The negotiators will return to the table today at 2 pm. It could go late into the night and we might not have any updates until tomorrow morning (Thursday), but you will receive an update. MUNFA’s bargaining team is committed to attaining a fair deal for all members. Our priorities remain better working conditions for contract academic staff, post-retirement benefits, collegial governance, and salary gains.
One of the major issues that MUNFA members are striking for is lasting improvements for contractual academic staff members. Precarious employment is a huge and growing issue in nearly all areas of the workforce, and academia has not been excluded from that. Memorial’s increasing reliance on contract academic staff has led to this strike. It has put increasing pressure on all academic staff, and it has led to disastrous situations in some faculties, where educators who are crucial to the training of the future healthcare workers and educators of this province are stuck on rotating contracts with punishing teaching loads for up to 20 years at a time.
In recent days, we have seen the administration attempt to break our union and divide our members by announcing the resumption of some clinical placements under the oversight of replacement workers. We know that this is a tactic to create division between our members, and between our members and students, our members and other workers, our members and the public. It is not working: we remain united, clear in our vision of what Memorial can and must be. And despite being put in an impossible situation by this administration, we see students and other workers on the line with us every day, making it clear that they support us and want to build this Memorial with us.
MUNFA is a broad coalition. What we achieve at the table this round will affect educators and researchers in the early stages of their careers for many years to come. We ONLY have the rights and privileges that we enjoy now because previous generations of MUNFA members fought for them! Your bargaining team is fighting hard to achieve a deal that balances all of our priorities. They know that making improvements in some areas is tied to making improvements in other areas as well.
We remain optimistic that we will very soon achieve tangible improvements in our working conditions on all our issues. Trust your bargaining team. Onward together!
//LOVE FROM THE LINE//
Huge support has come in from across the country! As of today MUNFA has received over $26,000 in donations from faculty unions across the country! Our colleagues know that our fight is their fight.
If you haven’t seen it, John Harris — MUNSU’s Director of External Affairs — was interviewed on VOCM this morning discussing student support for a #FairDealatMUN
Massive SOUP-port from History students
//PICKET LINE VOLUNTEERS?//
Our negotiating team is back at the bargaining table but we must keep the pressure up to help them secure a fair deal.
We’ve heard from a few St. John’s picketers who are interested in volunteering time beyond their regularly scheduled shift to support other picket lines and to coordinate pop-up pickets at other university locations. If this is something you want to take part in, please send us an email at membership.munfa@gmail.com.
In love and solidarity,
MUNFA President Ash Hossain
