of years after my … Continue reading →

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NTFC Local #6546: Work Actions Lead to a Settled Contract

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Shawn Gilmore

For the last nineteen months, NTFC Local #6546, the union that represents about 500 non-tenure-track faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, fought for our first contract. When we started bargaining, in October 2014, we heard from our colleagues … Continue reading →

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The Reality of the Worker: May Day Speech

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Augustus Wood

by Gus Wood May Day speech inspired by the activism and speech/words of the legendary Lucy Parsons Brothers and sisters, the objective is clear today: We need workers to unite. Workers! Unite! Brothers and sisters, we have reached the point … Continue reading →

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May Day Rally on Quad

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Public i

“This is what solidarity looks like.” May Day rally on the U of I Quad.

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UIUC is Balancing a False Budget “Crisis” on the Backs of Students and Faculty

Posted on 04/10/2016 by Mary Grace Hebert

Illinois has not yet passed a state budget for higher education, and schools like Chicago State have been left in the lurch. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago State will not be able to pay employees after April. Similarly, the … Continue reading →

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The Struggle for Tuition-Free Education

Posted on 03/11/2016 by Mary Grace Hebert

By Mary Grace Hebert A breathtaking piece by Black Students for Revolution in the January 2016 Public i called for tuition to be eliminated because it perpetuates an unjust system. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has called for free college; similarly, Republicans … Continue reading →

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“I’m Not Anti-Union”: Governor ALEC and the Hostile Takeover of Illinois (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 07/08/2015 by Ricky Baldwin

  (Ricky Baldwin is a Senior Field Organizer for  SEIU 73, activist with Jobs With Justice, and occasional contributor to Labor Notes, Z Magazine, and Dollars and Sense.) Part One described multimillionaire Gov. Rauner’s stealth attack on the poor and … Continue reading →

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