South Holland, IL - Faculty at South Suburban College have voted to authorize a strike. With a resounding 96% yes vote, the faculty union announced at the November 14th Board of Trustees meeting that they are ready to call a strike if and when it becomes necessary.
"We don't want to strike, but we will do what we must to ensure our students and community have access to the education they deserve. Faculty must be paid fairly and we are ready to strike to bring needed change to the college," said SSC Faculty President Jamie Welling.
SSC faculty are the lowest paid in the state of Illinois. Many of the faculty members have second and even third jobs due to the poor wages offered at South Suburban. The faculty union, representing nearly 60 faculty members, has been in contract negotiations for eight months. Their contract expired in August of 2024. The college has thus far refused to offer pay increases that would put SSC faculty on par with their peers at other community colleges. Faculty are the backbone of SSC's curriculum, instruction, and student learning. The faculty union remains willing and eager to negotiate a fair contract that will benefit the entire college community. A strike date has not yet been set.
The Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600, represents more than 5,000 members at 14 community colleges in the Chicago region, including South Suburban College. CCCTU is affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Chicago Federation of Labor, and the American Federation of Teachers.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) represents 103,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in PreK-12 school districts throughout Illinois, faculty and staff at Illinois’ community colleges and universities, public employees under every statewide elected constitutional officer, and retirees.