Lecturers at MUN give strike mandate to union

The last collective agreement between Memorial University and the lecturers' union ended in 2020. For much of the last year, both sides have been in conciliation. (Mike Simms/CBC)

After four years without a new collective agreement and one year in talks, the Lecturers' Union of Memorial University of Newfoundland has voted to support a strike mandate.

Members of LUMUN, which represents per-course instructors and post-doctoral fellows, cast their ballots over the weekend.

"Technically, we could walk right now. Our union has taken a big, deep breath and we've opened the door to the university," Coffin told The St. John's Morning Show on Monday.

Coffin said 75 per cent of its 200 members turned out to vote, with 90 per cent of them voting in favour of the job action.

"We are willing to come back to the table but we really, really are tired of this disrespectful behaviour and it needs to end."

There are a few tentative meetings scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday but she said in the background, LUMUN is getting ready to strike. That includes getting a strike headquarters and the strike teams set up.

"We're doing that background work now in the event that we are disappointed with whatever the university comes back this week," said Coffin, a former provincial NDP leader.

Last month, LUMUN walked away from conciliation with the university's administration over what it called repeated delays and refusals to submit proposals over pay, blaming the university for the lack of progress.

Coffin also accused MUN of delaying meetings with the union, saying it  has "deferred and deferred meeting dates. They've insisted upon finishing language before they were even interested in preparing any in sharing any of their financial proposals."

At present, she said the base pay for instructors teaching three courses in one semester is $5,000. The top pay scale, for lecturers who have been working the MUN for years, is $5,875.

Coffin said they had received a financial package but called it "far from adequate" and said MUN lecturers were "virtually the least paid per-course instructors across Canada."

Alison Coffin, LUMUN spokesperson, says members are getting ready to go on strike but it could be averted if MUN steps up. (Patrick Butler/Radio-Canada)

The proposed pay increase was barely enough to compensate for inflation, said Coffin, adding "it was rather insulting for the folks who are working very hard teaching these courses."

Lecturers do the same teaching work as faculty and have the same expectations on them, she said. The union would like lecturers paid in-line with full-time faculty.

Coffin said she hopes a strike can be averted, arguing MUN wants to upkeep its reputation and attract students to the province, but after last year, the university hasn't given the union any reason that such an offer will be forthcoming.

"It really rests in the university's hands right now, for them to pay us appropriately and avoid any further disruption for students," she said.

The previous LUMUN collective agreement ended Aug. 31, 2020. Before reaching that deal, members had voted in favour of a strike.

Union points to scathing report

In a statement from the union sent out Sunday, it pointed to the recent auditor general's report on the university as a sign that the administration can treat the union better.

The scathing report found there was overspending, inefficiency and a lack of salary oversight at MUN, including a $143,000 difference between the salary of a campus vice-president and an assistant deputy minister in government.

CBC News has contacted Memorial University for comment.

In a statement made after LUMUN walked away from the table in February, Chad Pelley, manager of communications and media relations, said the university and union had been working on non-monetary issues before exchanging financial proposals.

"The university presented a proposal to address several of the LUMUN priority issues [during a bargaining session on in early February] and committed to provide a monetary proposal later that same day if the there was resolution regarding those LUMUN priority items," Pelley wrote at the time.

"LUMUN refused to respond to the university proposal and concluded its participation in conciliation."

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