MoveUP strike update & reminder about CFA negotiations
MoveUP strike updates
Thank you to the faculty who came out to Shipyards on Friday for an inspiring illustration of our collegiality and solidarity. This has been a difficult month, and it is not over yet, but it was inspiring to see that even this far into the MoveUP strike, faculty are able to unite and support each other, as well as our staff colleagues.
See photos from Friday, June 23 on the picket line.
Our last update bulletin about the MoveUP strike was on Thursday afternoon. We advised you that the bargaining impasse had been resolved, and that there was only one issue left before the strike can end. That did not change over the weekend, but we are hopeful of a solution today.
That issue, again, is that in negotiating a “return to work” protocol with MoveUP, the administration insists on a clause allowing it to take “disciplinary measures” against employees for strike-related actions. MoveUP would not agree to the employer making its own decisions about which actions were lawful or not, and applying discipline accordingly. In MoveUP’s view, the employer can pursue complaints about alleged unlawful actions through neutral legal avenues such as the Labour Relations Board or the courts. We hope the administration will agree, and end the strike.
We want to remind you of the issue that caused the strike in the first place: the administration’s refusal to agree to a reasonableness clause for decisions about flexible work arrangements. We have shared with members the MoveUP proposal and the similar provisions already agreed to at UBC, the Justice Institute, and UVic.
Read more on misinformation regarding MoveUP
The importance of such a proposal is highlighted in letters of support to the CapU Senate and Board from the Asian Canadian Labour Association (ACLA) and the FPSE Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee. Read the letters here:
June 20, from Alexandra Phillips, Chair, FPSE Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee [PDF]
The administration rejected MoveUP’s proposal and walked away from negotiations on 12 May. It took until last week for the administration to work on an alternative proposal that MoveUP was able to accept. We believe the original proposal was reasonable and that the strike could have been avoided if the administration had continued to work with MoveUP. It is unfortunate that it took the pressure of a strike to reach this result.
CFA resumes bargainning
The CFA resumes bargaining today, with our first negotiations meeting since 5 June. We hope for a substantive response to the monetary proposals we tabled on 29 May (which were modifications of the proposals we originally tabled on 30 January). We will update you on our negotiations once we have reviewed the response we receive from the employer.
We look forward to good news about the MoveUP strike today, and for positive signs in our own bargaining. Thank you for your solidarity. Without it we don’t believe MoveUP would have reached this point in its negotiations, and without that solidarity over the past few months, we know that our own negotiations would be in a different place (though we will see what today brings!).
In solidarity,
CFA Job Action Committee