It has been brought to our attention that there remains confusion about what Members will be allowed or not allowed to do in the event of job action (a strike and/or lockout). Therefore, we want to clarify to our Members that in the event of a strike or lockout, it is expected that ALL instruction and related academic activities would be halted for the duration of job action.
This means that ULFA Members cannot keep teaching, nor require students to complete assignments or quizzes that are due during job action.
In fact, the Board has indicated that they will cut off faculty access to all platforms, such as @uleth email addresses and Moodle. In this context, instructors cannot plan to check on submission status or grade assignments and tests. Such actions represent engagement in teaching duties, which constitutes strike breaking as per ULFA’s policy (available at: https://www.ulfa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Job-Action-Policy-January-2022.docx-1.pdf).
Additionally, students should not be assigned coursework (reading and similar tasks) for the duration of a job action. If a job action begins, all class-related activities should be suspended for the duration of the job action, with all due dates postponed indefinitely until it is clear when Members will return to work. On a similar note, continuing to perform service for University committees would also be considered strike breaking.
It is important to note that strike breaking not only hurts the strike effort of all Members, it jeopardizes the Member’s eligibility for strike pay. Because university payment will cease during strike action or lockout, if a Member does not receive strike pay, they will have no source of income during the job action period.
In order to receive strike pay ($1050/week, tax-free), Members will have to be at the picket line for 3 shifts of 3 hours per week (9 hours in total) or request alternate duties. Finally, it is worth reiterating that ULFA does allow Members to continue their personal research activities during job action. Please refer to the ULFA website for more details about our strike policy and strike pay: https://www.ulfa.ca/faqs/.
In solidarity,
Your ULFA Job Action Committee