Solidarity with CUEFA

Graduate workers at the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of Lethbridge, representing approximately 6,500 members, stand in solidarity with the Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association (CUEFA). We applaud the actions of CUEFA to negotiate for long overdue items in order to bring parity to sector norms.

We support members of CUEFA in their calls for fair compensation, intellectual property rights, and stable employment as opposed to precarity. Across Canada, CUEFA are among the lowest paid in the sector despite having some of the highest workloads amongst faculty. And despite record surpluses, administration has failed to address these fundamental issues making the road to a fair and equitable collective agreement far more difficult.

Faculty are the foundational pillars to success for any post-secondary institution, and the ability to retain and attract faculty is dependent upon fair compensation, benefits, and a supportive work environment. The race to the bottom is not a position that the administration should be placing their institution in. As graduate student workers, we remain united in our support for CUEFA to reach a fair and equitable collective agreement. One that is supported by their members, but also respects their invaluable contributions and work of educating the future of Alberta.

Additionally, as graduate workers, we have a unique perspective in academia and can empathize with the difficult decision CUEFA members undertook to go on strike, such as losing valued time in the classroom and on research projects. Moreover, we know this strike impacts many stakeholders including students, however, it also adversely impacts sessional instructors, who have been locked out of work, without pay, because they do not have the benefit of union protections. However, we maintain that their decision was necessary. By resolving issues of concern highlighted by CUEFA through taking this strike action, they are not only improving the conditions of the faculty, but also the students they educate at Concordia University of Edmonton. We are encouraged to learn that the administration of Concordia University of Edmonton has returned to the table; however, we continue to support and stand in solidarity with CUEFA to negotiate a fair and equitable collective agreement that respects the faculty and their instrumental role in the success of the institution.

For more information, you can visit the CUEFA website: https://www.cuefa.ca/

Get involved by sending a message to the Concordia University of Edmonton President here or join the picket line, if you are in the Edmonton area. Updates on times and locations can be found at: https://www.cuefa.ca/strike/