Divide and…nope, ain’t gonna happen
I had to get that last post out of my system. A little shouting does one good every once in a while. And today’s special meeting of AUFA was so invigorating that I had to shout about it, even if it was only in CAPS on my blog. The fact is that I have never been prouder to be a member of the Acadia University Faculty Association than I was this afternoon when the packed house reiterated the animating principle of this strike: “Nobody will be sold out.”
After meeting with the BOG team for 5 days and getting nowhere, AUFA’s team decided to consult with the membership about a new strategy for negotiations. They could see no benefit to continuing on the current path. The BOG team has continually brought to the table packages meant to set us against each other. The question our team must have been asking themselves by the end of each protracted meeting was this: “I wonder who they’re going to ask us to sell out tomorrow?”
It’s a great strategy when you think about it. Appeal to our dark sides. We all have them, after all. So make us an offer that will benefit a particular group at the expense of another group. It’ll probably have to be a group that has more power than any other, say full-time, tenured people. And once you divide us into self-interested factions, you conquer all.
The problem with that strategy? We’ve already decided that it won’t happen. We’ve even told the BOG team that we won’t let it happen. But for some reason, they don’t seem to believe us. We’ve spent two weeks walking the lines, we’ve just begun our third, and we’re prepared for as many more as it takes. We get stronger — and more pissed off — every day we’re on the line and not in our classrooms. Yet people in the senior admin and on the BOG team seem to think that the majority of us would vote out of self-interest were we only given the chance.
Apparently we’ve even had to tell some of the administrators to stay off our lines and stop trying to negotiate with our members directly. What amazes me about these direct interventions — as I understand them, actual breaches of labour law — is the fact that these people think they still have credibility left with the faculty. They must not understand that the stink accompanying their behaviour and this divide and rule strategy will stick with them forever at a small institution like Acadia. It’ll even stick with them after they retire or leave. Alternatively, it might just get some of them permanent positions in the senior admin.
Today in the meeting, however, we said as loudly and as clearly as we could that we trust our team to uphold the principles animating our strike. And we endorsed their strategy.
So here it is. The BOG team was given three options: 1. Sign off on our current proposals. 2. Agree to independent mediation. 3. AUFA will file for provincial mediation. We knew option number one wouldn’t fly, but we had to try. Apparently, they would have gone for option number two had we been willing to call off our strike. Yeah. Right. So, no surprise for me at least, the BOG team chose option number three.
Why is this a step in the right direction? Well, mediators write public reports. While their findings aren’t binding on the parties, the actions and behaviour of the two teams will now become matters of public record. We should have no more verbal agreements one day, then no agreements the next. Mediators won’t let the BOG team get away with that. Nor will mediators let them get away with the asinine notion that they can punish us for exercising our legal right to strike (That’s the way one of our negotiators characterized their reaction to our suggestion that the $800,000 they have now saved from strike is almost exactly what we’ve proposed as an increase to the academic sector for the first year of the new collective agreement. Apparently that money would be better used on the football field.). Most importantly, however, mediators are actually in their positions because they understand how to mediate or bring opposing sides into agreement.
Eventually, we were going to end up at mediation anyway, unless we caved. So there is no sense in waiting for the province to intervene when we know — no matter what the BOG and senior admin think, no matter how they soft-peddle their proposals through direct interventions — we will not be divided. Nope, ain’t gonna happen.
Allan J. MacDonald replied:
I’ve been enjoying your blog since Day 1 of the strike. I forget exactly how I stumbled across it, but it’s proven to be a great source for news on AUFA’s side of the debate. Kudos to you! I’m a student at Acadia. I was in the second year of my undergrad during the first strike, back in 2004, and now I’m back for the first year of a BEd. I seem to have chosen poorly both times! I have a few comments I’d like to make about AUFA and the way these negotiations have soured.
I love my profs. I consider some of them to be personal friends, and many more to be people I’d love to invite over for dinner. I’ve handed out coffee and timbits a few times during this strike action. I don’t know you personally, but I like most of your departmental colleagues very much. I think Acadia is truly blessed to have such people teaching here. I think you, as a group, have every right to withhold your teaching services in an effort to secure compensation commiserate with what you think said services are worth. That’s the basis of collective bargaining, freedom of association, and the laws governing supply and demand. The right to strike is fundamental to a free society.
After saying the above, though, I need to voice a few concerns. What kind of friend would I be if I did not, after all?
First, AUFA is asking to be brought closer to the Canadian and Maritime average in university professor salaries. That seems to be a fairly reasonable request on the surface, but my concern is that nobody has questioned whether Acadia faculty NEED to make as much as their colleagues in HRM or Fredericton. The cost of living in the Annapolis Valley is much lower, especially when it comes to housing. As AUFA points out on its website, a professor at Acadia in 2004 had a starting salary of $49,666. The average personal income for King’s County in that same year, including Wolfville & Kentville, was just over $26,000, with the median income well below that figure. Are Acadia profs REALLY hurting at twice the average area income? I realise that a PhD is a VERY high qualification, and that there are great expenses & sacrifices that go with obtaining one. Moreover, if we want “the best” professors, we need to pay for them. I accept that. However, if you entered academia to be rich I think you’re here for the wrong reasons. It’s not hard to live VERY comfortably on twice the area’s average income.
Second, Faculty complement. AUFA is trying to ensure that the number of term positions (CLT’s) is not cut. According to the information on the AUFA webpage, the BoG wants to cut 12 CLT positions, which would be the overall equivalent of 6 full time faculty (for course load and accounting purposes). Being one of those 12 would be horrible, I admit, as losing one’s job is never fun. Even if it was only a part time one, it would still pay the bills! Moreover, any good union would fight against it tooth & nail like it’s supposed to (and like AUFA is doing!). However, this stance might not be completely reasonable given the current situation at this university.
Acadia’s student population has shrunk by about 25% in a very short period of time. There are therefore, logically, 25% fewer students paying the tuition from whence your salaries come. Any company that loses 25% of its customers is going to make a few layoffs in order to stay alive, and I think Acadia has to make some tough decisions too! Some faculty must go, as unfortunate as it is to see one’s colleagues and friends get “sold out.” (Note – I think it’s outrageously inexcusable that the BoG has actually INCREASED spending on administration during a time of financial worry. They have a lot to answer for themselves here!)
Now about the recent developments in the negotiations. I know you can’t speak for AUFA, and probably don’t want to reply at all lest your response be misconstrued as the Association’s official position. The lack of an answer, however, should never stop the question!
AUFA walked away from the table for the second time today. What is to be gained from this? Surely nobody is being hurt by continuing the negotiations, even if they aren’t going quickly. There’s always a hope that something might develop.
Why won’t AUFA consider the proposal of resuming teaching duties while the mediator does his/her job? If the mediator truly is independent, surely there is nothing more to be gained from remaining on the picket lines. I know it might seem like “giving in”, but it would place AUFA, I think, in a much better position to expect a concession or two from the BoG. Negotiating is a give-and-take process – sometimes you have to be willing to “give” before you can get your chance to “take.”
Finally, is AUFA aware that the strike is not hurting the people they intend to hurt? The administrators are still collecting their salaries. The president still has her job perks. If anything, they’re saving money on faculty salaries! They have no personal reason or need to negotiate with AUFA beyond their own reputations as professionals (which, as you pointed out before, is obviously not important to them anyway!) It stands to reason, therefore, that AUFA is the side which has to make the next move toward a settlement. There is no incentive for the Admin to do so.
The Admin already has my money. My $4000 is never coming back, regardless of how long the conflict lasts. I am out that money. I am the one being hurt here, not Dr. Dinter-Gottlieb. I’m trying not to be too dramatic here, but you, AUFA, are hurting me and my future. You are the ones who have the power to end this madness. This says nothing about the disastrous impact the job action is having on the local community. This might be forgiven if, like in 2004, the strike was not simply about money issues. But when you boil down each of AUFA’s identified outstanding issues (dental plan, salary increase, improved professional development allowances, better sabbatical agreemtns, day care, etc.) they all come down to money with the possible exception of the “equity” demand.
It might be a long time before I can forgive SOME (not all!) faculty for the flippant way they’ve ignored students’ concerns in their protracted fight for a bigger slice of the tuition & tax dollar pie.
Maybe it’s all for the greater long-term good of the university. But then again, maybe it isn’t. You obviously think it is. Who is really to say they know best?
Allan J. MacDonald
BA(Hons), MA, BEd (candidate)
Acadia classes of 2006 and 2009
October 30, 2007 at 5:14 am. Permalink.
M. Crosby replied:
First, I would like to thank you for this blog, both as Alumni and as a current student, some days this blog has been the best source of information.
Secondly, Stay Strong. I say this both to you and to the rest of the AUFA. Yes I am starting to be quite concerned that I could loose this term, but I do understand that this strike is for the greater good of Acadia – no matter how unfortunate it is for me in the meantime. Our university needs to continue to be a place which contains some of the BEST people in the country, and to do that, the salaries need to be competitive. On top of that it would be nice if the administration actually kept their word, but hey, maybe asking the administration to keep their word is just asking too much. I completely agree with the decision not to go back to work if a mediator comes in, simply put the administration does not have the trust of the AUFA to return to work under such a situation.
Thanks again
October 30, 2007 at 1:14 pm. Permalink.
Anthony Gracey replied:
Did you know the Board’s investments in Canadian and Foreign securities made over four million dollars in the year ending March 31st, 2007 and that in total, in Canadian and Foreign securities alone, they have 40 million dollars invested.
Stay strong union. This board is enriching itself and diverting money away from the vitals of the university. Do not go back into the classroom. I am a fourth year student who is concerned about the future of this university and the livelihoods of the people who make it great. I don’t care if I lose my term, my money, and my ability to graduate in May if it means sticking it to exploiters.
“Any company that loses 25% of its customers is going to make a few layoffs in order to stay alive”
Very untrue. Some companies will make a few layoffs to ensure a minimum level of PROFIT is maintained. PROFIT, MONEY FOR MONEY’s SAKE, not money for human development.
40 million in stocks alone! I haven’t even peered into their real estate portfolio yet. Yet.
October 30, 2007 at 1:35 pm. Permalink.
Paul Doerr replied:
Hi Allan,
You have raised some very good points that I will attempt to answer before heading to the picket lines in the dismal rain.
I am not sure what your point is regarding professor’s salaries and local salaries. Frankly we do need the money. Some part timers are grossly underpaid and shamelessly exploited by the university and don’t make anywhere near the salaries that the admin claims. Housing prices have escalated wildly in Wolfville and environs over the past few years. The myth that living in the valley is cheaper than elsewhere in Canada is just that – a myth and does not justify poor salaries. The issue of retention and attracting new professors is closely related. Professors are not going to come to Acadia and they are not going to stay if they are exploited and can find better paying jobs elsewhere. There has been a steady stream of outmigrating profs from Acadia over the past few years for just that reason. Personally I might well be joining that exodus -my friends and colleagues in Ontario are disgusted by what is going on at Acadia (the only university in Canada without a dental plan), ask me why I don’t search for another job and increasingly I am at a loss for an answer. Having 200 plus decently paid professors would raise the local standard of living and boost the local economy – this is where we live, buy houses and cars and all the rest. Most locals are keenly aware of Acadia’s economic importance to the region. I deeply regret that students are caught in the middle of this and I don’t know a prof who doesn’t feel bad. But we have been treated with such contempt and disdain by the admin that we have really been pushed to the wall. (The admin’s attitude towards students is another thing you might want to think about).
A couple of more points – we most certainly did not walk away from anything. The point of bringing in a mediator is to speed up the negotiations. The admin team was stalling and going around in circles and not negotiating seriously at all. Bringing in a mediator will force sincere negotiations on the part of the admin – we hope.
I could say a lot more but duty calls.
Paul Doerr
ps the Leafs will rise again!
October 30, 2007 at 4:05 pm. Permalink.
A critical thinker... replied:
Think of AUFA’s membership…300+ strong critical thinkers, most with multiple university degrees–who teach their students to:
1. engage in careful, analytical and synthetic thinking processes,
2. to become actively engaged with rather than passive recipients of source material,
3. to assess problems thoroughly using qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Given the character of our collective, are we greedy manipulators who care little for our students? No. We are a thoughtful and committed collective of intelligent people concerned with attaining employment equity.
Given that Wolfville is (ironically, perhaps, given the nature of this dispute) Canada’s first fair trade town, some further thoughts on social justice and equity are worth sharing: In a socially just exchange, people are treated with respect, are made to feel valued even in cases of disagreement, and their services are not exploited. Social justice means valuing the communities that provide goods and services, and investing in them to empower its members. Imposition of power is antithetical to social justice. The purpose of imposition of power is to exploit goods and service providers for maximum profit. In such situations, goods and service providers are valued to the extent that they are subservient and maximally productive; they are discarded should either subservience or productivity wane. Maintenance of power is accomplished by creating inequity, as some groups are easier to target than others. Negotiations are motivated by what those in power can get away with, rather than the overall well-being of goods and service providers and, by extension, the organization as a whole. Which system characterizes Acadia? It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to see that the BoG is operating on a power imposition model. AUFA is asking for fair market value for the service its members provide, and equitable treatment of its members. Why is AUFA committed to this approach? Because the tradition and reputation of Acadia University as a forward-thinking, liberal arts environment in which students are able to intellectually thrive (an environment that exemplifies the same principles that are taught here) is well-worth preserving and extending.
October 31, 2007 at 12:36 am. Permalink.
tsh replied:
Echoing Paul’s comments – this strike is to SAVE Acadia University. If we continue down the road we’re on, the university, its reputation and the “value” of your degrees will crumble as decent faculty move away or lose heart. Moreover, the conclusion of every contract will bring another strike. This is the time to force the Admin to shift course.
In 2004, the BoG refused to increase faculty complement even though enrolment had spiked to 4000. Now, mostly because of Admin incompetence, enrolment has dropped and the BoG proposes cutting faculty by 32 positions! The cuts would be made capriciously and would almost certainly threaten the very survival of some programs. If we are going to rebuild this place (and that’s pretty much where we are now), we must maintain (even expand) our academic excellence.
And finally, CLTs are full-time teachers, not half positions. Many have been working at Acadia for 5, 10 or more years but never have had the security of knowing if they’d be hired back in September or the opportunity to take a sabbatical and improve their marketability with fresh research. AUFA’s principles demand that we fight for the rights of CLTs and part-timers as hard as we fight for those on the tenure-track.
Stephen Henderson
PS Trade your Leafs’ sweater for a Shark’s jersey if you want to celebrate a Stanley Cup soon.
October 31, 2007 at 1:29 am. Permalink.
Al replied:
Where is the new update?! the last one I see is the 15th day
Shouldn’t we be on the 16th or 17th by now?
October 31, 2007 at 6:15 pm. Permalink.
Rick Mehta replied:
I’ve been trying to post this message since yesterday evening. I hope it works this time.
Hi Allan,
You have raised a number of issues in an articulate and respectful manner. I hope that I can reciprocate in my response by addressing the issues that you have raised. Regarding the issue of salaries, your point of reference is the average personal income for King’s County. I would argue that a more appropriate reference group would be highly qualified professionals with similar levels of training and/or experience, e.g., doctors, lawyers. Related to salaries is the issue of recruiting and retaining strong faculty members. If the salaries and benefits are not competitive, the university will not be able to get the best people to come here; furthermore, I have a lot of my colleagues leave Acadia to take positions at other univerisities and I want to see this trend stop.
With regard to housing and cost of living, the argument that housing is cheap in this area is simply not true. In fact, I was quite surprised for find out just how expensive it is to live in the Annapolis Valley. To give you a specific example, I was paying rougly $650/month for a large, spacious apartment when I was living in Winnipeg; I should add that the rent included electricity, heating, cable, and laundry. When I moved to Wolfville, I started paying $800/month for a much smaller apartment than what I had in Winnipeg (the rent is now $850), and everything else I just described was extra. A further cost I wasn’t expecting was car payments of roughly $600/month (along with insurance); I guess I could get by without a car, but I find that a car is a neccessity in the valley whereas I never needed a car when I was living in cities like Toronto, Montreal or Winnipeg. The other expense that increased was the price of food at the grocery store. Because Paur Doerr has already talked about housing prices, I won’t go into this issue in detail, but I will mention that property taxes in Wolfville are one of the highest in Canada.
I’ll now turn to to the second issue you have raised: complement. When enrollment at the university was high (e.g., with the double cohort from Ontario), complement did not increase to meet the increased demand. In other words, complement has never been tied to enrollement (to my knowledge). So it does seem strange that the BoG now wants to cut complement on the basis that enrollment has declined. On the surface, this action may appear reasonable. However, the main problem is that the BoG has not stated how these cuts would be implemented. Furthermore, based on Acadia’s history and what I have witnessed in the four years that I have been at this university, I’m positive that these cuts would be made arbitrarily or would target small deparments (e.g., Languages, Theatre, and Music) that depend on the CLTs to cover their courses. The result is that these departments would be decimated if they were to lose their CLT positions. Given the BoG’s notorious contempt for the Arts, I’m certain that my fears would be realized if AUFA members agreed to sign the BoG’s contract. The other impact of cuts to CLTs is that fewer courses would be available and class sizes would increase; the result is that there would be less personal time with your professors and a decrease in the quality of education you’d receive. When students are paying the highest tuition in the country to attend Acadia, is this the quality of education you want them to receive?
The third issue you have raised is the fact that our negotiating team again walked away from the table. The reason for this action is that there was no negotiations going on. Since the two teams started negotiations, our team has made six million dollars of concessions. Our original goal was to attain national averages, which is consistent with the Letter of Understanding signed by Dr. Dinter-Gottlieb. That goal has been modified so that our team is now seeking to make Acadia regionally competitive. The BoG’s team, on the other hand, has repeatedly presented the same contract and has refused to make any concessions. Even more offensive to me is that the BoG’s offer would increase some people’s salaries at the expense of our weakest and lowest-paid members; this is something that my conscience will not allow me to do. If there is no movement or negotiating taking place, I don’t see the point of asking my negotiating team to stay at the table.
With regard to your fourth question (Why won’t AUFA consider the proposal of resuming teaching duties while the mediator does his/her job?), the simple answer is that I don’t trust a word that the BoG and its representatives have to say. Rather than trying to negotiate in the spirit of cooperation and respect, the BoG has repeatedly tried to stall negotiations (I’d go so far to say that I think that they have been bargaining in bad faith); furthermore, since the stike began, the BoG has told outright lies in an attempt to smear us in a media war. As an example, think about one email that was sent out to all-students implying that the BoG had given us everything we wanted but that we still walked away and went out on strike (my other favourite is that we make an average of $80k, and that the BoG’s contract will raise our average salary to $100k). Does this premise make any sense to you? It certainly does not make sense to me. As a general rule, if something doesn’t make sense, it’s because it’s not true (it’s getting late and that’s why I’m quoting Judge Judy). Given the way that AUFA members have been treated thus far, there is no basis for us to trust the BoG to suddenly make concessions in the presence of an independent mediator if we were to return to classes. If anything, based on the negotiations that took place last time, I would expect the BoG to try to stall negotiations as much as possible and to lock us out for the entire summer of 2008 (which is similar to what happened this past August at Bishop’s University).
I’ll now try to answer your final question: “is AUFA aware that the strike is not hurting the people they intend to hurt?” I wish that there were some other way to attain our objectives without hurting students and ourselves. I definitely would be open to any viable option, but know of no other avenue. Our goal is see a shift in priorities so that less money is wasted on buildings and superflous pet projects, and that more money is invested into students (e.g., scholarships & bursaries) and faculty. The first step in attaining this goal is to keep the pressure on the decision-makers until they are willing to give us a fair and equitable contract. The only way to do so is by staying on the picket lines until the decision-makers come to their senses. At this stage, the BoG does not care about the faculty or the students. Despite all of our team’s repeated attempts to attain a quick settlement, the BoG has refused to budge or negotiate in good faith. Keep in mind that the faculty and students care and are worried about both the short-term and long-term viability of this institution, but that the BoG is concerned only with short-term gains to the bottom line and is not the least bit concerned about the students, faculty, or this institution. The way I see it, our negotiating team has exercised all possible avenues to avert this strike and to get a quick settlement after the strike commenced. Unfortunately, negotiations cannot take place if one side does not listen to reason. Our only recourse, then, is to take collective action.
The final point I would like to make is that this strike is not simply about money. Based on what I have seen, this strike is about the BoG’s lack of understanding and respect for what faculty members contribute to the university. If money was the only issue, the other team would have used different negotiation tactics; in this type of situation, there is a lot of hard bargaining that takes place, but both teams make concessions to avert a strike (or to attempt to keep it short). In this situation, the BoG has refused to listed to reason, has allowed and encouraged negotiations to fail, and is hoping that we will accept a poor contract if the strike is prolonged for an extended period of time. The way I see it, the BoG’s goal is to bust the union and to adopt the corporate model of the univeristy – which is commonly seen in the United States. I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to see a “Wal-Mart” approach to running a university.
It was not an easy decision for me to go on strike, but my hope is that the short-term sacrifice of this strike will result in a greater long-term benefit to university by having a strong faculty that is committed to the students and community. I hope that my response has addressed your issues. If not, feel free to visit me on the picket line and I’d be glad to discuss this issue and any other issue you wish to discuss in further detail. I’m on the line 3:30 to 6 pm everyday; because I am a picket captain, you’ll see me wearing an orange vest. Alternatively, you can ask for me by name.
Sincerely,
Rick Mehta
November 1, 2007 at 12:00 am. Permalink.