UPDATE Non-tenure track faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana campus voted Thursday to ratify their first-ever contract.

Non-tenure track faculty have launched another strike at the University of Illinois Urbana campus, that could last up to five days. Meanwhile, federally mediated contract talks with the university administration were scheduled to resume Thursday morning.

Members of the union representing non-tenure-track faculty at the University of Illinois went on strike Tuesday morning, launching a two-day work stoppage.  In a mass e-mail, administrators questioned the goals of the strike, saying tentative agreements have been reached in 14 areas, including several "key items."  But Union President Shawn Gilmore called those areas "small."

Frustrated by what they see as a lack of progress in contract negotiations, the Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition will hold a strike authorization vote for its members at the University of Illinois Urbana campus next week.