Algoma's part-time faculty and sessional instructors have voted unanimously to join the Algoma University College Faculty Association as a separate bargaining unit.

Karl Jirgens, president of AUCFA, said the association was heartened by the solid recognition it received from the part-time and sessional staff.

"The unanimous vote in our favour was a very encouraging confirmation," Jirgens said.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board held a certification vote on March 20, just days after the faculty association signed up more than 95 per cent of the university's part-time instructors.

Jirgens credits the campaign's success to the organizing committee, led by Ed Sadowski, a part-time faculty member at Algoma.

"We signed up our part-time colleagues in a short period of time," Jirgens said. "A lot of people worked hard to make this happen."

He says the addition of contract academic staff to the faculty union will benefit all union members.

"With a variety of members, we'll be stronger as a union," he said.

The association and the university are still finalizing the definition of the bargaining unit, and the potential inclusion of English as a Second Language and writing instructors.