The union body representing part-time faculty at Trent University announced this Sunday that it is in a legal strike position, with the majority of its members willing to stop work.
“We’re pleased, to say the least. This will give us considerably more leverage at the bargaining table,” said Alex Atfield, the interim vicepresident of CUPE local 3908 Unit One. That unit represents about 200 lab demonstrators, markers and contract course instructors, who jointly teach 20 per cent of Trent’s 1,110+ courses (exact figures are not yet available).
Atfield, who teaches a microbiology course at the university, said the vote should help propel negotiations toward an agreement between Trent and the union.
He added that, in his opinion, a strike would bring the university to a near-complete halt.
Earnings of part-time faculty at the university are among the lowest in the province, 22 per cent below the provincial average of $11,807. CUPE is seeking a three per cent pay increase, and also demanding improved benefits.
Unit One members may teach up to 1.5 credits worth of courses in any given 12-month period. Contract instructors at the University of Toronto are under similar guidelines.
The unit’s supplemental health plan provides only a total of $12,000 in health and dental coverage to divide amongst the more than 200 workers, with a $500 maximum benefit per worker. Atfield, who called the health fund “woefully inadequate,” noted that it provides enough for exactly 24 workers to claim the maximum benefits.
CUPE demanded the fund be tripled, and Trent has responded by offering to double it. CUPE also wants a professional development fund, which gives financial aid to unit members seeking to improve their skills, increased from $15,000 to $26,000.
Unit One’s collective bargaining agreement is up for renegotiation, and the union has objected to a proposal by Trent they say would cut the wages of most of their members. A vote of unit one’s membership found 89.6 per cent in favor of a strike, if the school and CUPE cannot reach an agreement.
Over the summer, CUPE 3908 abandoned negotiations on a new collective agreement and filed with the Ontario Labour Board for a lastresort conciliation process. At that time, Trent negotiators declined to comment on the negotiations, which CUPE had labeled “stalling tactics.”
Part-time faculty are a growing force on Ontario university campuses, including U of T, where an increasing number of courses are being taught by instructors on temporary contracts, rather than tenure-track positions. Such instructors at U of T are represented by CUPE 3902, Unit Three.
Both sides of the negotiation blamed low provincial funding of universities for driving the contract faculty hiring trend.
