Spring 2025 - TBA
— Strike FAQs Provided During Job Action Students
The fundamental difference of opinion concerns whether UNBC can continue to flourish if working conditions are substantially worse than at other comparable universities in Canada. An inability to attract and retain strong research faculty to UNBC would have a very negative impact on UNBC students. In particular, it would diminish our ability to include undergraduate students in research in the classroom and beyond. Specific issues include reduced job security for faculty, the worst salary structure of any comparable institution, and negligible post-retirement benefits, among others.
Each side recognizes that we are ultimately interested in what is best for UNBC, and that everyone will have to continue to work together after a new contract has been negotiated. Each side endeavours to recognize that the other is working for what they think is right, in the best way they know how, and that the current impasse reflects a professional difference of opinion rather than being a reflection of personal differences.
The Faculty Association has been engaged in negotiations since May 2014, after failed negotiations in the previous round (an arbitrator had to be called in). Given that we had an agreement that functioned well for the last 20 years, there is no reason that this contract should take particularly long to negotiate. Nevertheless, after little progress had been made, the Faculty Association invited a mediator to help move things forward in November. At this point, progress has again stalled and we are waiting for a resumption of talks.
Unfortunately, job action that does not affect anyone has no impact. If there were a way to convince the Employer of the seriousness with which we take our priorities without disrupting university function, we would certainly do so.
Some of these issues, like refunds for tuition, are wholly in the Employer’s control, and these questions should be directed to UNBC’s Administration. Others, like extending the semester, will be negotiated in a back-to-work agreement. The answers to these questions will depend in part on how long the strike lasts.
UNBC faculty care deeply about our students. UNBC faculty believe that the best way to help current and future students is to build a university that attracts and retains top-quality scholars, allowing the best education possible for our students and maintaining and strengthening our excellent reputation in Canada. We cannot do this in a work environment that is demonstrably worse than our comparator schools.
It depends. Some research may be allowed under the terms negotiated at the start of job action. Also, anyone may cross a picket line during a strike unless the Administration declares a lockout (in which case nobody is allowed in). You should discuss this with your supervisor.
During the 72 hours prior to the start of job action, the parties negotiate “essential services,” that is those things that are deemed essential. In general, anything not declared an essential service would be impacted, which would probably include most deliveries. You should discuss this with your supervisor.
City buses are still running to UNBC, but are dropping off riders in front of the picket line.
You can encourage NUGSS to take actions (letter-writing campaigns, petitions, etc) encouraging UNBC to reach an agreement with the Faculty Association. You can write letters to the Citizen explaining a strike’s impact on you and your plans. You can tell your family and friends to speak out on social media in support of UNBC faculty. And you are welcome to join us on the picket line.
No. There are other equally small (or smaller) universities in Canada and other countries. Smaller universities are often stronger, given the better learning environment they can provide with small class sizes and abundant research opportunities. Given UNBC’s #2 ranking in MacLean’s magazine, it appears that the small size is not holding it back in any way.
British Columbia has had a challenging work environment for public sector employees in recent years. This is why the three non-unionized research universities in the province (UNBC, SFU, and UVic) all unionized in the past year. It may be the case, therefore, that BC universities are more likely to strike than other ones, but last year there were strikes or near-strikes at Brandon, Windsor, and UNB, for example.
No. Many excellent small universities in Canada have very good working conditions. Indeed, UNBC has some of the worst working conditions in the country, which has led to our efforts to improve these conditions.
That depends on the approach that UNBC’s administration takes in future rounds of negotiations, but, in general, everybody hates a strike, and having been through one makes both sides more eager to reach agreement without resorting to one.
That is a personal decision, but the current labour unrest is unlikely to recur (for the reasons given above), and hopefully the temporary inconvenience of a strike will be outweighed by the quality of UNBC’s education.
University strikes in Canada are rare, and recurring strikes (i.e. more than one strike within a few years) are almost unheard of. One way or another, the most contentious issues are resolved in the aftermath of a strike.
It could in the short term. It is unquestionably the case that a strike is a huge inconvenience for everyone. Faculty go without pay. Students may lose time and money in completing their degrees. The benefits of building a solid foundation for UNBC’s future, however, clearly outweigh the inconvenience to all of us (faculty and students). UNBC’s strengths, as reflected in our #2 MacLean’s ranking, and the unlikelihood of recurring job action in the short term, suggest that the impact on enrolment would be limited. This is certainly the experience of other universities that have had strikes.
More information relating to contract negotiations and job action can be found on the home page of this web site, or follow us on Twitter (@UNBCFA).
There are two components to supporting job action. The first is withdrawal of all services, which is expected of all Members. The second component is working for the union to support job action by picketing or performing alternate duties. Any Member, regardless of rank or employment category, is eligible to work for the UNBC-FA for 20 hours per week and to draw strike pay for doing so. The union recognizes that Members with full-time jobs outside UNBC may be unable to perform the work of strike support, but expects all Members to withdraw their services.
Online teaching, like all teaching, should end when strike action begins. Members are expected to withdraw all services, including online communications with students.
Members will not be able to enter campus to park in the UNBC parking lots. Parking will be available behind the strike headquarters in the Bon Voyage Plaza. Members will report to the headquarters and will be transported to campus for their picket shifts via shuttle bus.
Department Chairs are Members of the Union and are not considered management. They are expected to withdraw all services, including the administrative duties they perform as Chairs.
All UNBC-FA Members are expected to withdraw from the supervision of practica. The UNBC-FA cannot rule on the feasibility of permitting students to continue practica partially or wholly supervised by non-members; nor can the UNBC-FA accept any risk or responsibility for the continuation of such practica. We recommend that Members in professional programs (and others who oversee practica) consult within their programs and with the UNBC administration to consider the ethical, practical, and risk-based issues involved.
Sabbaticants are expected to perform only those duties related to their scholarly activity. The performance of any tasks related to teaching and service is considered strikebreaking activity and should be scrupulously avoided. Such tasks include, but are not limited to, teaching classes, advising students, supervising practica and graduate student research, and any service duties. Any questions regarding the performance of specific duties should be directed to the UNBC-FA Strike Adjudication Committee.
Students are allowed to continue paid research work during a faculty strike, so long as they can do the work independently (and safely) without supervision. Faculty may not engage in any of their normal work activities during a strike, including supervising research students (whether they are working for pay or academic credit).
The administration has assured us that student assistants and TAs will continue to be paid in the event of job action.
The Faculty Association is very conscious of the need for students to successfully complete practicum hours. We will do everything we can to ensure that program-specific practicum requirements are addressed in the “back to work protocols” that will be developed with the employer once the strike is settled. Disciplines and faculty members involved in practicum courses and placements are already investigating and discussing the potential mechanisms/arrangements for successful completion of practica.
Bankers and lenders are normally quite considerate when their clients are participating in job action, and will often allow reduced or deferred payments. We have a form letter at strike HQ if a lending institution asks for evidence that a member is on strike. Please note that special consideration would usually need to be requested before the pay date.
Seriously? No, we have proposed a re-mapping on a go-forward basis. UNBC faculty have been subsidizing University finances through their low salaries to the tune of thousands of dollars per year per person. Nevertheless, we only seek to address UNBC’s broken salary structure for the future.
Yes, your Faculty Association is ensuring that all of your regular benefits (extended health, vision, counselling services, etc) continue for the duration of the strike. To find out more about these benefits, you can look on the Human Resources web site (HR benefits info), or contact HR. If you still have questions, please contact your Faculty Association, and we will do our best to help.
These are stressful times for all involved. Be assured, however, that we will let members know about any events that affect our members and negotiations. Unless you see it in an official email from us or see it on our website, it’s probably just a rumor.
The UNBC salary structure for FA members is broken: every year we work, we fall farther behind the market rate in effect at other institutions. This is made even worse by inflation. This gives our members a strong incentive to look for employment elsewhere, which will ultimately be to the detriment of UNBC. Our proposal – the so-called re-mapping – is to set up a grid system under which each member’s salary would be determined by their years of service in rank. Under this system, some members would see no increase at all. Others would see their salaries raised closer to the market rate. So we are not asking for ANY across-the-board increase, rather an adjustment to the salary structure.
You can help by commenting on the press web sites where these stories show up. In addition, you can help ensure the widest dissemination possible of FA statements by re-tweeting, liking on FaceBook, emailing to your friends, etc. At a more formal level, your Executive is monitoring the media and providing clarification when we see stories that are misleading or incorrect.
As a current sabbaticant you have a couple of options: first, you could notify the administration that you are going on strike. They would then stop paying you, and you could join us on the picket line. Second, you could remain on sabbatical and contribute the difference between your regular pay and your strike pay (or whatever fraction you wish) to the FA to help support our strike efforts. The Executive is grateful to you for considering how to help out!
The transportation logistics will be arranged in consultation with the picket captains, and sign-ins will take place on the picket line. In principle, it should be fine to carpool or otherwise arrive at the picket line.
All Members are expected to register for picket duty. Those who are not close to a campus, or are appointed at a campus at which no picketing is planned, will not be expected to relocate to picket. Such Members will be assigned alternative duties if they wish to participate in the strike.
All Members who wish to participate in job action and draw strike pay are required to register for picket duty. Members who have registered will be assigned shifts and will be contacted in advance of their first shift by the picket captain for that shift.
This issue is currently under discussion with the administration, and we will inform our members as soon as an agreement has been reached. The UNBC FA is proposing that sabbaticants would be completely unaffected by a strike (i.e. they would continue to be paid their normal sabbatical salary, have access to research funds, have access to their office, be reimbursed for research-related expenses, etc.).
The UNBC Faculty Association has been attempting to bring our Agreement into line with sector norms since May of 2012 (see timeline and bargaining bulletins under Faculty Negotiations). When the FA was unable to find common ground with the Employer, an arbitrator was called in, resulting in a 2014 report that clearly endorsed the FA’s positions, but did nothing to address them. At that point, the UNBC faculty members decided to unionize as a way to be able to exert more pressure at the bargaining table. The current round of negotiations, our first as a certified union, began in May 2014. In November 2014, with no substantive progress at the table, the FA requested a mediator from BC’s Labour Relations Board. With the help of the mediator, the two sides reached consensus on most of the non-controversial articles of the Agreement, but remain far apart on the issues that deviate substantially from our comparator institutions. In light of the continuing impasse, and the failure to achieve any improvements to the Agreement in nearly three years of bargaining, the FA’s only recourse is to consider job action.
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