(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Part-time faculty members at Columbia College are in their fourth week of a strike, and they say the administration won't come to the bargaining table.
Columbia College Faculty Union President Diana Vallera said Friday the college has cut more than 350 courses between the current semester and spring 2024 -- meaning many class sizes have increased.
"If you have a large class size, you're not able to develop those relationships, you're not able to provide some of the emotional well-being for our students, and they come here for that,” Vallera said.
Striking film professor Jeffrey Smith says along with class size and quality, he's also concerned about what this means for him financially.
"We have to win this. We have to prove to them that we're serious about it, and we have to prove to them that they cannot just exercise raw power without consulting with people,” he said.
Representatives for the administration say there is a deadlock on “key issues.”
Given the continuing strike, the college has “an urgent need to make instructional and operational plans for spring,” according to a statement posted online.
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