Benefits of IEA membership

• Go to the Discounts drop-down menu at the top of the page
• Click on NEA Member Benefits​​​

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Register for the IEA One Conference 

Dine and discuss higher education funding or other concerns with state legislators Friday evening during the One Conference. The higher education dinner is scheduled for Oct. 20, followed by the conference on Saturday at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Oak Brook.

Sessions include an update on unemployment insurance benefits for contingent faculty; understanding the implications of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on college students; and workshops on activism, crafting resistance, engaging students with online sources to enhance discussion, and developing engaging presentations.

For my money, the best part of the conference is getting to know other activists and getting more involved.

Contact Stuart Templeton, HCAFA membership chair,  at hcafamembership@gmail.com if you are interested in attending.  You may be able to attend with HCAFA at no cost to you!

One Conference links:

• One Conference landing page
• Registration process and fees
• Scholarship/funding request application form offered by the IEA
• One Conference promo video

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The Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed a school funding plan that revamps the way schools are funded, but also implements a temporary voucher program and allows districts to ask for fewer physical education classes and hire outside companies for drivers education classes.

The bill passed on a 38-13 vote. It will now go to the desk of Gov. Bruce Rauner for his approval. The bill struggled a bit more in the House the night before — first failing to pass, prompting Representatives to vote on an override of Rauner’s amendatory veto of the original school funding proposal of Senate Bill 1, a vote which also failed. And, then finally passed upon a reconsideration.

IEA President Kathi Griffin urged Rauner not to sign the bill because it takes money away from public education and gives it to wealthy tax donors through a personal tax break in the same bill that finally provides fair funding to Illinois schools — and there is no funding set aside for this voucher program.

“In addition, provisions in this bill that allow districts to outsource drivers education programs and cut back physical education classes hurt students and their families,” Griffin said. “The IEA will be working to educate communities and families on how to minimize the negative impact these provisions could have on their communities.”

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Supreme Court Ruling Sidesteps Questions Regarding State Constitutional Protections for Public Education

By Staci Maiers

Supreme Court affirmative action:  In a narrowly written decision, the Supreme Court held in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer that Missouri could not refuse a playground grant to a church solely due to the fact that the church is a religious institution. In so holding, the court noted that the case involved express discrimination based on religious identity with respect to such a grant, and that the court was not “address[ing] religious uses of funding or other forms of discrimination.”

The court’s refusal to rule broadly will surely be a disappointment to school voucher proponents who had sought to use the dispute over playground resurfacing grants to undermine state constitutional protections for public education. Continue reading →

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It’s very important for each of us to take action regarding the budget impasse in Springfield.  We have a lot at stake.  Please read the following letter from IEA’s Higher Ed Council Chair and then click on the link below to contact your representatives and senators.  We must work together.

HCAFA President,  Charmian Tashjian

Dear IEA Higher ED Leaders

The budget impasse in Illinois is nearing the cliff with the end of the fiscal year on Friday, June 30.  There’s a real possibility that higher education funding will once again be kicked to the curb.  This time, as recent news reports (https://www.usnews.com/news/ best-states/illinois/articles/ 2017-06-28/illinois- universities-in-jeopardy-of- losing-accreditation) have suggested, the result may be a loss of accreditation for Illinois colleges and universities.  This is unacceptable!

Please contact your Representatives and Senators on Friday, June 30, urging them to pass a budget which restores funding to higher education and averts the disaster of continued defunding and loss of accreditation.  Our members (faculty, staff, graduate students), the students who are building their futures in public higher education, and the communities which benefit in so many ways from the presence of colleges and universities, need the support of responsible legislators in Springfield.

Follow this link to contact your legislators:   http://www.capwiz.com/nea/il/ home/

Also coming up:  we’re looking for volunteers to do canvassing on higher education issues among union members in targeted legislative districts in the near future (the weekends of July 8 and July 15).  Stay tuned for more details.

Please send this request to your members. It is up to us!
In solidarity,
Beverly Stewart
Higher Ed Council Chair

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In case you were unable to attend the unemployment seminar held recently to inform adjuncts of the possibility of their obtaining unemployment compensation, you might be interested in these two attachments

Unemployment slide show 2017

Unemployment Compensation Links 2017

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Dear HCAFA members,

In celebration of May Day this year, HCAFA is asking our members to WEAR RED during the week of May 1-5. If asked before or after class time, tell your students about the importance of Unions for all workers.

This is how child labor laws were begun, how safety at work got started and how the rights of all workers are guaranteed. Unions set the standards for all workers and changed the laws so all are protected.

May 1 is International Workers’ Day.

If you would like to share the historical information, May 1, 1886 was the first May Day when thousands of workers across the U.S. walked off their jobs in support of the new concept of the eight-hour workday. Chicago was the epicenter of the movement which culminated in the infamous Haymarket Square Massacre.  If it were not for the union movement then and now, the eight-hour workday, the five-day work week, minimum wage — and, indeed the middle class — would not exist in this country.

Thank you for educating our students and others about the importance of unions.

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