Higher Education Collective Bargaining Conference & Training

Higher Education Collective Bargaining Conference & Training

September 14-15, 2023
University of Illinois-Chicago

The National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College, the University of Illinois System, and the University of Illinois School of Labor & Employment Relations’ Labor Education Program are joining forces to bring you a two-day collective bargaining workshop training in Chicago.

This workshop & training is aimed at lead negotiators and bargaining team members within higher education.

Join us September 14 and 15 at the University of Illinois-Chicago Student Center East, located on Halsted Street just south of the Jane Byrne Interchange.

Registration & Wait List – Closed

We are sold out! Our wait list is also closed. We thank you for the overwhelming interest in this workshop and training.

Conference Materials

• Conference schedule (current as of 9/7/23)
• Conference Program (current as of 9/12/23)
• Panelist and Facilitator Bios (current as of 9/12/23)
• Collective Bargaining for Academic Freedom and Its Enforcement: A Guidebook for AAUP Chapters
• Herbert, In the Beginning, Long Time Ago: A Brief History of the National Center’s Origin and Evolution 2023
• Herbert, Apkarian, and van der Naald, Union Organizing and Strikes in Higher Education: The 2022-2023 Upsurge in Historical Context in Milkman and van der Naald, State of the Unions 2023
• Herbert, Apkarian, and van der Naald, 2020 Supplementary Directory of New Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education

Parking

Parking 

For all events taking place in Student Center East‚ parking is available in the Halsted and Taylor Street Parking Structure (760 West Taylor Street). The entrance to this parking structure is on Taylor Street. Upon entry‚ guests should take a ticket and upon exit‚ guests should present this ticket to the cashier and pay the appropriate total (cash‚ debit cards‚ and credit cards are accepted at this lot). Cost is $15 for the day. Parking after 3pm for evening events is $9.

Nursing Space

The Lactation Room in Student Center East is on the second floor in the Commuter Student Resource Center (CSRC)-enter through Wellness Center, 237 SCE (west side of Inner circle); go to front desk to obtain key (notify that they are with a conference on the 3^rd floor). Call 312-413-7440 with any questions.

Confirmed Sessions, Speakers, and Facilitators 

The following is a list of confirmed panels and separate labor (L) and administrator (A) sessions and joint facilitated sessions on collective bargaining:

Panel: Best Practices in Collective Bargaining I

Robb Craddock, Executive Director of Labor, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
Robert Bloch, Dowd, Bloch, Bennett, Cervone, Auerbach & Yokich, LLP
Mike Newman, Deputy Director, AFSCME Council 31
Richard W. Fanning, Jr, Clark Hill
Terry Curry, Moderator, Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources Emeritus, Professor Emeritus, School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Michigan State University

Panel: Best Practices in Collective Bargaining II

Melissa Sortman, Director, Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, Michigan State University
Diana Valera, President CFAC/IFT, Columbia College
Mark Bennettt, Lander Muchin
Elizabeth Towell, SEIU Local 73
Moderator: Marcia Mackey, Michigan Education Association

Panel: 10 Best Practice Tips from Experienced Labor Arbitrators

Betty Widgeon, Arbitrator, Moderator and Panelist
Meeta Bass, Arbitrator
Cary Morgen, Arbitrator

Panel: Legal Obligations under Public Sector Statutes and NLRA

Angie Cowan Hamada, NLRB Region 13 Director
Ellen Strizak, General Counsel, Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board
Sidney McBride, Director, Michigan Employment Relations Commission
Moderator: Alice Johnson, General Counsel Cook College Teachers Union

Panel: Collective Bargaining, Discrimination, Affirmative Action, & Title IX

Risa Lieberwitz, Professor of Labor and Employment Law, Cornell ILR and AAUP General Counsel
Julie Miceli, Husch Blackwell
Augustus Wood, Assistant Professor, School of Labor & Employment Relations, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Ricky Baldwin, Assistant Director, State Division, SEIU Local 73
Moderator and Panelist: Karen Stubaus, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rutgers University and National Center Affiliated Researcher

Facilitated Session: Unit Composition, Ground Rules, Information Demands, Tactics and Strategies (L)

Facilitators:

Nicholas Christen, Director of Field and Organizing, IFT
Robert Bruno, Director of the Labor Education Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Facilitated Session: Unit Composition, Ground Rules, Information Demands, Tactics and Strategies (A)

Facilitators:

Alexandra Matish, Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan
Melissa Mlynski, Associate Vice Chancellor HR, University of Illinois-Springfield

Facilitated Session: Just Cause, Tenure, Job Security, and Appointment Length (L)

Facilitators:

Rachel Tollett, UniServ Director, Illinois Education Association
Aaron Krall, President, UIC United Faculty
Moderator: Stephanie Fortado, Assistant Teaching Professor and Co-Director of Regina V. Polk Women’s Labor Leadership Program

Facilitated Session: Just Cause, Tenure, Job Security, and Appointment Length (A)

Facilitators:   

Dominick Fannelli, Director, Labor Relations, University of Michigan
Michelle Jackson, Associate Director of Labor & Employee Relations, University of Illinois-Chicago

Joint Facilitated Session: Post-Pandemic Remote Work and Technology Issues

Facilitators:

Keino Robinson, Director of Labor and Employee Relations, University of Illinois-Chicago
Kate Birdsall, President, Union of Non-Tenure Track Faculty, AFT Local 1855, Michigan State University

Facilitated Session: Compensation and Workload (L)

Facilitators:

Melinda Bunnage, Director of Higher Division, SEIU Local 73
Gretchen McNamara, Ohio AAUP Conference President and Chief Negotiator AAUP-WSU

Facilitated Session: Compensation and Workload (A)

Facilitators:

Jeffrey Frumkin, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Human Resources, Emeritus, University of Michigan
Benjamin Superfine, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Relations, University of Illinois-Chicago

Panel: Community Colleges-Distinct Bargaining Issues and Challenges

Brandy Vanderhovel, UniServ Director Michigan Education Association
Tony Johnston, Cook County Teachers Union Local 1600 President
Andre’ L. Poplar, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Oakland Community College
Robert Boonin, Dykema Gossett, PLLC
Moderator: Joshua Welker, Dean of Business and Institutional Effectiveness, John Wood Community College

Joint Facilitated Session: Negotiating over Sick Leave, Childcare Leave, Union Leave, and General Wellness Provisions

Charitianne Williams, UIC United Faculty
Julie Dillard Assistant Director of Labor, University of Illinois-at Urbana-Champaign

Panel Discussion: Academic Freedom and First Amendment Free Speech Issues in Higher Education

Joerg Tiede, AAUP Director of Research
Thomas S.Bradley, Lander Muchin
Charlotte Garden, Law Professor, University of Minnesota
Moderator: Stephen A. Yokich, Bloch, Bennett, Cervone, Auerbach & Yokich, LLP