It is an ongoing activity of the Union, as central to our mission as any other. But it is, for the most part, sheltered from publicity. And just as the article 10 years ago began with a report of an appreciative letter from three faculty members with whom our grievance committee had worked intensively for a period of at least two years, today we can begin by noting that we have just received a substantial financial contribution from a faculty member whose case, even more protracted and contentious than the earlier one, recently was resolved to his satisfaction. Furthermore, when employees in conflict with the University achieve satisfaction, the administration is especially inclined to withhold the details, thereby reducing the likelihood of such cases serving as precedents. The UPE is gratified to have contributed to some of these results.
Institutional dynamics evolve, the actors change, and each case is unique.
But because our efforts to assist colleagues who have been treated unfairly have been more or less continuous for at least 30 years, the UPE does maintain a keen awareness of trends in grievance processing on the UIUC campus. Grievants, often relative newcomers to the campus, can benefit from the UPE 's knowledge of the history and membership of, say, the Faculty Advisory Committee and Professional Advisory Committee. In the process of receiving this sort of institutional information and analysis, most individuals, who otherwise would be alone in formulating and implementing responses and strategies, experience a considerable boost in morale and courage. The remarks about grievances in the administration's recent 12-page broadside opposing unionization of graduate assistants afford considerable insight into the difficulties facing any UIUC employees who are unfairly laid off, disciplined, harassed, or otherwise subjected to wrongful treatment on the job. The administration's document claims that existing and largely informal ways of operating work to the advantage of grievants.