In advance of a planned one-day strike action on September 15th, the Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA) has sent a message to concerned students explaining what the action means and why it is happening. The message is reproduced in full below:
The Faculty Association of the University of Windsor (WUFA) plans to take a one-day strike on Monday, September 15th. You have a right to know what is happening and why.
If there is no settlement of our dispute, WUFA will be on strike on Monday. The strike will last from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The entire campus will be affected. Students will have access to campus; however, professors will not be in class or in their offices or in their labs, and librarians will not be on duty.
WUFA will post a bargaining update by 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, September14th on our website for students: wufa.ca
Our decision to take strike action was not made lightly. The University Administration has left us little choice. At issue for us is our right to collective bargaining. Without collective bargaining, employees – even professionals like us – have no voice or effect in their workplace.
WUFA has been trying to negotiate a collective agreement with the University Administration since mid-May. In late July, the Administration abandoned collective bargaining and unilaterally imposed terms and conditions of employment of its own design on your professors and librarians. Our Negotiating Team offered the Administration 16 days for bargaining in August, yet, there have been no face-to-face talks for over five weeks. This is an unprecedented situation in the university sector.
Professors and Librarians care deeply about the quality of your education. We will only disrupt classes, and our own work, as a last resort. We would much rather be in the classroom than on the picket line.
The purpose of WUFA’s picket line will be to inform students and the public of our situation. No one will be stopped from coming on to campus. Interested students are invited to join our picket lines.