Mount Allison faculty and librarians on strike to protect the academic mission

For Immediate Release –

Mount Allison faculty and librarians go on strike on Monday morning to protect the academic mission (January 27, 2013-Sackville, NB)

After three days of intensive negotiations between the Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA) and the administration, picket lines went up Monday morning at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB.

“We bargained late into the night attempting to resolve this deal. However, the administration has yet to move on proposals that are simply unacceptable to our membership,” says MAFA President Loralea Michaelis.

In the strike vote held on January 13 and 14 the full-time and part-time faculty and librarians voted 86% in favour of a strike.  The key unresolved issues are administrative control over teaching and research, workload, equitable pay, and pensions.

“What is at stake in this negotiation is the future of the academic mission at Mount Allison,” says Michaelis. “The quality of our students’ education depends on our working conditions.”

“We hope to continue bargaining so that our members can be back in the classroom as soon as possible,” added Michaelis.

MAFA represents 154 full-time and 56 part-time faculty and librarians, and has been in negotiations since early June 2013.

Please visit mafanegotiations.ca for updates.