Full-time faculty members at Nipissing University have voted overwhelmingly to offer membership in the faculty association to contract academic staff.

The vote was initiated by the Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) executive after they were approached by a group of part-time instructors and laboratory instructors interested in organizing a union.

"We're aware that part-time faculty members at Nipissing have been abused in the past," said Roman Brozowski, NUFA president.

"By bringing them into the union, we're not only attempting to secure for them the same rights we enjoy as full-time faculty, we're recognizing the important role they play in our community."

With the double cohort coming, part-time faculty will become an even more integral part of all of our universities, Brozowski said.

"The vote is a clear statement that faculty members at Nipissing feel that all academics can benefit from having everyone working together in the faculty association," he said.

Contract academic staff have been meeting since last spring to discuss different options for unionization.

After discussions with the NUFA executive and meetings with CAUT staff, the group decided their best choice would be to unite with their full-time colleagues in NUFA.

"We're impressed by what contract academic staff have been able to achieve in other faculty associations," said Bill Plumstead, a part-time instructor in the department of English and leader of the organizing committee.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're confident that with the support of our full-time colleagues, we'll be able to make some real gains in our wages and working conditions, establish clear, fair hiring procedures, and protect our academic freedom."

A card-signing campaign is now underway, and the organizing committee hopes to apply for certification of a new bargaining unit for contract academic staff in the near future.