Columbia College Faculty Union Strike Fund

About CFAC

The Columbia Faculty Union represents the interests of faculty at Columbia College Chicago. Part-time faculty are 72.5% of the faculty at Columbia and are deeply committed to the quality of our students’ education. We bring professional expertise into the classroom; we are high achievers in media arts, fine arts, arts management, and other fields. Columbia was founded as a college where part-time faculty would be honored for their dedication to their students and their professions.

Why Are We Striking?

We strike because we've reached a pivotal moment to protect the quality of education and working conditions at our college. The harms posed by class cancellations, increases in class sizes, and other cost-saving measures are real and significant, and the college's administration has shown little interest in working with us to resolve these issues. We filed Unfair Labor Practices and an injunction and eagerly await the court's decisions, but we can't wait any longer while President Kim and the Provost attempt to dismantle the school we built for their own profit.

We seek basic human rights (a living wage, health insurance, job security); a stop to the Provost’s “section elimination project”; we demand that the administration put student learning, mental health, and quality of education first; we ask that no administrator receive bonuses during this crisis; and if any reduction in pay occurs, it needs to be done in an equitable way.

What are the Issues?

Our strike begins over concerns about the President and Provost's decision to eliminate roughly 350 part-time faculty courses and increase class sizes just two weeks before the start of fall semester. This decision, made by a few at the top without any notice to the union or consultation with stakeholders, places the burden of the President and Provost's years of bad management squarely on the shoulders of those most on the margins: our students and our part-time faculty, who work without benefits and without a living wage. The President and Provost's actions, which directly affect academic learning and retention, are unethical and unconscionable, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At its core, however, our strike highlights broader issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion (DEI) happening across our country. Our college's commitment to DEI is called into question when the top-level administration's handling of budgetary decisions disproportionately affects those on the margins. This situation underscores concerns about systemic inequities within the institution and the college's failure to dismantle these structures effectively, and our strike aims to hold the college accountable for its actions, demand transparency in financial decision-making, and advocate for a more equitable distribution of any budget cuts deemed necessary by the whole while protecting the most vulnerable faculty and ensuring the best interests of our students.

For more information and key documents, please visit our website and follow us on Instagram at CFAC_strong.