Brandon University Faculty Association votes in favour of strike mandate

Staff at Brandon University have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate.

That doesn't necessarily mean Brandon University Faculty Association members will be hitting the picket line soon, says president Gautam Srivastava, who said he's still hopeful the association and the southwestern Manitoba university's administration will be able to reach a deal.

After a vote via electronic ballot that ended at midnight Saturday, 86.9 per cent of members who voted favoured a strike mandate, said Srivastava.

"The results speak for themselves," he said. "Our membership is behind the work that our negotiating team is doing at the table and is ready to ride this out with them, whatever they choose or how they choose to handle it."

The union represents around 260 full-time faculty members and about 90 sessional instructors at the university, which has about 3,500 students.

The union's last contract expired in March 2023. On Jan. 19, BUFA membership ratified their negotiating team's mandate to bargain.

Key issues include workload, academic freedom, salaries and benefits, as well as equity, diversity and inclusion, according to the union.

Jon-Tomas Godin, BUFA's vice-president for bargaining and grievance, says the strike mandate vote came after more than a year of negotiations, and the feeling bargaining has not been a priority for the Brandon University administration.

BUFA has several days of bargaining in the coming week, and the union intends to ask the employer to increase the number of days over the next couple of weeks to focus on bargaining, Godin said.

No decisions have been made about a deadline for bargaining or a strike date, he said.

"If the employer doesn't step up and start responding to the bargaining team and getting things done, then they are prepared to take action to make that happen," Godin said. "We hope that the employer is listening."

Brandon University provided an email to CBC shared with the campus Friday, stating it "continues to engage in productive negotiations with BUFA." 

The bargaining teams have meetings scheduled into March, the university said.

"Progress is ongoing and we are committed to reaching the best deal possible for all parties, including students, at the bargaining table," said the email.

A spokesperson said Brandon University does not have any further comment at this time.

Playing catch-up on salaries: BUFA

Godin said salaries at the university have been hurt by a wage-freeze bill that was introduced in 2017, under the former Progressive Conservative government.

The bill was never proclaimed and was eventually repealed, but not until after the last round of negotiations at Brandon University. Unions argued that government negotiators acted as if the wage freeze was firmly in place.

Godin said Brandon University now needs to play catch-up to account for inflation.

Compensation is also affecting the university's ability to draw and retain staff, he said.

"We are a small regional university. Attracting talent means needing to attract people who are going to want to come and stay here, which can be difficult," Godin said. "We need incentives for people to come here. We need good pay."

The push for equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization is also part of staff retention and needs to be in the language of the collective agreement, he said.

Srivastava said efforts to retain faculty from equity-seeking groups can't end once they're hired. Consistent mentorship and support from both BUFA and administration are important, he said.

"We don't just want to recruit and have a tick mark next to people's names that, you know, we have new members from these equity-seeking groups," Srivastava said.

"We want to retain them. We want them to become part of our community."

Allison McCulloch, a Brandon University professor and president of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations, said the strike mandate sends the message that the union's membership is united in working toward fair compensation, equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization.

"There is a united voice on this issue amongst faculty," McCulloch said.

"And indeed, we are at a historical moment in our province to move forward and have those values reflected in the documents and agreements that govern university spaces."