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CAUT Bulletin Archives
1996-2016

March 2013

CUFA members vote in favour of strike action

Concordia University Faculty Association has voted to go on strike for the first time in its history.

The union held a gene­ral assembly March 9 in which a motion for strike action passed with a three-quarters majority. CUFA represents 1,000 regular academic staff at the Montreal campus, and 740 of the union’s eligible members cast a ballot.

CUFA president Lucie Lequin said the historically high voter turnout and the strong response are a result of protracted contract negotiations with the university administration, and reflect the level of frustration among faculty at Concordia.

“Professors working at Concordia University have sent a clear message to their employer — they’ve had enough of the university’s recalcitrance,” she said.

“We’ve been at the bargaining table for 15 months. We’ve met with the employer about 45 times — five of these meetings even took place with a conciliator present — and we still don’t have a new contract.”

A number of issues remain in dispute, including salary increases and workloads.

Now that the strike mandate has been approved, CUFA can provide 48-hour strike notice, which would place it in a legal position to take job action on campus.

“We will continue to make every effort to avoid a strike and reach a just and reasonable settlement,” said Lequin.