Concordia faculty and administration reach agreement ending 'landmark' strike
Students at Concordia University of Edmonton will return to classes Wednesday after faculty members ratified a new collective agreement ending a nearly 12-day strike.
The faculty association and university administration announced the agreement Saturday afternoon in online statements. Eighty-nine per cent of membership voted in favour of ratification.
"There's a lot of relief," Glynis Price, Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association (CUEFA) president, told CTV News.
"It's been an intense time," she added. "To be able to make modest gains and get back into the classroom, so the entire term wasn't lost for our students was a decision we decided to take."
The strike began on Jan. 4, marking a first for faculty associations in Alberta. Bargaining started last spring but stalled in the remaining months. CUEFA — representing librarians, full-time professors, and lab instructors — issued a strike notice on Dec. 22, barring an amenable deal.
"Throughout the bargaining process, negotiations with the CUEFA remained productive and respectful," said Tim Loreman, president and vice-chancellor.
"Both sides honoured their commitments to treat one another with patience, professionalism and respect."
Price said while collective bargaining and taking job action are adversarial by nature, the two sides eventually reached an agreement.
"The last week at the bargaining table was very productive, and in the end, we got to a deal," she added.
'GREAT RELIEF'
Salary gains, job security, and improvements to working conditions for CUEFA members are part of the new agreement, the association said.
"We were able to move a long way on workload for our faculty," Price said.
"We still have a bigger workload than many of the big universities, but at least it's more manageable. It's a step on the way to making it comparable to other research universities as our administration has made it very clear they want to become a research institution."
Price added that language around disciplining faculty members was clarified in the new agreement. Old provisions allowed faculty to be disciplined for any reason.
"The language for only just cause was restored, so that was a great relief to our members," she said.
Another gain in the agreement included clarifications on intellectual property for course materials.
BACK TO CLASS
The strike halted the start of the next semester of classes for more than 2,500 students attending Concordia. The university says academic programming and services will resume virtually for students on Wednesday.
Price says the semester will proceed and that students received modified schedules showing a modified term to make up for some lost instructional time.
"The term is being extended, so students have about the same amount of instructional time," Price said, adding that the start of the spring semester should remain the same.
"We had a lot of student support on the line and off," she said. "For that, we are immensely grateful."
AIR WAS COLD; OUR HEARTS WERE WARM
According to CUEFA, more than 1,350 individuals and organizations across Canada sent messages to administrators asking them to put "students and staff before profit." A student-run petition garnered 500 signatures supporting striking faculty members.
Despite striking during the deep freeze that enveloped Alberta, Price said members felt immense support from the community, including donations of hand warmers, coffee, and hot chocolate.
"It was amazing to see the support," Price added. "We made jokes about how the air was cold, and our hearts were warm.
"To see all these people stand with us, to walk with us, even though it was minus 40 degrees (Celsius) plus windchill out was amazing."
Price said many different unions joined striking staff in solidarity, including AUPE, CUPE, Teamsters, non-academic unions, and others. Members of other faculty associations at other universities across Alberta and western Canada also came to support Concordia staff.
"We had days where we had more people walking with us than we have in our association. We are pretty small. There's only 82 of us," she said.
"Spirits were high," Price added. "The support is what kept us going."
The new agreement is expected to be officially signed later this week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.