The Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group stands in solidarity with the academic workers represented by the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association in their struggle for a fair bargaining process.
This provincial government’s neo-liberal austerity agenda is explicitly attempting to make post-secondary institutions into corporate entities where profit is more valuable than the
students, faculty and staff that make up our community. We reject this premise and call on our University’s Board of Governors to reject the corporatization of the University of Lethbridge by bargaining in good faith and with the intention of strengthening our campus community.
The stagnation of the bargaining process, coupled with the Board of Governors pursuance of retroactive salary cuts, subordinate academic freedom to the operational needs of the university, restricting member rights to accompaniment in supervisory meetings, and reducing timelines for filing grievances, demonstrates an unwillingness to meet the needs of academic staff with a fair equitable contract.
As an undergraduate student group run by students to the benefit of students, LPIRG members know how valuable our faculty are. Our campus community, and our school’s reputation, is built on the work from faculty and staff to support students in their academic, professional and personal development. The employer and the Government of Alberta is actively trying to undercut the greatest strength of our school.
The University of Lethbridge must put people first. A fair, equitable contract that honours the work of our campus community is a strong step in ensuring the University of Lethbridge remains a leader in academic education.
In Solidarity,
LPIRG
