KevinHutchings.ca

UNBC Faculty Association Strike Action March 9th, 2015

 

 

Today marks the third day of UNBC Faculty Association strike action against the University of Northern British Columbia, and I’ll be back out on the picket line with my colleagues to demand a fair contract for UNBC professors.  Our university’s senior administrators love nothing more than to boast about UNBC’s consistent “best in the west” McLean’s rankings, but when it comes to faculty compensation they believe we deserve to be one of the lowest paid faculties in Canada—by an average of 20 per cent compared to other small institutions! 

The administration loudly proclaims that our demands for improved wages will break the bank, costing the university millions of unaffordable dollars and harming student programs as a result (this at a university that has recently spent unnecessary millions to celebrate UNBC’s 25th anniversary, fully renovate the student cafeteria, remove kitchens from student residences, install underground sprinklers outside the Administration Building, etc.).

The university’s priorities are misguided and its claims patently untrue.  Here are the facts:

1. We are NOT asking for an across-the-board increase! Our proposal is a 0% general wage increase (GWI).
2. We are asking for a re-mapping of UNBC salaries to eliminate the anomalies that our CDI structure, and PSEC constraints, have created.
3. UNBC has the money to pay for this now. They will not need additional provincial funding to pay for this.

Our strike action simply aims to change the administration’s priorities to favour long-term sustainability (through retention of great faculty) rather than expensive dorm renos (that many students tell me they don’t want or need) and anniversary celebrations.

This morning when I checked my inbox I was heartened to see strong messages of support from local, provincial, and national unions as well as from the faculty associations at Brock, Western, U of Toronto, Regina, Lakehead, Mount Allison, St. FX, UBC, SFU, UVic, Royal Roads, Dalhousie, and St. Mary’s.

Most heart-warming of all is the support of our students, many of whom came out to cheer at our weekend rally and who have shown up on our picket lines to support our cause, which they recognize as their own.  We are in this together.  Let’s stay united in solidarity to fix this broken institution so that classes can resume without delay!