University and ULFA still talking
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on February 15, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
The University of Lethbridge states on its bargaining page the striking faculty association presented on Sunday night what it calls a more reasonable offer to consider at the bargaining table.
The ULFA went on strike Thursday at 11 a.m. after it failed to reach a contract agreement with the university. The university then locked out association members from school workplaces at 11 a.m. Friday.
In a Monday statement to The Herald, the university said “our top priority is to negotiate a collective agreement that gets our students back to class without adding to their financial burden and protects the future of our university.
“ULFA’s demand for salary increases must be consistent with today’s economic realities. Faculty salaries have grown by 34 per cent in the last 10 years. We look forward to good-faith negotiations at the bargaining table and coming to an agreement that puts students’ interests first.”
In a Monday statement on its bargaining page, the U of L said Sunday’s offer by the ULFA was “encouraging and the university looks forward to continued good-faith bargaining in pursuit of a fair agreement that protects students’ interests and the institution’s financial stability.
“Negotiated salary increases must reflect the university’s existing budget shortfall and other annual raises for ULFA members already stipulated in the collective agreement,” the U of L statement read.
The U of L says faculty members get a raise of $3,225 per year every year. Of that money, $2,600 per year is allocated as a career progress payment and $625 per year is merit pay.
The statement says the university’s annual reports say those salary hikes have contributed to more than 34 per cent salary growth for ULFA over the past 10 years.
“The university remains confident that the ULFA strike action can be ended through collaborative negotiation that complements the 34 per cent salary gains made by ULFA members over the last decade while protecting student access to high-quality education for students in a fair and respectful workplace for our faculty and staff,” added Monday’s bargaining page statement.
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It is simply a lie that faculty members received a 34% raise over the past decade. I assume some did and that this is just a cherry-picked number. Is that above inflation over the past decade? Does this include promotions, career progress through the ranks? Why are they $10 – 15K below agreed upon comparator universities?
With the faculty providing an offer to settle on Saturday, why won’t the Board come to the table to bargain?
No time to call ULFA for its take? Hitting a deadline were we? Just 3 days ago the publisher wrote, “Accusations of media bias … are unjustified” and that “We report what we see and hear, nothing more nothing less.” It would appear that yesterday things temporarily unravelled, and that you chose to see and thus print only one side of the story. C’mon guys, you can can do better — your previous coverage proves you can.
The Board has declined to talk with ULFA apparently.