By The King’s University College Faculty Association (KUCFA) stands in solidarity with our colleagues at the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) who will be in a legal strike position as of November 13th, 2022 after voting 91% in favour of strike action.
UWOFA has been working hard to negotiate a fair deal to improve working conditions for faculty and learning conditions for students with respect for equity across campus. University administration continues to reject many proposals that would redress inequities in treatment across faculty and we are steadfast in our support of UWOFA’s legal rights to fair bargaining and their efforts to negotiate a fair agreement that recognizes such longstanding inequities.
UWOFA’s efforts to redress inequities in treatment across their membership have focused on issues that plague the entire university sector, including job security for precarious, Part-Time faculty, health and benefits for precarious and part-time academic workers, and workload burden for both full- and part-time faculty. At a time when Western has amassed a $1.3 billion surplus, we stand firmly with UWOFA who are fighting against the backdrop of strict budget cuts on faculty, expanded class sizes, job losses, and other austerity measures. We are steadfast in support for UWOFA who have made reasonable and actionable demands to improve working conditions and the quality of education for all students at Western.
We urge Western administration to bargain in good faith and take seriously the concerns raised by faculty members who already face massive burdens related to job insecurity, precarious, historical inflation, and a deterioration of working conditions over the past several years. Only by reinvesting in the teaching, learning, and research that lie at the core mission of the university, can Western build a sustainable future for the entire community.
For an updated list of UWOFA proposals and their status, please see Appendix A of UWOFA’s Bargaining Bulletin. To find out how you can support UWOFA please visit www.uwofa.ca/take-action.
What should KUCFA members do in the event of a UWOFA Strike?
- Go to work. KUCFA members are not on strike and must fulfill their contractual obligations.
- Do not cross the UWOFA picket line.
- Join UWOFA’s picket lines outside of your work hours to show support and solidarity.
- Send a Letter to Western’s Administration.
- Post support on social media platforms like Twitter.
In solidarity,
King’s University College Faculty Association (KUCFA)
