Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson | Brandon for Chicago/Facebook
Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson | Brandon for Chicago/Facebook
Brandon Johnson, mayor-elect of Chicago, joined the professors on strike at Chicago State University on April 10.
“I’m here to demonstrate and show solidarity with you all today and prepared to collaborate with all of the stakeholders to make sure that you all get a fair contract and that the services that the Chicago State University provides — that those services are delivered,” Johnson announced, according to Chicago Business.
Johnson, who defeated challenger Paul Vallas in a runoff election earlier this month and has yet to officially take office, is believed to be the first Chicago mayor-elect to join an active strike, especially one that involves a state university, whose budgets are overseen by the governor’s office.
Since the March 4 election, Johnson has met with Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL). The two hoped to forge a solid partnership to make progress on common goals. However, Pritzker is on record asserting that he does not support Johnson's financial services tax. The governor believes it would force companies to conduct the transactions elsewhere.
The CSU chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 union represents some 160 faculty lecturers, academic support professionals and technical support staff.
According to CBS Chicago, the president of CSU UPI, Dr. Valerie Goss, shared that they've been striving to raise faculty compensation for a while. The university has about 1,600 undergraduate students and 1,300 graduate students.
"We have made it clear all along that we expect the CSU administration to prioritize the needs of our students by offering fair and equitable compensation for the faculty who serve them," Goss told CBS Chicago.
The Illinois government failed to respond after the university made its requests, which led faculty to proceed to other options.
"Even as our strike deadline approached, they refused to do so," Goss said, according to CBS Chicago. "The administration has pushed us to this point; we didn't want it to come to this. Now we must do what is necessary to provide our students with the education and support they deserve. We must strike."
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