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 

Athabasca Picket-Sign Making on Wednesday

AUFA will be hosting a lunch-hour sign-making event in Athabasca this week. You can drop in and make a sign with your co-workers. Or you can pick-up picket-sign “blanks” and make your picket sign at home. 

When: Wednesday, March 16 from noon until 2 pm (to accommodate variable lunch hours). 

Where: Athabasca United Church, 4817 48th Street (basement entrance) 

Signs, snacks, and coffee will be provided.  

Please wear a mask to this event. Please do not attend this event if you are feeling unwell. The basement space is large enough to allow for social distancing. 

If you are unable to attend but would like to pick up a sign at another time, please contact Brenda Skayman at bls@aufa.ca to make arrangements.  

Some things to think about when making your sign: 

• You can use the blank sign in either the portrait (tall) or landscape (wide) orientation. 

• Each sign should contain no more than 3 to 5 words.  

• Each sign should contain a clear and tasteful message (e.g., “On Strike for fair wages”, “On strike for my co-workers” “On strike to feed my family”) or demand (e.g., “Fair Deal!”, “Equity!”, “No cuts!”). 

• Letters should be at least 4” tall and reasonably thick to be legible at a distance. If you can’t read your sign from 30 feet away, neither can passersby.  

• High-contrast text is important for visibility (e.g., using dark colours or outlining letters in black). 

AUFA members in the Edmonton area can request picket blanks to be dropped off at their homes. We have distributed over 50 signs in the Edmonton areas already. Please contact Eric Strikwerda (erics@athabascau.ca) to arrange a drop off.  

We are still sorting out sign-making arrangements in Calgary. 

Bob Barnetson, Chair 

Job Action Committee

Picket Sign Making Starts in Edmonton

While the AUFA bargaining team continues to seek a negotiated agreement, 

AUFA’s job action committees continue to prepare against the possibility of a strike. A credible strike threat is important because it shows AU that failing to negotiate an agreement will entail financial and reputational costs.

The Materials Committee is now turning its attention to the manufacture of signs for use by members during flying (ie. in-person) picketing events. We are starting preparations in Edmonton because this location has the largest concentration of AUFA members. 

Arrangements for sign creation in Calgary and Athabasca is in development along different lines, in conjunction with the picketing committees at those locations.

Starting early next week, AUFA volunteers will begin delivering blank signs to members in the Edmonton region who want them. Members would then create their own signs using whatever materials they have available (AUFA will not be supplying markers or paint). 

You can make more than one sign. And you can dragoon family members into helping!

Once created, the Materials Committee would be thrilled to share pictures of your sign(s) on social media. If a strike takes place, members would then bring their sign(s) to the picket line, where we’d attach them to sticks.

Some things to think about when making your sign:

• You can use the blank sign in either the portrait (tall) or landscape (wide) orientation.

• Each sign should contain no more than 3 to 5 words.

• Each sign should contain a clear and tasteful message (e.g., “On Strike”) or demand (e.g.,“Fair Deal!”, “Equity!”, “No cuts!”).

• Letters should be at least 4” tall and reasonably thick to be legible at a distance. If you can’t read your sign from 30 feet away, neither can passersby.

• High-contrast text is important for visibility (e.g., using dark colours or outlining letters in black).

If you would like sign blanks delivered, please fill out the following form:

Eric Strikwerda

Materials Committee Chair