On April 9, 2025, on Michigan Ave., directly in front of the MacLean and Lakeview buildings, Art Institute of Chicago’s Workers United organized a protest in support of the bargaining meeting for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Non Tenure Track Faculty happening later the same day. The protest included chants, speeches, and informative flyers detailing their nearly two years of bargaining efforts. Flyers included a link to their bargaining funds and multiple resources to contact the union. The protest concluded with a speech from Keefer Dunn, an adjunct associate professor in the Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects department and a bargaining member of AICWU.
Many faculty members were a part of the protest, voicing their demands.
When speaking to F Newsmagazine, Dunn said, “We know that to get the kind of contract that we deserve, that the school deserves, we have to make ourselves visible and make it known to the administration that we have the solidarity to shut this place down if we have to.” Dunn explained that the goal of the contract is to improve the working conditions for part-time faculty. Part time faculty often lack job security, which makes their lives precarious.
“It is very difficult for us to commit to this institution in the long term when we don’t know if we’ll have a job. We’re also not getting paid enough for the work that we do. So the goal for this contract is to try to fix those things as much as we can. That’s going to improve our lives as instructors, but we also think that it’ll have a positive effect on the school, making a more stable environment,” Dunn said.
Students were among the protesters, supporting their faculty.
“I’m participating because I love my faculty. Their living conditions affect our learning conditions. What happens outside of the school and in the back rooms and in everyone’s personal lives, that manifests here in the classroom. We can all feel it, and that changes how we learn and what we learn,” said a student worker who asked to be anonymous for fear of losing their job.
When asked about why they attended the protest, another student, M (BFA 2026) said, “In a word, solidarity. […] The school does not exist without the teachers, right? That’s why we all come here. They are not being treated fairly. They should be treated fairly. I think it’s very simple.”
AIWU members and supporters protest outside of the SAIC Maclean building at AICWU’s informational picket on April 9, 2025. Photos by Gren Bee.
Protester holds AICWU’s lion mascot at AICWU’s informational picket.
A protester at AICWU’s informational picket holds a sign that says “2 years?! ENOUGH is ENOUGH Fair contract now.”
A protester at AICWU’s informational picket holds a sign that says “STOP STONE-WALLING FAIR CONTRACT NOW.”
A protester at AICWU’s informational picket holds a sign that says “WE ARE NOT TEMPORARY.”
AIWU members and supporting protestors circle outside of the SAIC MacLean building at AICWU’s informational picket.
AIWU members and supporting protestors circle outside of the SAIC MacLean building at AICWU’s informational picket.
