UPEI faculty take to the picket line amid contract dispute
UPEI faculty take to the picket line amid contract dispute
Members of the University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association (UPEIFA) are on the picket line Monday after walking off the job when their strike deadline passed without a contract at Midnight.
Four to five shifts per day of 60 members are split among the university's three entrances.
The union is calling for more faculty and reduced workloads as well as more protections and better pay for part-time and contract instructors.
The university has offered to go to binding arbitration to end the dispute, but the head of UPEIFA’s negotiation team said that won’t resolve breakthrough issues, which significantly alter the workplace, like changing staffing levels.
“They’ll set that aside, and what they’ll focus on will be compensation,” said Margot Rejskind. “If this was just about salaries, we don’t need binding arbitration, we could work that out, but this is about much bigger principles and binding arbitration won’t solve those problems for us or for our students.”
A release from UPEI said it has made offers to the union through email, but union reps said the university has refused to return to the negotiating table on any of those proposals.
“What’s going to end the strike is if the employer meets with us to negotiate a settlement,” said Michael Arfken, UPEIFA president. “At this point, they’re refusing to meet with us, and so there’s not really much to be done until that happens.”
UPEI Faculty Association members and supporters walk a picket line in Charlottetown on March 20, 2023, on the first day of the faculty association's strike. (Jack Morse/CTV)
Students say they are concerned, with exams beginning in the middle of April. The UPEI Students’ Union (UPEISU) is calling for the two sides to come to an agreement.
"We are respectful of the fact that the faculty association has the right to strike, but, at the end of the day, we're here for students,” said Adam MacKenzie, UPEISU president. “We do want to see a speedy resolution and the least amount of disruption to student life as possible."
On the first day of the strike, neither the union nor the university seems to be budging, and that has students worried, particularly those looking to graduate this year or international students who must make travel plans for the end of the semester.
The lost time is hitting doubly hard after students already lost a week of class time during an extended break for the Canada Winter Games.
At the moment, wildfires are burning across six provinces and one territory in Canada — and they’re still spreading in what’s being called an unprecedented fire season. While firefighters work tirelessly to battle the merciless flames and prevent further destruction, scientists say the wildfires are linked to climate change and that this will be the new normal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he raised concerns about reports that LGBTQ2S+ rights and democracy are under threat in Poland during a Friday visit with its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, in Toronto.
Air Canada says travellers should be prepared for further flight disruptions as it works to return service to normal following a technical malfunction Thursday.
As more Canadians pass their family cottages down to the next generation, 'major shifts' in the ownership of recreational homes will occur, according to Re/Max. But amid concerns around the cost of housing, some may be wondering whether they can afford to keep that family cottage. Here's what younger generations need to know about inheriting a recreational property and the market today.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
Pierre Poilievre is off to Manitoba to rally Conservative supporters ahead of a byelection that Maxime Bernier is hoping will send him back to Parliament. The far-right People's Party of Canada leader lost his Quebec seat in the 2019 federal vote and lost again in the 2021 election.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is committed to keeping David Johnston in place as Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference, despite a majority of MPs voting in favour of his stepping down from the gig.
Three Toronto men have been charged with attempted murder after they allegedly shot an innocent dog walker in Schomberg, Ont. in a case of mistaken identity.
A dozen sheriffs and Calgary Police officers roamed Calgary's core for three months, but the provincial pilot program is officially over as of this week.
A Calgary father and son face a lengthy list of criminal charges after being arrested in connection with the sexual exploitation, assault and extortion of multiple teen girls.
Planning to pass time in Montreal's many parks this summer? Check yourself for ticks, warns one woman who recently contracted Lyme disease. Jasmine Rochereul, 23, says she spent much of last summer sprawled in city parks, where she believes she picked up the tick-borne illness.
A popular beach in Bracebridge is open to the public two days after sewing needles were found in the water, but a second beach has since closed over safety concerns.
A local addiction treatment facility is expanding and moving operations to the Mission Services building on York Street. Quintin Warner House staff say the move will mean improved programs for more clients.
A bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth that was toppled and damaged by protesters two years ago was put back in its place Friday on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature after a lengthy set of repairs.
Gatineau police arrested an 18-year-old man in connection to the investigation into a hidden camera discovered in the washroom at an elementary school.
One person has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after an ultralight aircraft caught on fire in Surrey Friday afternoon, according to authorities.
In a Canadian first, the University of British Columbia has adapted its early childhood education program to support young people who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH).
The Weyburn Police Service (WPS) says it has charged a 27-year-old woman following the theft of several "high-powered" firearms and a large amount of ammunition from a residence in nearby Yellow Grass.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
UPEI Faculty Association members and supporters walk a picket line in Charlottetown on March 20, 2023, on the first day of the faculty association's strike. (Jack Morse/CTV) 
