
Ratification Meeting and Vote

We Make the University of Illinois Happen!
According to our Constitution, there are 9 (nine) areas on campus and 3 (three) areas off campus. Use the maps and list below to determine which area you work in and are eligible to represent.
Nominations are being accepted now through January 12th, 2021 and the election (if needed) will be held on January 19th 2021.
Area 1: North of Springfield, except East of Goodwin, then North of Stoughton
Area 2: North of Green, except East of Goodwin, then North of Illinois, except East of Gregory, then North of Oregon, and South of Area 1.
Area 3: West of Wright. South of Green, and North of Armory.
Area 4: South of Green, East of Wright, West of Mathews, and North of Armory extended, except for Gregory Hall.
Area 5: East of Mathews. South of Area 2, and North of the bike path that extends from Armory to Lincoln.
Area 6: South of Armory extended, except including Gregory Hall, East of Fourth St, except not the block that includes the Armory and Harding Band Building, North of Pennsylvania, and West Mathews extended (North of Gregory) and West of a line through the center of the South Quad (but including the Stock Pavilion}.
Area 7: South of Area 5, East of Area 6, and North of Pennsylvania.
Area 8: South of Armory, East of Fourth, except including the block that includes the Armory and Harding Band Building, and except South of Kirby then East of Wright, and North of St. Mary’s.
Area 9: South of Pennsylvania, except excluding the area South of Kirby and North of St. Mary’s and West of Wright. and South of Area 8, including all off-campus buildings in the metro area South of St. Mary’s such as Illini Plaza & Willard Airport.
Area 10: All buildings contained within the counties of the Extension Region 1.
Area 11: All buildings contained within the counties of the Extension Region 2.
Area 12: All buildings (except those within Areas 1-9) contained within the counties of the Extension Region 3. This includes Extension offices in Champaign County.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019
Contact: Omar Tewfik
Email: otewfik@afscme.org
Gain of 9,000 new working members and 19,000 retirees, despite Janus v. AFSCME decision and right-wing efforts to ‘defund and defang’ public service unions and urging members to quit
Overall, union retained 94 percent of all represented workers, defying expectations over Supreme Court decision fallout
WASHINGTON — The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) submitted its annual LM-2 filing with the Department of Labor, which requires all unions to report the number of members and agency fee payers they represent. AFSCME’s filing shows a gain of 9,097 dues-paying members and 18,638 dues-paying retirees over the union’s report last year, suggesting that efforts by the billionaires and corporations behind the Janus v. AFSCME case and the anti-worker majority of the United States Supreme Court to “defund and defang” public service unions have fallen flat.
The report is the first since Janus v. AFSCME, the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling which heldthat requiring fees from public service workers who receive union benefits but choose not to join the union is unconstitutional. In the wake of the decision, the report shows that, overall, the union retained 94 percent of workers it represents, including both dues-paying members and fee payers. According to the report, AFSCME represents 1,329,594 working members, agency fee payers in the private sector and retirees, compared to 1,411,877 reported last year. Though this represents a bottom-line decrease of 6 percent thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision, it crushed union analysts’ expectations, which anticipated a loss upwards of 30 percent.
“In overwhelming numbers, AFSCME members have blunted the attacks of the wealthy special interests and chose to stick with their union. Nurses, school employees, corrections officers, emergency medical technicians and others will not forfeit their seat at their table or let their voices be silenced. They will continue to assert their rights and freedoms,” said Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME.
The union’s AFSCME Strong campaign, launched in 2014, was essential to this success. AFSCME Strong represented a major culture shift, prioritizing one-on-one conversations and member-to-member engagement, modernized communications, a state-of-the art data infrastructure, and political engagement that has seen members advocating for and mobilizing behind candidates who support working families. In all, AFSCME Strong resulted in more than 1 million conversations between AFSCME members about the value of union membership since 2014.
Since 2016, AFSCME has won 245 organizing campaigns and has ramped up those efforts across the country in both the public and private sectors.
There is also momentum in public and political support for unions and pro-worker solutions to a rigged system in which the richest few continue to take advantage of working people. At 62 percent, unions have reached their highest level of support in 15 years. Meanwhile, lawmakers and presidential candidates are increasingly advocating pro-worker policies, from a living wage to universal health care to student debt.
“Public service workers never quit doing everything possible to keep their communities safe and strong. The best way to do that is to come together in a strong union and negotiate for improvements that benefit everyone – lower nurse-patient ratios, smaller classroom sizes, better equipment for EMTs and higher funding for road repairs,” said Saunders.
Meanwhile, right-wing groups continue to rely on courts to implement an unpopular anti-worker agenda. But AFSCME and other public service unions continue to rack up victories in these cases:
“The Janus case taught us two things: first, the anti-worker Supreme Court majority cares more about rigging the system in favor of corporate interests than about facts and precedent,” said Saunders. “Second, public service workers are resilient and see the value of union membership. We will not let five justices determine the future of our union. We will fight any attempt to break our bonds of solidarity. We will continue to build power together to lift up our families and our communities.”
AFSCME members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in communities across the nation, serving in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and freedom and opportunity for all working families.
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American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
1625 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-5687
Telephone: 202-429-1145
Fax: 202-429-1120
As some of you may have already heard, the Office Support and Clerk lines are merging; this change is effective May 1, 2019.
We know folks will have a lot of questions about the merger so we’ve put together a FAQ. There’s a lot of information below but if you have a question we didn’t cover, feel free to email us.
As you probably know, due to the actions of the Champaign Unit 4 School Board and Administration, it is quite likely that our sisters and brothers of the Champaign Federation of Teachers will be forced to strike to get a fair contract. You can review the current offers from either side if you click here. The strike date is currently set for Monday, November 26, just one week away.
I realize that we are entering a holiday week, but I am asking you all to do what you can to help our comrades prepare or to help them ward off the need for a strike.
1) Please reach out to the Champaign School Board, and urge them to reach agreement with the teachers. The members of the School Board are:
Chris Kloeppel* (Board President)
Amy Armstrong* (Vice President)
Kathy Shannon*
Kathy Richards*
Heather Vazquez
Gianina Baker
Bruce Brown
*up for re-election in spring, 2019
Contact information for them is at: https://www.champaignschools.org/pages/board/members
2) Here is a link to a gofundme campaign to support the teachers while they are on strike:
https://www.gofundme.com/solidarity-striking-teacher-emergency-fund
3) Here is a link to a gofundme campaign to support the students who rely on school programs for 1-2 of their meals each day:
https://www.gofundme.com/strike-lunch-distribution-for-students
If you or your local is looking for additional ways to support the Teachers, please contact Jon Nadler at jnadler@ift-aft.org.