Alberta Faculty Associations hold a Rally in Support of University of Lethbridge Faculty Association
Dear Members
Faculty associations across Edmonton are holding a solidarity rally for our colleagues at the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA), who have been on the picket line for over four weeks.
Over most of that time, the employer has refused to even return to the bargaining table, making it impossible to reach a settlement that would return students and faculty to the classroom.
The main bargaining issue that is holding the parties back is the secret mandate the Government of Alberta has delivered to the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors. This secret mandate forces the employer to not tell the union what wages, benefits or language can or cannot be in the collective agreement. We were brought to the brink of impasse over similar issues in our own bargaining. Although we have reached an agreement, the fight for the post-secondary sector in Alberta has not ended, and the best future for all of us depends on a reasonable outcome at every university bargaining table.
I encourage you to join me and others at the rally tomorrow, March 12 at 4pm in front of the Legislature Building, to show the government that we are all in this together.
Tim Mills
AASUA President