More Details on Digital Picketing

Back in December, AUFA’s Job Action Committee (JAC) provided an overview of flying (i.e., in-person) and digital picketing. As a potential strike and/or lockout looms, this post provides additional details about digital picketing during the first few weeks of any work stoppage. An earlier post this week provided some additional details on flying pickets. 

Overview of Digital Pickets 

If a strike or lockout occurs, AUFA will be organizing four kinds of digital picketing to start with: 

• recruiting individuals to sign AUFA’s online petition,  

• sharing materials on social media,  

• contacting selected individuals (administrators, university donors, MLAs) by phone and email, and  

• contacting non-striking staff to check in on them and ask them to honour our picket line. 

Each day AUFA members will receive updated instructions about digital picketing activities.  

Some forms of digital picketing will entail the use of email or social media accounts. Members interested in creating anonymous email and social media accounts can follow these instructions. 

Instructions for email: Disposable email account - How to.pdf

Instructions for social media:  Disposable Twitter account - How to.pdf

Recruiting Individuals to Sign AUFA’s Online Petition 

AUFA will be launching an online petition that emails each petition signature to key actors at AU. Petition signatories will be pledging not to enroll in an AU course and not to recommend AU to others until a fair deal is concluded. The purposes of the petition are to: 

• easily allow allies and the public to support us, and 

• apply reputational and financial pressure to settle by demonstrating large numbers of interested students are refraining from registering in AU courses until the strike ends.  

Individual AUFA members will be asked to use their networks of family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to solicit five (or more!) signatures per day. This work will supplement our in-person leafletting work with current PSE students on campuses that send AU significant numbers of visiting students. 

What to do: 

• Each day, contact five people you know individually by phone, video chat, email, text, or by seeing them in person. If you are nervous about this, start close to home with family and friends. 

• Explain you are on strike, and that you need two minutes of their time to help us get a fair deal. 

• Ask them to sign the online petition (link and QR code provided). 

What not to do: 

• Do not mass email your contact list; that approach is ineffective. Personalized communications matter. 

Sharing Materials on Social Media 

AUFA will be providing a daily shareable (e.g., photos, memes, infographics) for members to share on social media. The purposes of these shareables are to: 

• generate public awareness of the strike by flooding social media spaces,  

• apply reputational pressure on the employer to settle, and  

• drive traffic to our online petition. 

What to do: 

• Share the memes on your social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, and so on). 

• Where a social media platform uses tags, ensure you use: #AUFAStrike #AthabascaU 

• Express how the employer’s behaviour is affecting you, such as “I’m tired to being treated poorly”, “I miss my students”, or “I’d rather be working”. 

• If you would like to add your own comments to a post, consider making a clear demand, such as “negotiate a fair deal” or “fair wages now”. 

• Direct interested people to our online petition. 

What not to do: 

• Do not engage with online trolls; they are not making good-faith arguments, are a waste of time, and are best ignored and/or blocked.  

Contacting Selected Individuals by Phone or Email 

AUFA will be providing a rotating list of the names, emails, and/or phone numbers of selected individuals for members to contact. These individuals are people who may be able to help us get a fair deal. This list will include members of Athabasca University’s Board of Governors and Executive Group, as well as donors, and MLAs. The purposes of these contacts are to: 

• generate awareness of the strike among key audiences, and 

• apply pressure (social, reputational, and financial) on the Board to settle. 

What to do: 

• Each day, contact the identified individuals by phone or email. 

• Explain you are on strike, and you need their help to get a fair deal. 

• Ask Board and executive members to negotiate a fair deal. 

• Ask donors to stop donating to AU for the duration of the strike and to tell AU that they plan to halt any donation until AUFA gets a fair contract. 

• Ask MLAs to direct AU’s Board to negotiate a fair deal. 

What not to do: 

• Do not mass email individuals; as noted above, that approach is ineffective. 

Contacting Non-Striking Staff to Check-in and Ask for Support 

AUPE and CUPE staff will continue to work during a strike. This will be a stressful time for our colleagues. We will be asking AUFA members to call a small number of our non-striking colleagues each day to check in on them.  

During this call, you might also tell them how the strike is going for you and thank them for declining to perform AUFA work during the strike. The purposes of these calls are to: 

• ensure non-striking staff are okay, 

• convey general information about the strike to non-striking staff, and 

• ensure they are aware they can refuse to perform struck work. 

What to do: 

• Each day, contact a few non-striking staff that you know. 

• Have a short, polite chat about how they are doing and also how the strike is going. 

• Thank them for their hard work and for respecting the AUFA strike.  

What not to do: 

• Do not keep people on the phone for longer than 10 minutes. 

• Do not call anyone who has asked you not to call them. 

JAC hopes this additional information is helpful in explaining what digital picketing will look like initially. As the strike and/or lockout goes on, we may change tactics.  

If you have questions about digital picketing, please direct them to me at barnetso@athabascau.ca . 

Bob Barnetson, Chair 

Job Action Committee 

More Details on In-Person Picketing

Back in December, AUFA’s Job Action Committee (JAC) provided an overview of flying (i.e., in-person) and digital picketing. As a potential strike and/or lockout looms, this post provides additional details about flying pickets during the first few weeks of a work stoppage. Tomorrow, JAC will provide more detail about digital picketing. 

Overview of Flying Pickets 

 If a strike or lockout occurs, AUFA will be organizing three kinds of flying pickets to start with:  

• traditional picketing,  

• leafleting post-secondary students, and  

• flyering neighbourhoods in Athabasca.  

Flying pickets will run for 90- to 120-minutes each. The tentative schedule of events is: 

• Athabasca: Wednesdays (picketing, flyering) 

• Calgary: tentatively Wednesdays (picketing, leafletting) 

• Edmonton: Tuesdays and Thursdays (picketing, leafletting) 

• Toronto: To be determined (leafletting) 

The specific events, their timing, and their locations will vary from day to day. The weekly schedule will be communicated each Friday. Before each event, members will receive details (e.g., location, parking, purpose) specific to the event.  

Traditional Picketing 

Picketing typically entails a group of people walking or standing in a public place (such as a sidewalk, boulevard, or greenspace) outside of an AU building or near a busy intersection holding signs. The goals of picketing are to make the public aware of the strike (i.e., apply reputational and financial pressure) and build member morale.  

What to do: 

• Talk with your colleagues and enjoy yourself. 

• Engage with the public in a friendly manner (e.g., wave at cars, say hello to pedestrians). 

• If a member of the public wants to chat, politely explain what is happening. 

• If a member of the public wants to help, hand them a leaflet (supplied by AUFA) or direct them to the event organizer. 

What not to do: 

• Do not come if you are unwell. 

• Do not block or impede the public’s use of sidewalks, streets, or driveways. 

• Do not confront or argue with members of the public (this almost never happens anyway). 

• Do not do interviews with the media; please direct them to the event organizer. 

What to wear: 

• A mask, hat, and sunscreen. 

• Clothing appropriate for the weather; assume it will be 10 degrees colder than expected. 

• Good shoes—you will be standing a lot on hard surfaces. 

What to bring: 

• A picket sign if you have one (we will have sticks and staples onsite as well as extra signs). You will also be able to borrow one on-site. 

• A folding chair if appropriate (yes for greenspace; no for sidewalks). 

• Water and a snack. 

• A friend or colleague. 

Each event will be run by one or more organizers who will be able to answer questions and sort out unexpected events. 

Leafleting Post-Secondary Students 

Leafleting entails a small group of people in a public space quietly handing out leaflets, engaging in one-on-one conversations with students, and asking them to sign our online petition. This might include a food court, hallway, or transit station on or near a college, polytechnic, or university. The primary goal is to make potential AU visiting students aware of the strike, and to get them to pledge to not enroll in or recommend others attend AU until the strike is resolved.  

What to do: 

• Work individually or in pairs; keep other AUFA members in sight. 

• Approach a student, explain who you are, and ask if you can talk to them for 2 minutes. 

• Outline the strike situation (script provided) and explain why we’re seeking their help. 

• Ask them if they will agree to not register at AU during the strike. 

• If so, ask them to sign the petition (QR code on leaflet takes their phone to it). 

What not to do: 

• Do not come if you are unwell. 

• Do not wear a sign, parade in front of an entrance, or gather in large groups (that is picketing behaviour, and this is leafleting). 

• Do not attempt to interfere with people going about their business. 

• Do not confront or argue with members of the public (this almost never happens anyway). 

• Do not bother people who decline your initial request to chat. 

• Do not do interviews with the media; please direct them to the event organizer.  

What to wear: 

• A mask and clothing appropriate for the location. 

• Good shoes—you will be standing a lot on hard surfaces. 

What to bring: 

• Your phone. 

• A friend or colleague. 

Each event will be run by one or more organizers, who will be able to answer questions and sort out unexpected events.  

If you are asked to leave the premises by a representative of the post-secondary institution, please indicate you will comply and then walk the person making the request to the organizer who will address the issue.  

Flyering in Athabasca 

Flyering entails a small group of people placing handbills in mailboxes. The primary goal is to raise awareness of the strike with residents of Athabasca, who have a particular interest in good wages and working conditions and the future of AU, as well as to get them to sign our online petition.  

What to do: 

• Work individually or in pairs; keep other AUFA members in sight. 

• Place a flyer (supplied) in a residential mailbox or tape it to their door. 

• If a resident asks what the flyer is about, explain we’re seeking their help. 

• Ask them to sign the petition (QR code on flyer takes their phone to it). 

What not to do: 

• Do not come if you are unwell. 

• Do not confront or argue with members of the public (this almost ever happens anyway). 

• Do not do interviews with the media; please direct them to the event organizer. 

What to wear: 

• A mask, hat, and sunscreen. 

• Clothing appropriate for the weather; assume it will be 10 degrees colder than expected. 

• Good shoes—you will be walking a lot on hard surfaces. 

What to bring: 

• Your phone. 

• A friend or colleague. 

Each event will be run by one or more organizers, who will be able to answer questions and sort out unexpected events. 

JAC hopes this additional information is helpful in explaining what flying pickets will look like initially. As the strike and/or lockout goes on, we may change tactics. Additional information about digital picketing will be forthcoming tomorrow. 

If you have questions about in-person picketing, please direct them to me at barnetso@athabascau.ca . 

Bob Barnetson, Chair 

Job Action Committee 

Strike Planning Update: A Funny Valentine

As you might recall, earlier this year the Job Action Committee (JAC) struck a special ad hoc subcommittee and tasked it with generating strike materials to support flying and digital pickets, including signs, online shareables, and leaflets for use in the event of a work stoppage. 

Since then, the Materials Committee (MC), made up of Eric Strikwerda (Chair), Corina Dransutavicius, Ian Grivois, Suzanne McCullagh, Mike Voaklander, Tamara Jackson, and Jonathan Leggo, organized a productive introductory meeting, and started the work of developing multiple themes, digital campaigns, and social media strategies. The MC has also benefitted from valuable input from AUFA members following a call-out for ideas two weeks ago. 

Our first major campaign capitalizes on the strong response to JAC’s Christmas e-card shareables generated in December of last year. 

In the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, then, the MC will roll out over the next two weeks a series of Valentine’s Day e-cards meant to encourage AU to make AUFA a fair contract offer. The MC will share the e-cards on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. When you encounter the cards on your own social media feeds, we hope you’ll share them widely! 

Your Turn 

We’re also hoping to draw on AUFA members’ creative powers by helping us come up with Valentine’s Day messages to fill the cards. The messages can be funny, punny, or anything in-between. Please email me directly (erics@athabascau.ca) with any ideas you come up with. 

Eric Strikwerda, Chair 

Materials Committee 

Strike Planning Update: Committees start to spin up

AUFA’s Executive has directed the Job Action Committee (JAC) to be ready to strike no later than March 15. Whether or not we’ll see a work stoppage remains uncertain and is largely contingent on bargaining reaching impasse, AUFA and the employer completing a legislated mediation process, and the outcome of a member strike vote. This blog provides an update on strike planning.

Provisional Strike Structure

At its December meeting, AUFA’s Executive has developed a provisional structure (below) detailing AUFA’s work stoppage task allocation, reporting lines, and broader strategy. This structure assumes AUFA members’ approval of the strike pay and picketing recommendations at Wednesday’s townhall. The structure is also likely to evolve as work-stoppage preparation continues.

To meet the March 15 strike-readiness deadline, AUFA’s Executive authorized JAC to begin populating the committees that report to it. The first committee JAC has formed is the Materials Committee.

Materials Committee

The Materials Committee is responsible for generating strike materials to support flying and digital picketing, such as signs, online shareables, and leaflets. The committee will also be responsible for maintaining AUFA’s blog during the work stoppage. The committee presently comprises Eric Strikwerda (chair), Corina Dransutavicius, Ian Grivois, Jonathan Leggo, Mike Voaklander, Suzanne McCullagh, and Tamara Jackson. It held its first meeting last week.

Unions often run multi-strand social media campaigns during work stoppages, with different messages for different audiences at different times. Some messages will be critical, targeting the employer directly, and designed to attach a reputational cost to the employer’s behaviour. AUFA-generated memes in support of the Concordia University of Edmonton strike are an example of that approach. Other times, unions will run more positive messages aimed at sustaining member morale, for instance, or that will target different audiences (e.g., students, the public).

The Materials Committee is seeking AUFA member input (see questions below) about possible issues, themes, slogans, and multimedia ideas that, together, will bolster AUFA’s social media presence in the event of a work stoppage. We are especially interested in hearing your thoughts on different targeted audiences, as well as the intended effect of each idea. You can fill out the form below as many times as you like. As always, all submissions are anonymous. You can also email ideas and images to Eric Strikwerda (erics@athabascau.ca).

Eric Strikwerda, Chair

AUFA Materials Committee

JAC Volunteers Needed

JAC is seeking AUFA members willing to perform between 1 and 3 hours of online research between now and February 15. The research entails conducting online searches for contact information of between 10 and 15 AU donors and entering your findings into an online form.

This research will give JAC the option of contacting AU donors during a work stoppage to exert reputational and financial pressure on AU to settle. We have over 300 past donors identified and need some assistance to work through them all. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Bob Barnetson (barnetso@athabascau.ca).

Bob Barnetson, Chair

Job Action Committee

Your Turn

Faculty strike at Concordia enters second week

Last Thursday, 10 AUFA members joined in solidarity with striking faculty at Concordia University Edmonton (CUE), walking the picket line in blisteringly cold January weather. The CUE strike is unprecedented. It is the first post-secondary strike in Alberta’s history. This post provides some background and analysis on the strike, as well as identifying the implications for AUFA.

Background

Concordia is a private university located in Edmonton that focuses on providing high-quality, mostly undergraduate degrees. The university’s faculty association is small (~82 members) and includes faculty members, professional librarians, laboratory instructors, and field placement coordinators. Concordia also employs a large number of temporary sessional instructors who are not members of Concordia University Edmonton Faculty Association (CUEFA).

Concordia’s financial situation is strong. Its 2020/21 expenditures were $35.3 million and it generated an operating surplus of $11.5m (~33%). The previous year, its operating surplus was $7.8m. Most of the surpluses come from tuition revenue (enrollment and tuition are increasing). Overall, tuition and fees account for 64.3% of total university revenue.

At the end of fiscal year 2020/21, Concordia had $39.8m in the bank. Rather than reinvest some of that surplus to compensate chronically underpaid teaching staff, the university instead used $1.75m to buy the historic Magrath Mansion on Ada Blvd. University administration insists that the residence will serve as a campus, but it’s presently zoned as residential so it can’t be used that way. The building is also more than a century old, is architecturally unsuited for university use, and requires significant and ongoing financial resources just to maintain it.

Bargaining to Date

CUEFA has been bargaining for a new contract since early 2021. Concordia faculty have among the lowest salaries in Canada, and labour under among the heaviest teaching loads in Canada (~8 courses per year). Not surprisingly, then, fair and reasonable salary improvements, as well as a workload reduction remain top issues at bargaining.

The nexus between salary and workload is especially salient, since Concordia’s administration is demanding ever greater faculty research output in an effort to enhance the institution’s research reputation. Concordia’s goal is fine. But it can’t do that on the backs of relatively low-waged and overworked staff. The parties are also negotiating intellectual property provisions.

During bargaining, Concordia proposed new disciplinary language which appears to mean that university administrators could terminate faculty without just cause. No other faculty association in Canada has disciplinary language that gives the employer so much latitude, in part because workers know an employer will abuse such discretion. It’s also just plain unfair, and violates basic principles of any collegial workplace.

In November, CUEFA took a strike vote. Ninety-five percent of members voted and 90% of them voted in favour of a strike. Subsequently, the employer and the union were able to make some progress on faculty workload issues (but not for other members).

Concordia offered to withdraw its disciplinary proposal if CUEFA agrees to sign over its members’ intellectual property to the employer. This proposal suggests Concordia’s disciplinary language is simply an effort by the employer to generate some bargaining leverage. After the first week of the strike, Concordia withdrew this just-cause proposal.

One social media report suggests Concordia was offering:

2021/22: 0%

2022/23: 0%

2023/24: 0.5%

2024/25: 1.0%

2025/26: 1.5%

For context, inflation in Alberta in 2021 was 4.3%. Concordia declined CUEFA offers in mediation and the faculty began their strike on January 4.

Concordia not only has the capacity to pay its faculty a fair wage, but, as a private institution, it is not subject to the provincial government’s secret bargaining mandates that limit what other PSEs can agree to. Essentially, this strike is entirely the making of Concordia’s Board and president. This means that Concordia can resolve this strike at any time by returning to the bargaining table (which they have so far refused to do).

Strike Impact

One way to think about a strike is as an effort by workers to attach costs to an employer’s behaviour. If the costs are high enough, the employer will behave differently and, presumably, a mutually acceptable collective agreement will be negotiated. The CUEFA strike has (so far) generated the following costs for Concordia:

• Operational: All classes are cancelled, including those taught by non-CUEFA employees (see below).

• Financial: Concordia has deferred tuition deadlines and is at risk of losing an entire semester of tuition.

• Reputational: Concordia has received negative media stories and social media coverage that contrast its decision to buy a literal mansion with its decision to grind faculty wages. This bad press jeopardizes Concordia’s reputation as a good employer and a reliable provider of education.

It is unclear what Concordia’s strategy is beyond trying to starve out to CUEFA. University administrators may be hoping that CUEFA will call off its strike before Concordia loses the semester and a large portion of its revenue. It may also be that Concordia does not have much of a strategy; it was reportedly taken aback that faculty were prepared to strike.

Impact on Sessionals

A largely unreported aspect of the strike is that Concordia’s decision to cancel classes has left its large complement of non-unionized sessional instructors in the lurch. These instructors, highly qualified and dedicated all, are not being allowed to teach and are not being paid even though they are not on strike.

The sessionals have few options and none of them are good. They may be able to sue for wrongful dismissal, but that is expensive, slow, and likely means they will never work at Concordia again. Alternately, they can sit tight and hope for a quick resolution. Either way, they’re facing deeply unfair financial hardships.

Settlement Prospects

Bargaining resumed after the first week of the strike. Concordia reportedly dropped its demand to fire faculty for no reason at all on the first day of renewed bargaining. Issues remaining in dispute are workloads for CUEFA members other than professors, intellectual property, and salaries.

CUEFA is reporting that its wage demands could be met with approximately $350,000 in additional funding (or, if you prefer, approximately 0.18 mansions). Concordia forcing a strike and risking its reputation over 3% of its annual surplus demonstrates astoundingly bad judgment.

One impediment to a settlement may be government pressure on Concordia to not settle for more than the government’s PSE mandate (which presently appears to mirror the AUPE government settlement). Ego may also be an issue: such a settlement would be a big step-down by Concordia bosses, including its president (and mansion enthusiast) Tim Loreman.

Implications for AUFA

The CUEFA strike has a couple of lessons for AUFA:

• Pressure works, but incrementally. CUEFA made workload gains only after it took a strike vote. CUEFA forced Concordia to drop its discipline language only after striking. Essentially, each time CUEFA has upped the pressure, the employer has moved.

• You can’t bluff. You have to be prepared to carry out your threats. If you won’t strike, you are stuck accepting whatever rollbacks the employer wants to impose. And the employer won’t take you seriously next time if you get caught bluffing.

• Effective strikes are possible, even in a pandemic. CUEFA has fully disrupted Concordia’s operations and choked off Concordia’s main source of revenue.

• Solidarity helps. Flying and digital pickets help boost strikers’ morale and amplify their message. This intensifies the pressure on the employer to bargain. CUEFA has seen strong support from other unions, faculty associations, and students.

• Pressure takes time to work. It took a week of financial and reputational pressure for Concordia to drop its disciplinary demands. Having access to the CAUT strike fund allows CUEFA members the time to let the pressure work.

• Employers often seek outcomes that they don’t objectively need. Concordia is flush with cash and doesn’t need wage freezes. So why did it trigger a strike? Common reasons include the employer wanting to knock workers down a peg, undermine growing worker power, appease someone powerful, and to protect bosses’ egos. Employers can also blunder into strikes by under-estimating worker resolve.

• Employers don’t care about students (or other workers). Concordia’s decision to force a strike is harming students and sessionals. These predictable spillover effects are an unfortunate reality of work stoppages. It isn’t up to workers to prevent these harms—only the employer can do that.

• Nonetheless, students and workers are supportive of strikes. Most have more in common with the strikers than they do with the bosses. They understand the need for fair wages and working conditions. And they understand that striking is how workers achieve those goals.

AUFA will again be joining CUEFA on the picket line on Thursday afternoon, from 1-3. If you’d like to come out, please contact me at barnetso@athabascau.ca .

You can also send CUE president and mansion enthusiast Tim Loreman and email using this CAUT mailer. So far, Loreman has received nearly 1200 emails.

Bob Barnetson, Chair

Job Action Committee

Results of Strike and Strike Pay Consultation

In December, the Job Action Committee (JAC) provided AUFA’s Executive with some preliminary recommendations to five strike-related questions:

• Who will be required to actively participate in a strike?

• What labour will be withdrawn and what labour will be permitted to continue?

• How will AUFA allocate strike pay?

• What strike duties will members be asked to perform?

• How will we resolve disputes about these issues during a work stoppage?

AUFA’s Executive then sought feedback from AUFA members on those preliminary recommendations.

Nearly 100 members offered up their thoughts. Overall, there was strong support for the recommendations (ranging from 90.5% to 98.9%) and a number of very useful suggestions.

This blog summarizes the responses and indicates some of the changes we’ve made as a result. The revised recommendations will be presented during a townhall meeting in later January (tentatively January 19, from 2-3 pm; invitation and agenda forthcoming) with an online ratification vote to follow. This blog also answers some of the questions that were raised by members in the comment section of the online consultation.

Who should strike?

JAC recommended that all members be asked to withdraw their labour (i.e., strike) excepting:

• those on maternity and/or parental leave,

• those on workers’ compensation,

• those on long-term disability, or

• those who receive an exemption (adjudicated by a committee).

When polled, 94.7% of respondents supported this recommendation.

Throughout the consultation, there was strong support for exempting members who are on research and study leave (RSL) from striking. The underlying arguments were RSLs take a long time to arrange, and that it’d be unfair to interrupt them.

JAC agreed, and adjusted its recommendation:

All members be asked to withdraw their labour (i.e., strike) excepting:

• those on maternity and/or parental leave,

• those on workers’ compensation,

• those on long-term disability,

• those on research and study leave, or

• those who receive an exemption (adjudicated by a committee).

What labour should be withdrawn?

JAC recommended that during a strike:

• academic members be directed to stop teaching, coordinating their courses, and performing university service work, and

• professional members be directed to not engage in their professional duties and to stop their university service work.

When polled, 98.9% of respondents supported this recommendation, and as such, JAC has left this recommendation intact.

How will strike pay be allocated?

JAC recommended that strike pay be allocated to members who:

• provided contact and banking information (a practical requirement)

• withdrew their labour as set out above, and

• participated in strike duties.

When polled, 93.7% of respondents supported this recommendation, and as such, JAC has left this recommendation intact.

What strike duties will AUFA members be asked to perform?

JAC recommended that AUFA members be asked to perform approximately 2 hours of strike duties per day and provided an illustrative list of strike duties. Members who are on casual sick leave (or become ill during a strike) would be excused.

When polled, 90.5% of respondents supported this recommendation.

Member comments focused on two issues.

• Several members requested AUFA ensure there be strike duties that could be performed by members who could not picket in person.

• Several members suggested that greater flexibility around the time (e.g., requiring 10 hours per week, rather than 2 hours per day) would

It has long been AUFA’s intention to ensure everyone would have accessible picketing options. This was clarified in a December blog post. Shifting from 2 hours per day to 10 hours per week also makes sense.

In light of this feedback, JAC has adjusted its recommendation to be:

All members would be expected to perform 10 hours of strike activities per week, excepting those who are sick or who receive an exemption.

How will AUFA resolve disputes about these issues during a work stoppage?

JAC recommended AUFA set up a Strike Pay Eligibility Committee to adjudicate disputes about strike pay and other related matters. The committee will also administer all requests for exemptions to the general approach set out above.

While every AUFA member should share the costs of a strike equally, it is important to have a fair process by which we can address instances when the strike disproportionately impacts some members and accommodate them. Since this is our first time through a strike, we also need a process to handle events that we haven’t foreseen.

When polled, 95.7% of respondents supported this recommendation.

Member comments focused on committee composition and selection. JAC’s original proposal was to have the Vice-President chair the committee with six members appointed by the Executive (this is how AUFA usually creates ad hoc committees). Members suggested electing committee members and ensuring the committee had an equal number of academic and professional members.

In light of this feedback, JAC has adjusted its recommendation such that the committee would be chaired by the Vice-President and comprise three academic members and three professional members selected via a membership nomination and election process. The Executive will draft the terms of reference for this committee.

Member Questions

Q. Why is AUFA proposing using direct deposit instead of e-transfers for strike pay?

A. Direct deposit can be more easily automated (reducing the work and errors), creates an easier paper trail to audit, and allows for easier correction of errors.

Q. How can I digitally picket when I’m not on social media.

A. As set out in the December picketing post, there will be several digital picketing options, including ones that do not require access to social media. That said, social media accounts are also easy to create and operate. You can also create an anonymous and/or second social media account if you are concerned about your privacy or professional reputation.

Q. What happens if I withdraw my labour but don’t perform strike activities?

A. If the membership ratifies the criteria JAC is recommending for strike pay eligibility and you choose not to meet one of the criteria and do not receive an exemption, then you will not receive strike pay. The rationale for this is that everyone benefits from the collective agreement, thus everyone must share the costs (including performing strike activities) associated with winning improvements.

Q. How will AUFA be communicating about a strike to students?

A. AUFA is in periodic contact with the student associations. When a strike appears imminent, AUFA will provide student-directed communications as well as talking points for AUFA members should students contact them directly.

Q. What will happen if I am on vacation and a strike commences?

A. Members who are on vacation when a strike commences will be expected to withdraw their labour and receive strike pay. Members on vacation at the start of a strike whose vacation circumstances would impede them performing strike activities, can request a temporary exemption to that requirement from the Strike Pay Eligibility Committee.

Q. Why are you focused on a strike instead of a work to rule campaign?

A. It comes down to an assessment of risk and reward. Working to rule is a form of a strike. In order to legally strike (whether that means working to rule or withdrawing our labour entirely), AUFA needs to be in a legal strike position (we’re a ways from that at the moment) and serve notice of a strike on the employer.

When a strike commences, the collective agreement is no longer in effect. This allows the employer to impose whatever terms and conditions it likes upon us. Typically, employers impose their most recent offer. Continuing to work (even if it is working to rule) in these circumstances would allow the employer to implement things like their proposals for cheaper layoffs and less academic and professional freedom.

Working to rule, while doubtless an irritant to the employer, would not exert much pressure on them to settle since working to rule would not profoundly disrupt operations and we would be working to rule under the terms they want. AUFA’s counter move to an employer imposing its terms on us is to have a full strike (which would apply significant pressure to settle on AU). Given this, it makes sense to focus on a strike, rather than a work-to-rule campaign.

JAC hopes this update is useful. The townhall agenda (with a full set of proposals) will be circulated next week by email. In the meantime, you can send question to barnetso@athabascau.ca .

Bob Barnetson, Chair

AUFA Job Action Committee

Picketing and the Virtual Strike

AUFA’s Job Action Committee (JAC) is at present tabulating the results of its consultation on striking, strike activities, and strike pay. The short version is there was overwhelming member support, and the consultation generated many excellent ideas, some of which we are adopting. There will be a full report-back in early January. A townhall meeting and ratification vote on a slightly revised set of recommendations will take place in later January.

During the consultation, members asked a variety of questions. Some questions are answered in our Work Stoppage FAQ while others will be answered in the new year via a blog post. This post explains how JAC will organize picketing given AUFA’s distributed membership and the effective closure (temporarily or permanently) of all campuses.

The Logic of Strikes and Picketing

Workers withdraw their labour (i.e., strike) in order to apply financial pressure on their employer to come to a mutually acceptable agreement. Strikes generate pressure primarily by disrupting the employer’s ability to deliver service to their customers and, thus, make money.

JAC has completed a preliminary analysis of the impact of AUFA members ceasing their teaching, internal service, and professional duties. This analysis suggests a strike will significantly degrade AU’s ability to operate and, indeed, function at all. This, in turn, will cause students to defer new registrations, thereby imperilling 50% of AU’s revenue.

Further, any work stoppage will negatively affect AU’s reputation as a reliable and responsible provider of post-secondary education. The risk for the employer (that escalates over time) is that students may decide to take their tuition money elsewhere.

Workers picket to discourage customers, suppliers, and replacement workers from entering the worksite. Essentially, picketing is designed to intensify the operational disruption of a strike as well as attach reputational costs to the employer’s unwillingness to bargain. Intensifying the pressure on the employer is designed to shorten the length of the strike. Picketing often entails walking the sidewalk or blocking a plant gate, carrying signs, handing out leaflets, and the like.

Traditional picketing makes little sense at AU. Effectively, no work occurs on AU’s campuses and no students ever visit them. Further, many AUFA members do not live in close proximity to an AU location. Consequently, JAC is considering two main alternatives to the traditional picket: flying pickets and digital pickets.

Flying Pickets

A flying picket is essentially an in-person picket that moves around (instead of a static picket outside a workplace) and operates for relatively short periods of time. It can, but does not always, entail carrying picket sign. Some examples of flying pickets include:

• Campus visits: Going to a campus that sends many visiting students to AU, having one-on-one conversations with students about our issues and concerns, and asking them not to enroll at AU until the strike is over will apply reputational and financial pressure to AU.

• High-Traffic Pickets: Holding a traditional picket at a high-traffic location (e.g., important intersection at rush hour) to raise public awareness about AU’s behaviour.

• Door Knocking: Informing voters of how the government’s mandate (which presumably shapes AU’s financial offer) is affecting us may generate government pressure on AU to settle (e.g., by agreeing to non-financial improvements).

• Secondary Pickets: Picketing organizations with close ties to the AU or the government may generate pressure from these organizations on AU to settle.

• Pressuring Leaders: Picketing or leafleting at businesses operated by AU Board members or in the neighbourhoods of AU Board members and executives may pressure them to seek a settlement.

Flying pickets address the absence of a meaningful workplace to picket. At present, JAC plans to hold regular flying pickets in Athabasca, Calgary, and Edmonton. These locations are home to approximately 75% of our members and are where AUFA has the deepest bases of local organizers. Flying pickets are possible in other locations if there are enough AUFA members and local organizers available.

Digital Pickets

Approximately 25% of members do not live in or near Athabasca, Edmonton, or Calgary. To accommodate these members, as well as those members for whom flying pickets are not viable, JAC is also developing digital picketing strategies. A digital picket is an activity designed to apply pressure to AU to settle that can be performed regardless of one’s physical location. Some examples of digital picketing include:

• Shareables: The posting of shareables (e.g., memes, infographics) on social media applies reputational pressure to AU, particularly when coupled with a specific time-bound ask (e.g., during a strike, don’t register for AU courses or refrain from donating to AU). Shareables also allow non-AUFA members to amplify these tactics. Social media accounts, including anonymous ones, are readily available and easy to operate.

• Outreach: Targeted contacts (e.g., email, phone calls, letters) can be operationally disruptive as well as apply financial and reputational pressure to AU. Targets can include AU Board members, executives, donors, students, MLAs, and allied organizations.

• Education: Digitally delivered “teach-ins” are a way for AUFA members to interact with members of the public (as well as other AUFA members), build an understanding of why we’re striking, and recruit allies.

• Creative activities: Creative activities, whether self-directed or structured (e.g., limerick, haiku, photo, and song contests), offer an important way to build morale, engage with one another, and apply reputational pressure on AU.

In addition to flying and digital pickets, JAC and the AUFA executive will be working on other pressure tactics, including transfer-credit boycotts, advertising, and media coverage. Ideally, AUFA would like to have a suite of strike activities available that allow all members to meaningfully participate in winning better working conditions.

We hope this brief discussion of AUFA’s approach to strike activities is helpful. If you have any questions, you can contact me at barnetso@athabascau.ca.

Bob Barnetson, Chair

AUFA Job Action Committee

Your Turn

JAC would like to hear your feedback on the approaches outlined above as well as any ideas you have.

Holiday memes campaign

Our next bargaining date is December 8 (the November 30 date was cancelled by the employer due to illness). Over the next two weeks, AUFA will be posting daily memes on its Twitter (@AUFacultyAssoc) and Facebook accounts. The first meme is also posted above.

The Job Action Committee (JAC) has developed this campaign to attach costs to the employer’s unwillingness to provide a full offer, which is required for meaningful collective bargaining to take place. This is also an opportunity for JAC to experiment with shareable images that it expects will a part of AUFA’s digital picketing repertoire in the event of a work stoppage.

JAC is hoping that members will check AUFA’s Twitter and/or Facebook accounts each day and share meme they find there. JAC will be slightly tweeking this approach in the second week to further experiment with how they deliver this info to AUFA members.

In solidarity,

Dave Powell, President