Part-time faculty members at Columbia College hold a rally on Oct. 30, 2023. (WTTW News)
After nearly 50 days of what was the longest work stoppage of its kind, hundreds of part-time faculty members at Columbia College Chicago have reached a tentative agreement to end their strike.
College administrators and the Columbia College Faculty Union (CFAC) — which represents nearly 600 adjunct faculty members — jointly announced the tentative deal that would put an end to the record-long strike.
“This agreement makes important progress towards ensuring that Columbia puts students’ educational needs and faculty equity above profits, but there is still much work to do,” Diana Vallera, CFAC president and photography professor, said in a statement.
The tentative agreement comes 49 days after the union’s work stoppage began, back in October, making it the longest ever for adjunct faculty in higher education.
Issues arose amid ongoing contract negotiations, which began earlier this year. But tensions increased weeks before the academic year began when Columbia College eliminated more than 50 class sections for the current fall semester and 317 class sections for the upcoming spring semester — courses typically taught by part-time faculty.
The union demanded “significant course restorations” for the spring semester, appropriate class sizes and job security for part-time employees, who typically work on semester-to-semester contracts.
The college said it offered the union pay increases and expanded health care benefits, along with a pledge to restore 50 course sections to the spring schedule and create an advisory committee on class sizes.
But Columbia officials said the course reductions were a necessary response to “enrollment and financial realities.”
Neither union nor Columbia College officials disclosed details of the deal, saying those would be made public after the agreement is ratified by CFAC members.
That ratification vote could happen as soon as this week, and if it is approved, the upcoming spring semester would proceed as normal.
