Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, March 10, over two dozen students gathered at the University of Illinois Chicago east campus’s quad to demand that UIC administration set a precedent for a true sanctuary campus now.

The rally was organized by Mexican Students of Aztlan’s (MeSA) Educación, Resistencia y Activismo (ERA) committee and was a part of a broader week of action events that commemorated the 20th anniversary of the first megamarches that occurred on March 10, 2006 in Chicago.

The rally included speakers from New Students for a Democratic Society, the Immigrants’ Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and Mexican Students of Aztlan.

Ileanne Cecilio, a member of MeSA and the emcee of the rally began by sharing the importance of the day which signifies 20 years since the megamarches and how the struggles for immigrant rights is far from over, especially at UIC. Cecilio elevates the work of the many immigrant rights activists who have built up the movement where it is today and UIC’s history of student activism to get the resources that exist for students now such as the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services (LARES) and the Latino Cultural Center. They also raise the demands of MeSA’s current sanctuary campus campaign in needing the current administration to take a stand for their students and not continue the capitulation to Trump's racist agenda.

“We are living during interesting times of uncertainty and oppression by the U.S. government,” began Ikzael Hernandez, ERA’s committee lead. “We need to stand together and be on the same page, not only within the boundaries of this UIC institution but beyond.”

Another student and member of MeSA, Briseida Buitron, shared a powerful poem, “Our people keep fighting. We’re here and they don’t like it! Kick us all out, but we come back marching.”

Gianna Escareno from the Immigrant Rights Working Committee stated, “We must continue to show solidarity from Chicano liberation to Black liberation, Palestinian liberation, workers’ rights, women and LGBTQ rights and of course immigrants’ rights because we know that the attack on our communities won’t end until we fight back, resist and until all of us are free!”

Students then marched across campus and to University Hall as they chanted “No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all!” and “Sanctuary campus now!”

Student organizers encouraged those present to join one of the many progressive student organizations like MeSA, New Students for a Democratic Society or Anakbayan who are all fighting for various struggles on campus.

They encourage people to support Mexican Students of Aztlan as they continue to build their campaign for a sanctuary campus at UIC and stay tuned for future actions. They are on Instagram @mesaatuic.

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #MESA #SDS #SDSatUIC #UIC

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the New Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Illinois Chicago (New SDS at UIC).

Rick Toledo is a student activist and SDSer at Cal Poly State Humboldt who, for years, has been demanding that Cal Poly State Humboldt divest from the Israeli genocide and make the university a sanctuary campus!

On March 6, Rick’s home was raided by police officers, and he was detained without bail. These charges came about from a brave student-led building occupation for Palestine at Cal Poly Humboldt in February of 2024.

With pressure from concerned students and the community, the police department was forced to release him on bail on March 8. But Rick is still facing charges of multiple felonies he did not commit, has been suspended from his college, and was fired from his university job!

Furthermore, we are angered to hear that on the night of March 19, the University Police Department went back to his home with a warrant to take his personal devices, including his laptop, phone, and other electronics!

We know that this is a clear act of repression, that this is an attack not only against Rick Toledo, but against all students who stand with Palestine!

We see that the university and the state of California are attempting to punish Rick and the brave students who stood up for Palestine for their acts of resistance, which is why we are calling on all students, all community members, and everyone who believes in free speech to join us in standing with Rick Toledo!

New Students for a Democratic Society at University of Illinois Chicago is proud to stand with Rick Toledo, and we demand that no charges are filed against him!

Protesting for Palestine is not a crime!

Hands off Rick Toledo!

#RickToledo #SDSatUIC #SDS #UIC #ChicagoIL #CalPolyHumboldt #Palestine #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement

Chicago, IL – On Monday, March 2, students rallied on the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) quad to condemn the attacks on the city of Tehran by the apartheid state of Israel and the United States. Students demanded no war on Iran.

New Students for a Democratic Society at UIC answered the call by the national New SDS to mobilize on the streets and campuses against this war. 

Oppose this unjust war.

“Just two mornings ago the United States and Israel bombed a school in the city of Minab killing over 180 schoolgirls! This is unfortunately just scratching the surface, because every single day, we wake up and see more bombs drop, we see hospitals, schools and neighborhoods turned into rubble and exploded, we see the death tolls go up,” said Sathvika Gowda of New SDS as the rally opened up.

Gowda ended with, “Wherever the U.S. goes, wherever Israel goes, we see destruction, devastation, obscene violence and war crimes. Every single day, we must stand up and oppose this unjust and illegal war!”

Groups like Anakbayan at UIC, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Chicago, and Mexican Students de Aztlan (MeSA) at UIC came out and spoke against the U.S.-Israeli terror on Iran.

Ile Cecilio of MeSA stated, “Mexican Students of Aztlan condemns war against Iran, we condemn the inhumane murder of the over 100 schoolgirls in Minab and any military strike towards civilians in Iran and everywhere!”

Cecilio continued, “We know that U.S. intervention has never worked, as seen in Latin America where many of their countries have been destabilized with the excuses of ‘protecting democracy’. With this new administration, we know they aren't covert with what they want and their greed for oil and money in the Middle East and in other countries like Venezuela is palpable.”

Angel Naranjo of Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “Here in the U.S., progressives and revolutionaries need to go all out, uniting all who can be united to end the war on Iran. What the U.S. and Israel are doing to Iran is crime, and it needs to be judged accordingly.”

Naranjo ended by stating, “Trump is now talking about regime change. The truth of the matter is that we do need a regime change – a regime change in Washington DC.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #UIC #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Iran

Chicago, IL – On March 4, 30 students rallied in the quad at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). The protest, organized by New Students for a Democratic Society, was originally a counter-protest meant to happen at the same time as a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event.

TPUSA announced a “Prove me Wrong” event featuring Pastor Lucas Miles, who has a record of anti-immigrant rhetoric. Immediately after TPUSA’s announcement, SDS organized a counter-protest with the slogan, “Tell TPUSA Immigrants are Welcomed Here!”

The night before the morning rally, TPUSA shared on social media that they were canceling the event “due to weather.” The forecast had a small chance of rain for six hours after the event. It was clear that TPUSA canceled due to the SDS counter-protest.

The counter-protest was endorsed by Anakbayan, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Mexican Students de Aztlán, Housing Staff United, Socialist Alternative, Fearless Undocumented Alliance, Radical Public Health and Union of Puerto Rican Students.

Students passing by the rally celebrated the news that TPUSA had cancelled their event in response to the planned counter-protest.

“This is what happens when we stand together and organize, we rip the masks off of right-wing grifters and expose them as what they are: Cowards!” said River Argyilan co-chair of the SDS chapter at UIC.

“The UIC administration cannot gloat about diversity at this school while allowing groups who openly spread hate speech to host events on campus,” Argylian went on to say. “They cannot claim to serve their students while defunding the cultural centers, removing DEI from financial aid, and refusing to protect their students from ICE.”

A member of Anakabyan spoke of the UIC administration’s continued repression of progressive student groups while allowing a racist student group like TPUSA on campus. Marel shared that Anakbayan has recently received penalties from the Center for Student Involvement due to hosting an anti-ICE whistle-packing event in a public space on campus.

“On the campuses, groups like TPUSA exist to embolden white-supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and reactionaries on campus,” Gio Araujo said on behalf of FRSO.

Araujo continued, “Groups like TPUSA are simply fog machines. Like a real fog machine, it can be broken with your foot or fist. On the campuses and streets, they can be pushed out with the power of the people. We are determined to unite all who can be united to march through the fog towards our enemy, the ruling class of billionaires and their political representatives in the White House.”

During the rally, UIC administration tried to force the students to move. SDS had an approved reservation for the quad but were told the students weren’t allowed to be on the grass. Students continued on with the rally as planned.

“We’ve proven here today what SDS has proven all over the country: TPUSA is a paper tiger! said Erin Boyle, president of National SDS. “They’re a small group of racist cowards hiding behind billionaire right-wing funding. TPUSA is not a movement, they’re a cancerous speaking tour forced on to college campuses that don’t want their hate! “

“It’s never been more clear that our universities need to put up a fight against Donald Trump! And let me be more clear, we need to make them put up a fight.” said Boyle.

Organizers called on students to join SDS for a town hall March 19 to continue to put pressure on UIC administration to fund cultural centers, declare a sanctuary campus and stop capitulating to the Trump agenda. After the speakers ended, students marched through campus. Protesters chanted, “When MAGA is running about! We organize, we run them out!” and “Racist, sexist, anti-gay! Turning Point, go away!”

#ChicagoIL #IL #UIC #SDS #StudentMovement

Chicago, IL – On Friday, November 7, New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) rallied with 30 students to demand that UIC administration fund the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) and reject Donald Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that attempts to take control of higher education.

Before the protest, on October 30, members of many Latino organizations across campus were invited to meet with UIC’s Vice Chancellor of Diversity and Equity Lionel Allen, and the Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Student Affairs Micheal Ginsburg to discuss cuts to DEI and the budgets for the CCUSC as well as the presence of ICE on campus earlier that month.

At this meeting, Allen and Ginsburg claimed that UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda was “too busy” to meet with students, a point that was met with heavy opposition. At this meeting, students demanded that Chancellor Miranda meet with them personally and that UIC admin fund the cultural centers, create a protocol for ICE sightings on and around campus, and formulate a plan for what would be done if a student were to be detained.

Ariana Vega, one of the co-chairs of New SDS at UIC opened the November 7 rally by explaining that she received personal notice that Chancellor Miranda would not be in office the day of the protest, “Why is the chancellor so afraid of meeting with students? It’s because she knows she knows she’s not doing enough! This administration might think they can placate their students with one little meeting but they are wrong. As long as UIC refuses to protect their students we will keep coming out here to protest! We’ll make sure that our presence becomes unavoidable, unforgettable!”

On the chronic underfunding of the CCUSC at UIC, member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Victor Silva, said, “Just as students resisted UIC administration in 1976, we must stand up and fight back now. ICE is detaining our students, and cultural centers are under direct threat from Trump’s foolish overreach. While Chancellor Miranda consistently refuses to address the situation, we, the students, remain steadfast and vigilant. It’s time for the UIC administration to put their money where their mouth is.”

“We understand that education should not be a tool of domination. Education must be a tool for liberation. When we fight for cultural centers and Tagalog classes at UIC we are not just fighting for language instruction. We are fighting for the right to define our own identity, we are fighting to prevent revisionism of our own history, and we are fighting for connection to our own communities,” said Megan Wikosky from Anakbayan at UIC on the CCUSC and the Anakbayan’s campaign for tagalog classes at UIC.

In the wake of increasing ICE presence both on and off campus, community members and organizers at UIC have taken it upon themselves to protect their community when administration refuses to, hosting know your rights and migra watch trainings and setting up the first on-campus rapid response team. On the immediate response from community members at UIC, Ileanne Cecilio, a member of Mexican Students de Aztlán stated, “I am immensely inspired by the courage of all my peers in putting in the work to keep the community safe and assisting in advocating for our students in different ways such as advocacy for the cultural centers. However, it is also important that we hold UIC administration accountable in doing their job and also advocating for us students, the staff and faculty,”

Students then marched up to University Hall at UIC to deliver SDS’s open letter demanding funding for the cultural centers to the interim Vice Chancellor for Equity and Diversity Lionel Allen.

Other demands expressed in the open letter also included the expansion of the UIC Heritage Garden, protection of the UIC Rigo Padilla-Pérez Undocumented Student Resource Center, return the Diversity Community Engagement Program, for UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda to attend a community led town hall to hear out all students concerns and for administration commit to protecting Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC).

UIC students, Ariana Vega and Sanele Stewart from SDS, as well as Ileanne Cecilio from MeSA, went to the Chancellor’s office on the 27th floor of University Hall to personally deliver and discuss the open letter to Vice Chancellor Lionel Allen, who acted as the representative for Chancellor Miranda.

During this meeting students discussed topics that were brought up in the October 30 meeting with the Vice Chancellor of Diversity and Equity and the Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Student Affairs on the lack of transparency and communication from the administration on protocols of ICE being on campus and the defunding of the cultural centers this past year. The absence of the Chancellor in the room was felt once again in the meeting and a demand for her presence for the upcoming town hall was raised. The SDS open letter was read and discussed to the vice chancellor Allen and a copy was given to him and another for the chancellor that was promised to be delivered for her to read.

Sign onto New SDS at UIC’s open letter here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZG7L5qF7_1mYAkHSzAIgeb7LZ1Sw_HgLYujY-AgWZePBAXQ/viewform

#ChicagoIL #IL #UIC #StudentMovement #IceOffCampus

Chicago, IL – On Thursday February 27, over 100 students at the University of Illinois Chicago walked out of classes to protest racist Republican attacks on immigrants. The walk out was called by the UIC chapter of New Students for a Democratic Society as part of a national SDS week of action to demand ICE off campus, no deportations, and legalization for all.

Miles Liang, a freshman at UIC, kicked things off, stating, “If admins across the country were made to stand with their students. Not only would this make each campus safer – it would be a mighty blow against Trump’s administration. Coordinated days of protest such as this one show the unity of the student movement, and they grow the social movement which will protect our communities.”

Next was a member of Anakbayan, the Filipino patriotic youth organization, who spoke about the roots of immigration and U.S. intervention: “Many of these Filipinos did not come here in search of the so-called ‘American Dream.’ They came to escape the harsh realities of joblessness, poverty and the lack of economic mobility in the Philippines – realities that are a direct result of U.S. imperialism, militarism and interference in the political and economic affairs of their homeland.”

Speaking for Students for Justice in Palestine, Yusuf Masood, said, “Just like how a year ago Palestinian students were expected to study while their own relatives were being killed, today many latine and immigrant students are expected to continue their schoolwork while their family members or themselves or at risk of deportation and incarceration. SJP, the students and the people stand with our fellow immigrant comrades and know that Palestine is not free until we all are.“

Speaking for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Gio Arujo, stated, “We in the FRSO have been knowing that this is what the U.S. is about. That democracy in the United States is truly only a democracy for the billionaires in this country. And that when this system of oppression fails repeatedly on all of us, they seek to find the scapegoat to continue operating this democracy for the few. And we know that this so-called democracy has never worked for the many of us.”

Luna Fernanda speaking for Mexican Students de Aztlan, emphasized the personal toll these racist attacks on immigrants have taken, speaking to her own experience and highlighting the case of Jocelyn Rojo Carranza, an 11-year-old girl with undocumented parents who took her own life due to racist bullying from her classmates.

Fernanda said “Hate is a disease, hate is an epidemic and hate stalks its way into schools where it then destroys the spirits of young marginalized children. How many kids have to die until people start to care about us?”

The final speaker, Alicia Ribeiro, a representative speaking for Sanctuary for All, a newly launched immigrant rights group on campus, led the crowd in reciting lines to use if they were stopped by an ICE officer. The crowd in unison repeated “Am I under arrest?” and “Am I free to go?” before the speaker ended with a call for UIC to properly label private spaces like classrooms so that ICE could not legally enter without a judicial warrant.

After the first round of speakers, members of SDS read poems written about the struggle of undocumented immigrants and the struggle against U.S. imperialism in Latin America. After these cultural performances, students marched to the main administrative building on campus. Students rallied at the bottom of the 28-story tower as university administrators and half a dozen officers from the Chicago Police Department watched and took notes.

Ariana Vega ended the program, stating, “UIC prides itself on claims of being a sanctuary campus, yet they jeopardize the safety of their students by allowing ICE on campus as long as they have a judicial warrant! UIC loves spouting pretty words that paint the picture of a perfect campus, yet they continue to make these words nothing but false promises. As their students are under attack, UIC protects them with a shield made out of paper and pretends as if that is enough.”

Vega continued, “We are here to demand better from UIC! We demand that UIC chop from the top and cut admins salary! We demand that UIC does not bend under the will of the Trump administration! We will fight against this racist, sexist, anti-gay administration and we will refuse to lose. In the face of the fight against hate and bigotry the people will never lose. We will never back down, and we will never give up; we demand our schools do the same.”

14 other student and community groups endorsed the protest. Campus based groups endorsing were, Mexican Students de Aztlan, Students for Justice in Palestine, Housing Staff United (OPEIU Local 39), Indigenous Grad Student Association, Jewish Student Collective, Sanctuary for All, Latinos Unidos, Anakbayan UIC, Socialist Alternative UIC, and the Public Health Alliance. Citywide groups included the Immigrant Rights Work Team of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, The Black Alliance for Peace, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #SDS #UIC #ImmigrantRights

Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, September 26, a coalition of unions, students and community organizations kicked off the Chicago leg of the Justice for the Tampa 5 Tour. These five activists are facing serious prison time in Florida for the crime of standing up to the DeSantis agenda. On March 6, a group of students at Tampa’s University of South Florida walked into an administrative building to defend diversity, equity and inclusion. They wanted to meet with the university president but were instead attacked by 15 campus cops. The state attorney is now charging the five with multiple felonies, and they face up to 10 years in prison.

In the hall of the Chicago Teachers Union, approximately 60 supporters gathered to demand the trumped-up and politically motivated charges be dropped. Christly Carpio and Lauren Pineiro of the Tampa 5 spoke at the event. The two drew on the lessons of past battles against political repression to wage a powerful defense campaign not only to defend themselves but to defend the people’s movements, the right to protest, and the right to education.

In her speech, Carpio made clear the importance of the Tampa 5. “The most important thing we can do is keep organizing,” she said. “It's the five of us on trial, but it's the whole movement being tested right now. Down with DeSantis!”

Other speakers included Erin Boyle of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), President Elijah Edwards of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2858, Husam Marajda of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Councilor for the 3rd police district Anthony Bryant, Diana Balataan of Anakbayan Chicago, and Frank Chapman of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

In his speech, Chapman said, “Every branch and every affiliate of NAARPR will take this case up. When we're done, everybody in the U.S. and a good part of the world will know who the Tampa 5 is and why they must have justice,” making it clear that the National Alliance will continue to stand with the Tampa 5 in the struggle against the political repression they are experiencing as a result of their struggle against Ron DeSantis and racist, anti-Black and anti-education legislation.

Carpio and Pineiro stayed busy for the 48 hours they were in Chicago. They were interviewed for podcasts by two veterans of the original SDS, Bill Ayers and Michael James; appeared in the classrooms of UIC professors David Stovall, Nadine Naber, and Andy Clarno, and held a rally with 40 UIC students and staff.

The Justice for the Tampa 5 Tour now moves to Grand Rapids, Michigan and will continue through the end of October. To support the Tampa 5, go to http://defendthetampa5.org.

#ChicagoIL #Tampa5 #CAARPR #UIC #PoliticalRepression

SDS took up a national campaign to save ethnic studies, women and gender's studies, faculty union rights, diversity programs, and more all year long.

After Tampa Bay SDS protesters were arrested and charged with felonies for protesting DeSantis in March 2023, SDS also took up a national campaign of “Drop the Charges on the Tampa 5!”

“This has been a year of truly heroic struggle all over this country and SDS has been on the front lines, ” Liz Rathburn said, from University of Illinois Chicago SDS, who is hosting the conference. “From Denver SDS winning the fight to demilitarize their campus police, to the Tampa 5 mobilizing hundreds of people all over the country to fight Republican attacks on the right to protest, there are a lot of exciting victories to celebrate and many ongoing fights to learn from at this year’s convention.”

SDS is inviting students and youth from all across the U.S. to attend, whether you have been fighting or want to learn how, and says in a statement:

“Our chapters, members, and friends across the campus movements will be traveling in from around the country to say, ‘Students Defend Education, Unions Strike Back!’

“We will host panels discussing how student activists are on the frontlines in the fight to defend ethnic studies, diversity programs, women's and genders studies, and cultural groups. We will feature students and staff undergoing political repression, whether they are fighting felony charges for protesting or facing firing from colleges and universities. We will include speakers from unions across campuses, hearing from faculty, staff and more fighters in the labor movement.

“Speakers so far include Aaron Krall, president of the UIC United Faculty; Gia Davila, a member of the Tampa 5 SDS members who protested Governor Ron DeSantis on March 6 is now facing 5 to 10 years in prison; Dr. Scott Heath from Loyola University of New Orleans, the director of the African and African American Studies programs, and one of their few tenure-track Black professors, who was recently fired; and more!

“SDS is looking to spread the fighting spirit of students from coast to coast, like a burning fire to light the way. We aim to not only protect our schools, but to win real victories that will improve campus life for all. And we are determined to grow the ranks of new generations of young people who are dedicated to fighting for a better society, on campus and off.

“Join us for our national convention and get involved with the student movement by joining Students for a Democratic Society!”

Please register to attend ASAP at this link.

#ChicagoIL #SDS #UIC #StudentMovement

Chicago, IL – The strike of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 and the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) shows no sign of ending. Starting when the INA, representing 1300 nurses walked out Saturday, September 12, the strike ballooned to 5300 on Monday, September 14, when Local 73 put down their brooms, keyboards and medical equipment to hit the picket lines.

Many people believe that the modern labor movement was born in a strike wave with the 1929 stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression. In fact, the first strikes during the depression were two years later, and there weren’t a large number of strikes until 1934. Since the pandemic triggered the deepest economic crisis since the 1930s, other than small strikes at Amazon and other warehouses, there have been no significant strikes to speak of.

Management at UIC certainly did not expect this strike, as the INA has never struck UIH, and Local 73 has only had one strike of several hundred workers in the professional civil service titles in 2012.

The deaths of four workers in the hospital, and the death of a nurse’s spouse due to management’s failure to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the sparks that launched the strike. For the Local 73 members, their anger focused on the death of Juan Martinez, a surgical technologist who had been a founder and leader of the Technical Workers bargaining unit. ( Link to a previous fightback!)

For INA, two nurses and the spouse of another nurse at UIH died of COVID this spring. One of the nurses who died, Joyce Pacubas-Le Blanc, was Filipina. Sheila Puntal, another Filipina nurse who contracted the virus because of management’s refusal to provide adequate PPE passed it to her husband, Anthony Walo, also Filipino, who died from it. Nurse Puntal gave heart breaking expression of her pain when she spoke to a strike rally on Tuesday, the 15, of how she brought the disease home that killed her husband.

At UIC, the vast majority of Local 73’s 4000 members are Black and Latino, and the INA’s 1300 members are mostly oppressed nationality as well. The largest number of nurses are Filipinos, but among the strikers there are also East Asians, South Asians, Latinos and Blacks. It is well known that disproportionately, all of these oppressed communities suffer much higher infection and death rates from COVID-19. This racist health disparity fuels much of the anger on the picket lines.

Nerissa Allegretti, a Filipina community organizer with the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, and a health worker herself, spoke to the INA rally on Saturday, September 12. “I came from a 12-hour night shift to join you this rainy day. The loss of lives of my fellow front-liners, nurses, health workers, essential workers and their families to COVID-19 could have been avoided if the UIC management acted on the need for PPE. My heart cries and is raging with fire for all the nurses and workers who are taken away from us not only because of COVID but because management doesn’t have a heart for its workers. When management ignores us, it is just to strike! Strike is life!”

All the nurses applauded, but the Filipinos among them echoed her derision when Allegretti cursed as she spoke about the crisis-ridden economic system in their homeland such that 6000 of their compatriots are forced to leave the Philippines daily for overseas work.

The nationwide rebellion emerges in the labor movement

There was another fuse that was lit this spring with the police murder of George Floyd. The greatest uprising of protests in U.S. history has occurred since May 25, with 20 million or more people having taken part in protests. In Chicago, perhaps 200,000 have been in the streets starting on May 30 when the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression brought 20,000 into the Loop to call for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

On Wednesday, September 15, strikers marched on the mansion home of Chancellor Michael Amiridis. One of the speakers was Angie Ross, a medical office specialist in physical therapy.

Ross stated, “It’s so good to see everybody joined together here today, showing how strong we really are. I’ve been a UIC employee for over eight years, and I’ve been in the battle with you all. Management treats us like we don’t matter. If someone is essential, you take care of them. PPE should be readily available to us in the office or in patient care. Why are we underpaid? We risk our lives every day. We stepped up to the plate against COVID, now UIC needs to step up and take care of us! We are humans: treat us like a human being! We make that hospital run. We make the campus run, and if you want us to continue to make it run, you need to step up to the plate and give us what we need.”

Listening to Ross, the crowd of more than 1000 workers was on fire. In fact, the tone of the strike by INA and Local 73 has been fired up since it began.

Ross – and Local 73 picket signs – used language from the uprising: Black lives matter. Also, Local 73 is led by its first Black president, Dian Palmer. President Palmer also led 7000 members, overwhelmingly Black and Latino out on strike against the Chicago Public Schools in the fall. And when the Chicago Alliance marched and drove into the Loop on May 30, Dian Palmer was there as well.

Also like the rebellion in the streets against police crimes, this strike in on the offense. SEIU strikers are not just trying to hold on to past gains, but instead demanding significant wage increases, and the nurses are demanding staffing levels like they have in California.

For all these reasons, the UIC strike is the biggest thing happening in labor in the country.

#ChicagoIL #UIC #PeoplesStruggles #SEIU #Strikes #SEIUStrike

Chicago, IL – 4000 workers represented by SEIU Local 73 at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) began an open-ended strike, September 14. They join 1300 nurses represented by the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) at the University of Illinois Hospital (UIH), who began a weeklong strike on Saturday, September 12. Central to both strikes is the demand for staffing measures to protect the health and safety of frontline workers, many of whom have been exposed to COVID-19.

The INA nurses’ three-year contract was set to expire in August but was extended to September. Over 20 bargaining sessions throughout the summer yielded little progress on a new contract, and the nurses authorized a strike in a 995 to 12 vote on August 20.

That same week, 94% of SEIU Local 73 members approved their own strike. Members of the local across the Clerical, Technical, Service & Maintenance, and Professional units at UIC have been without a contract for about a year.

Striking for or lives

Amid a growing economic crisis and pandemic, these contract fights have taken on an increasingly militant character. Partly, this reflects the backdrop of the ongoing protests sparked by George Floyd’s killing. The majority of the workers in SEIU Local 73 are Black and Latino, and many of the nurses are Filipino, Latino and Black, so the strike is a struggle for safety and for fair wages, but is also a struggle against institutional racism at UIC.

More immediately though, this is a fight for survival. Central to both unions’ contract negotiations is the demand that the administration provides adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and implement staffing measures that can potentially save lives.

Many hospital workers have only been given surgical masks and gloves for protection, and as far back as April, infections were spreading beyond the COVID-designated floors. In June, the Wall Street Journal used an image of the University of Illinois Hospital as the header for a story about COVID spread within hospitals, making UIH the poster child for failure to keep workers safe. As of September 12, about 270 UIH workers have tested positive for COVID-19, including at least 18 nurses.

In a vigil the Monday before the strike started, nurses at UIC honored two nurses, one of their husbands, and two frontline workers, all of who died as a result of infections in the workplace.

Safe patient limits

According to INA president and UIH nurse Doris Carroll, one of the most pressing demands is for limits on the number of patients assigned to each nurse, also known as safe patient limits or nurse-to-patient ratios.

Adequate staffing and PPE top the list of Local 73’s demands as well. The administration has refused to engage these demands during negotiations, and the local has filed unfair labor practice charges over UIC’s conduct. Altogether, management’s actions have left the workers of Local 73 feeling disrespected.

UIH sues, recruits strikebreakers from COVID hotspots

In response to the strike votes, the University of Illinois board of trustees sued to bar nurses and hospital technicians and technologists from striking, claiming that a strike by certain critical care nurses in 12 units would “cause a clear and present danger to public health and safety.” Those units are the medical and surgical COVID unit, bone marrow transplant unit, emergency department, labor and delivery unit, hematology oncology clinic, adolescent psychiatric comprehensive assessment and treatment unit, the center for women's health, and several ICU units.

A judge granted orders Friday to bar those job titles in those units from joining the strike, totaling 535 nurses and 300 Local 73 members. The barred workers still joined the picket lines before and after their shifts.

During a day of high-spirited marches and rallies in front of the hospital and around the medical center campus, nurses chanted against a hated administrator for trying to curry favor with them with cookies, instead of addressing safety for nurses and patients. A nurse dressed in a Cookie Monster costume in protest. INA President Carroll said the nurses were angry with chief nursing officer, Dr. Shelly Major. Carroll said, “Dr. Major is out of touch with the reality our nurses face each day when they come to work.”

Speaking of the management as the first strike day for Local 73 members began, Lavitta Steward, a program services aide in ophthalmology and a spokesperson for the clerical bargaining committee, said, “Management isn’t interested in a resolution, and now they’re trying to make us look like the bad guys because we decided to strike right now. Think about how desperate and fed up people must be to be willing to go without pay right now in such a time as this. UIC needs to hear us, to respect us, and they need to treat us better so we can translate that to the patients.”

#ChicagoIL #UIC #PeoplesStruggles #SEIU #strike #Strikes

Chicago, IL – At noon on Saturday, September 12, 500 nurses and their supporters rallied at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Earlier that morning, Illinois Nurses Association members went on strike after months of UI Hospital refusing to negotiate on safe staffing. Nurses say that the hospital is unsafe without a limit to the number of patients per nurse. Other demands include adequate access to PPE (personal protective equipment).

SEIU 73 President Dian Palmer spoke at the rally and announced that their 4000 members at UIC would be joining the nurses on strike Monday.

#ChicagoIL #UIC #SEIU #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes

Chicago, IL – SEIU Local 73, which represents about 4000 workers at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) gave notice of their intent to strike September 3. Key demands of the workers include safety, pay and respect. 94 % of the members voted for the open-ended strike which is set to begin on September 14.

1400 members of the Illinois Nurses Association at UIC have also voted to authorize a strike, which could begin as early as September 12.

The majority of UIC workers are Black or Latino who have faced a pattern of racist discrimination.

#ChicagoIL #UIC #SEIULocal73 #PeoplesStruggles #strike #Strikes

Chicago, IL – A University of Illinois health operating room technician, represented by SEIU Local 73, passed away this week of COVID-19 complications. An UI Health RN, represented by Illinois Nurses Association (INA), passed away last week. Over 200 hospital workers have tested positive for COVID-19. The two workers who died were not assigned to COVID-19 designated floors. There is a growth of infection outside the COVID-19 designated floors. Many employees throughout the hospital are only given surgical masks and gloves as protection.

“We are responding to the biggest crisis our country has seen in years. Public employees are on the frontlines working together to defeat this historic and deadly pandemic. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. Essential workers are risking their lives. Proper PPE will save lives. We make these demands so further deaths of UIC workers will be avoided,” said SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer.

“Our question for UIH is: How many nurses have to die before we get the protection we need? The employees who so tragically passed away this week did not have proper protection. Every nurse needs an N95 mask. We must do everything in our power to protect healthcare workers and their families from this deadly virus. UIH administration has not protected us,” said Doris Carroll, an RN at UIC Hospital and vice president of the Illinois Nurses Association.

INA and SEIU Local 73 are demanding the following to protect all workers and their families:

-- Universal PPE Standards for all workers – this means all employees providing patient care in UI Health Hospital and Clinics will be gowned, goggled or shielded, and provided proper N95 masks. All essential workers on campus will be provided nitrile gloves, proper masks and ready access to alcohol-based hand sanitizer and cleaning agents.

-- Universal free COVID-19 testing for any employee who requests it whether symptomatic or not.

-- Designate the entire hospital a “COVID Unit.”

-- All workers who can be working at home will be working at home throughout the shelter-in-place order.

-- Workers who must work on campus or in the hospital will be given time to perform self-care to keep their own immune systems strong by being fairly rotated through Excused Absence with Pay (EAP).

-- Individual workers and the union will be notified of potential exposure to COVID-19 as soon as the employer learns of it.

-- UIC will post appropriate signage and notification regarding all changes in policies and procedures in response to the pandemic, including but not limited to the above points.

#ChicagoIL #UIC #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #SEIU #PublicSectorUnions

Chicago, IL – On May 1, over 250 workers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) picketed to demand a fair contract. Many members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 have been without a contract for almost two years.

In February, the University of Illinois campus in downstate Urbana-Champaign, settled with Local 73 members there for a three-year deal with modest wage increases in each year. UIC workers are being offered a wage increase in only one year of a four year contract. This is despite the fact that the cost of living is higher in Chicago.

Samella Wright, an administrative worker, was picketing because of the history of a racist pay disparity at UIC. When UIC opened in 1965, the mainly Black workers were hired at wages $1 or $2 an hour less than the mainly white workers in Urbana-Champaign. SEIU Local 73 fought for years to win pay equity with Urbana, finally winning in 2001 for most job titles.

Ms. Wright started working at UIC right out of high school in the early 1970s. By the time her title re-ceived parity with her Urbana counterpart, she had worked 60,000 hours at the lower pay rate. When the UIC workers finally gained the Urbana pay grade, there was no back pay in the agreement.

Mood of the masses

The Local 73 members who marched included building service and food service workers, nurses aides, medical assistants, lab techs and professionals. Jeff McCaster, a union steward and member of the Service and Maintenance bargaining committee helped lead chants. After the picket line, he said, “The members are ready for a fight for the deal that Urbana got.” Regina Russell, a customer service repre-sentative and part of the clerical bargaining team, said “The members in Patient Access are pissed off that once again, the university is introducing unequal wages and discriminating against us.”

The picketers started with the chant: “One, two, three, four! We won't take it anymore. Five, six, seven, eight, UI must not discriminate!”

As the picket line swelled, another chant rose from the crowd. “U – I, you know, racist treatment has got to go!” And then the mainly Black and Latino union members took up the chant from the Black Lives Matter movement, “What do we want? Justice? And if we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

More than 4000 workers are covered by the four expired contracts. Bargaining will continue in the coming days with a federal mediator.

#ChicagoIL #UIC #SEIULocal73 #Mayday

On March 7, 100 student leaders from the Young Democrats, Students for Justice in Palestine, the Black Student Union, Muslim Student Association, Mexican Students of Aztlan, fraternities, sororities, the student government, and numerous campus groups met to plan a protest. According to Juan Rojas, Casandra Robledo, Usama Ibrahim and Nathaniel Lewis, leaders of the coalition, the message they will bring is, “Fight the hatred Trump is bringing to UIC.”

The protest will gather at 4:30 in the Quad at the center of campus, then march to the Pavilion, the arena where Trump and his racist followers will rally. The protest opposes Trump’s presence on campus, where a majority of the 30,000 students are oppressed nationality, including Black, Chicano and Puerto Rican; immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America; India and Pakistan; China, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In addition, perhaps 10% of the student body is Muslim.

Community groups, including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, will join the protest. Frank Chapman of the Alliance explained that, together with the students, “We will fight back and we will win.”

#ChicagoIL #UIC #US #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #Antifascism #Elections #Trump

Chicago, IL – Around 200 workers, students, and special guests from the Illinois state legislature came out for an energized protest against the Board of Trustees meeting, May 20, at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Protestors demanded that the incoming University of Illinois president Michael Hogan turn down his $170,000 raise, chanting, “Chop from the Top!” Members of SEIU Local 73 in conjunction with the coalition UIC-ABC (Against Budget Cuts) organized the picket and rally.

The protest came on the heels of a recent announcement that the new University of Illinois president Hogan is to receive a whopping 37% increase in salary, totaling $620,000 a year, while workers are still struggling for a fair contract, and students’ tuition was hiked up by nearly 10% the same day of the protest.

“It is insulting on the day the University of Illinois is going to raise tuition — they are going to give a salary increase to the new president,” said state Sen. Martin Sandoval. “This is supposed to be an institution for the working class and poor!” he exclaimed later.

Regina Russell, a clerical worker and member of Local 73’s executive board, asked, “If the university UIC is in a budget crisis, but they can hire a president making so much more money, where is our fair share?” 2700 members of Local 73 have been without contracts at UIC for almost a year, have faced layoffs and the threat of unpaid furlough days. In April, the clerical workers voted overwhelmingly to strike if an agreement is not reached at the bargaining table.

Kait McIntyre from UIC Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) also condemned the rising tuition costs and cuts to basic student services. “The University of Illinois system has made it quite clear that they value profits for the rich above the students, teachers, and workers of UIC. They consider education a business rather than a basic right.”

Undergraduate students and those from the Graduate Employee Organization traveled from Urbana-Champaign to attend the protest. Chicago SDS members and activists from downstate pledged to network and form a statewide coalition of graduate workers, staff, and undergrad students to continue to fight for higher education in Illinois.

Workers and students vowed to stay united and protest until fair contracts are won, and UIC freezes its tuition. Many cited the massive protests for education rights on March 4 this year, and look forward to pressing the struggle forward.

#ChicagoIL #CapitalismAndEconomy #Labor #UIC #SEIULocal73 #ChopFromTheTop #UICABCAgainstBudgetCuts #UICStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

Students and community activists march at University of Illinois-Chicago, Feb. 25. The protest opposed military recruiters and ROTC on campus. Students from area colleges and high schools and veterans of Iraq and Vietnam joined the action. After a conference on the lessons of counter-recruitment efforts in the public schools and colleges in the Chicago area, the group occupied the front of the ROTC building on campus for fifteen minutes.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #News #UIC

“We demand Dr. Valerie Johnson be given tenure,” said Kip Bordelon, from the student group Diversity in Demand (DiD). He went on, “We demand UIC hire five African-American professors,” to replace five that have recently left. The mostly student demonstration also called for 12 more African-American and Latino professors in Liberal Arts and Sciences within a year.

Bordelon finished with a third demand for the reinstatement of the Minority Faculty Research Fund. This is a fund that had been in place to help retain the professors, but was recently cut by top bureaucrats at the campus.

Urban Mission?

Jason Lukasik, another member of DiD, said, “This campus is supposed to have an 'Urban Mission'– to aid the working class people of Chicago. But only 2% of the faculty are African-American, and only 4% are Latino.” The student body is almost 10% African-American and 14% Latino.

Tenure means job security for college teachers. At UIC, the number of tenured Black professors has been going down in recent years. Despite UIC's claim that it is committed to diversity, the number of Black students is half what it was 20 years ago. Almost 50% of white students graduate from UIC – less than 40% of Black students do.

'No Institutional Racism'

Feb. 6, DiD met with Stanley Fish, Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences. They went there to ask Fish for support for Professor Valerie Johnson. They told him that she was an excellent teacher for students of all races and nationalities, and a mentor to African-American students.

Fish was outright rude to the students. He dismissed their arguments, telling them they were “ignorant” on matters of tenure for faculty. His position was, according to Kevin Morrisette of DiD, “Fish wants us [students] to stick with diversity in general and not on diversity in faculty.”

Fish went on to say that UIC had no institutional racism. If this were true, there would be equality – the numbers of African American and Latino professors would be about the same percent as there are in Chicago. The same would be true of the student body; and the graduation rate would be equal – the percent of African-Americans and Latinos finishing UIC would be the same as whites.

For Fish to make such a statement just shows the truth in the old line from Malcolm X. Malcolm said, “A liberal is a man who goes to a lynching and can see both sides of the issue.”

According to Kip Bordelon, DiD will continue to mobilize students and community support to demand that UIC keep its word – hire and retain minority faculty.

#ChicagoIL #News #UIC #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #UniversityOfIllinois #TenureForProfessorJohnsonNow #DrValerieJohnson #KipBordelon #DiversityInDemand #DiD #MinorityFacultyResearchFund #JasonLukasik #hireAndRetainMinority

UIC has big plans for making itself into the “Harvard on Halsted.” It plans to do this by abandoning its urban mission, and disregarding the needs of students and communities of color. UIC has acted to raise entrance requirements; slowly phase out minority support programs and scholarships; neglect recruitment of students in city schools and minority faculty; and lastly, tear down existing poor and working class neighborhoods to build condominiums for the rich.

On October 21, the MSC held a rally to confront these problems, initiate greater solidarity among students and surrounding community members and to unite their grievances against UIC. Over 250 students, faculty and community members attended the rally, and many enthusiastically cheered the speakers.

To start things off, blues singer Jimmy Lee Robinson sang his 'Maxwell Street Teardown Blues,' which reminded us that UIC “may be big and financially tall, but that doesn't mean you can't fall. UIC that wasn't smart at all.” Maxwell Street was a neighborhood known for its diversity, a part of the city where many could come together to enjoy blues music and a street market. The University expansion has bulldozed the entire area. Blues legends such as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker played their music there. Now empty buildings, parking lots and plans to build luxury housing condemn Maxwell Street's lively working class roots.

Rene Maxwell, of the Coalition to Preserve Public Housing, rejected the University's elimination of ABLA public housing units. The University demolished housing units without replacing or properly compensating displaced residents whose homes are torn down. Former Dean, Phil Roberts, spoke of the long legacy of racism that UIC has perpetrated. Though UIC has a long history of discrimination, Roberts noted that the current Broski administration is by far the most ruthless and destructive.

November 17, the MSC conducted a teach-in on the history and current rollback of Affirmative Action, and how to preserve it. At the teach-in, professors, lawyers and past administrators emphasized the ongoing need to combat attacks on Affirmative Action and related this to current struggles at UIC.

Professor of History and African American Studies, Barbara Ransby, insisted that the more than fifty participants recognize the importance of fighting for education as a right and not a privilege, and said the education we fight for should be of good quality. Panelists emphasized that Affirmative Action was a direct descendent of Executive Order 11246 of 1964 and that this was the thirty-forth such order to combat job discrimination.

Because creating real equality through bureaucratic channels is a long, slow-moving process, speakers emphasized the need to preserve and enhance Affirmative Action. John Betancur, Professor of Urban Planning, suggested that we look beyond the limited public policy of Affirmative Action and demand more expansive measures to rectify past discrimination.

#ChicagoIL #UIC #MaxwellStreet #AffirmativeAction

Chicago, IL – The bosses at UIC Medical Center have a new weapon in their arsenal: privatization.

For years, management here has been cutting jobs, increasing workload, and tightening the screws on all of us. Their aim has been to make more profits for the salaries of the top doctors and administrators, and to ensure good rates of return for the Health Management Organizations (HMOs) and other healthcare corporations.

The workers here have fought them every inch of the way, and even won a few battles. Now the bosses are bringing in a heavier weapon. They have announced plans to privatize the Outpatient Clinics at the University of Chicago.

This is an attack against all hospital workers. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents the housekeepers, LPNs, station clerks, and medtechs who work in the Clinics. All stand to lose their jobs, as do the Registered Nurses (RNs) represented by the Illinois Nurses Association.

UIC Workers Plan to Fight Back

Earlier this year, housekeepers were targeted with job cuts. Militant action defeated that threat. More force needs to be brought to bear on the University to stop this new assault. As Local 73 chief steward Louis Diaz put it, “All workers are threatened by this attack. We have to unite – nurses, housekeepers, and clerks – to say no to job cuts, and no to privatization.”

Workers at UIC are planning a militant struggle to defeat this privatization plan. The fight will include pickets, rallies, petitions, pressuring politicians, and gathering community support. This will be a struggle for the future of UIC Hospital and Clinics.

Privatization Will Mean Union-Busting

Privatization will wipe out contracts with unions, like the INA and SEIU Local 73. It will mean that Civil Service jobs will be eliminated, along with job security, pensions and other benefits.

Also, if the Clinics are separated from the UIC Hospital, then the hospital is more likely to fail. It already faces future cuts from the federal government and from the HMOs, which are demanding lower operating costs from hospitals and other providers. Like a hot air balloon cut from its basket, the Clinics would soar while the Hospital plummeted to the ground.

The root cause of this is the profit motive, putting the interests of people after the moneyed interests. In the privatization scheme, ownership would be transferred from the State of Illinois to a “nonprofit” corporation made up of the top doctors. Mark Meadows, a housekeeper and Local 73 member summed up the reason for the move, “Before HMOs took over medicine, the doctors made most of the profits. Now the doctors are looking to get theirs back.”

Tracy McClendon, a clerk in the hospital, is getting involved in fighting against the threats because, “Working people have to refuse to go along with these moves. They aren't in our interests, or the interests of the people of Chicago. They only serve the handful of rich men that make the decisions.”

#ChicagoIL #News #UIC #SEIULocal73 #unionBusting