Lethbridge, AB – The University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA) today called on the University of Lethbridge Administration to return to bargaining.
It has been two weeks since the union and the Board of Governors last appeared across the table from each other. ULFA President Dan O’Donnell says “nobody is fooled by the Board’s rhetoric. Everybody in the community can see that this is an institution that has prioritised pleasing the UCP government over the needs of its own students and faculty. Students and parents are calling on the Board to do their job and bring an end to the disruption at our university.”
O’Donnell believes the union has the support of stakeholders as this labour disruption shows no signs of ending any time soon. “We are hearing this from parents, students, and faculty members. People are tired of being told what they are supposed to think and what it is they are supposed to negotiate.”
The University administration published a blog post yesterday suggesting that they would not return to the table unless ULFA accepted the Board’s positions in advance. “That’s simply how negotiations work, its never how they have worked, and it’s a very strange way of conducting negotiations,” he adds.
The Board of Governors has had five different chief negotiators since bargaining began over two years ago. “The constant changes on the Board’s side speaks to a fundamental lack of commitment to the interests of this institution, its students, and the larger community,” says O’Donnell.