Updated March 31, 2022
Strike FAQ for Students
AUFA has created this FAQ to respond to questions undergraduate and graduate students might have about the possibility of a strike or lockout at Athabasca University. We will be updating this FAQ periodically. Should you have any questions that aren’t answered here, please reach out to any member of the AUFA Executive.
1. What is AUFA?
AUFA is the Athabasca University Faculty Association. We are a union created under the Post-Secondary Learning Act that represents Athabasca University’s 450 faculty and professional staff members. This means that a lot of people that you interact with in your studies at AU and who work behind the scenes for your courses to work are a part of the union – this includes academics (professors) and professionals (such as Librarians, Counsellors, and Information Technology professionals). As a union, we are all committed to ensuring that AU offers accessibility, openness, and excellence in teaching and learning. AUFA is also committed to advocating for its members on all workplace issues.
For more information about AUFA you can look at our website. If you want to know more about unions, this is a good video.
Unions have been important for a long time and have been central in bringing about changes for equity and community building. Unions have played central roles in winning rights for things like pensions and parental leave, andalso forimplementing health and safety regulations, ensuring fair work hours and more. Here are some examples:
2. Why would AUFA strike?
Our working conditions are your learning conditions, and AUFA’s work to improve the workplace is both for us, as staff, as well as, for you, as learners.
Unions go on strike when the conversation with an employer about their collective agreement (which covers things, for example, like benefits, expectations, pay scale and promotion processes) stalls and both sides are unable to reach an agreement. A strike is meant to demonstrate to the employer (in this case AU) the importance of their labour (in this case academic and professional staff). Unions are legally entitled to strike when negotiations and formal mediation processes have been exhausted. In Alberta, this is governed by the Labour Relations Code.
Most recently, a proposal was made by the mediator which AUFA members rejected (77% voting no). You can read more about what was in this proposal here.
3. Can AU afford what AUFA is asking for?
Yes! AUFA wants AU to succeed so we would not propose something that AU would not be able to afford. In the past 10 years, AU has had a surplus nine times, and is on track to reach a surplus this year as well! AU has also indicated that they have available funds in their proposal to allocate $2.1 million for a one-time payout to each professional who has accrued leave while cutting any future research and study leaves for professionals. The payout that is being offered to professionals is insultingly low – not even the equivalent to one research and service leave, let alone the leaves that would be possible throughout a professional’s career.
4. Why should I care about AUFA’s bargaining when the cost of courses continues to rise?
There are many issues that AUFA is bargaining for, and not all of them are monetary. The main monetary ask on the table is about the cost-of-living increase. This cost-of-living increase that AUFA is asking for will not match the inflation rate in Alberta. AU has chosen to prioritize expensive projects, hiring excluded managers, and paying for premium Amazon services over affordable tuition and fair salaries. The struggles students and AUFA members are facing are linked. As AU has been returning surpluses every year, we believe they can keep tuition low and pay a fair wage.
5. What will happen now that AUFA has rejected the proposal?
On April 4th, there will be a strike vote by AUFA membership. This vote does not mean that membership immediately would go on strike, but enables AUFA leadership to call a strike if they feel AU is not engaging meaningfully in bargaining. A labour board supervised strike vote is a requirement for a legal strike, but the mandate lasts for four months. That is, a strike is not inevitable after a strong strike vote. Paradoxically, it can often mean that it’s less likely because the employer might be convinced to move to a better deal for AUFA members if it is facing a much more real risk of a work stoppage.
If meaningful bargaining does resume, the AUFA executive has committed to polling the members again if we think that it is necessary to move toward calling a strike. This is above the minimum requirement by the labour board but it’s an important step to take in recognition that things can change very quickly. We will want to follow the membership’s lead!
You can read more about this process here.
6. What will happen if there is a strike?
We understand that AU has provided assurances that learners will be able to complete coursework. However, we anticipate that a strike by AUFA members would entail significant disruption for many learners. This is a stressful time for everyone – AUFA does not want to strike because we like our jobs, and we know that it will cause stress for students. If there is a strike, professors and coordinators will withdraw teaching and course administrative services and professional members will withdraw their administrative/support services. AUFA members will also be withdrawing their labour from their university service commitments, which includes a variety of committee work that ensures the smooth functioning of the institution.
Other unions at AU (AUFA, AUPE Local 69 and CUPE Local 3911) have all signed a solidarity pledge refusing to perform work beyond their normal duties, specifically work typically done by striking and/or locked out workers. This will further intensify the operational disruption AU will face in any strike.
What we don’t know is how AU will respond – there are different ways that universities have responded to strikes in the past including factors such as how long the strike lasts, and how operations were impacted. For example, should AU choose to lockout AUFA members (e.g., suspend work or prohibit access to a workplace), faculty and professionals might no longer be able to access their email, AU systems (including Moodle), or even their AU telephones. This means that you will not be able to access faculty and professionals either. What we want is a fair and quick resolution with AU. We value the AU community and our work, and a strike is a difficult choice. We care about you and your experiences at AU and part of our bargaining is to make sure that AU is a fair place.
If you have questions about how the university will handle a strike, you should contact Charlene Polege, Director, Human Resources at cpolege@athabascau.ca.
7. What's the difference between a tutor and a faculty member?
Faculty members who are members of AUFA are distinct from tutors who are part of a different union (CUPE). You may be in courses where your primary instructor is a tutor or your primary instructor is an AUFA member. In both cases, AUFA members will handle administrative matters that arise in courses - for example, arrangements for alternate assessments, course appeals, course extensions, etc... This means that if there is a strike, some students will lose access to their primary instructor when that person is an AUFA member. If there is a strike, in all cases students will lose access to that administrative support. If you are uncertain if your primary instructor is an AUFA or CUPE member, please get in touch with them to ask!
8. When will the strike begin? How long will it last?
We don’t know the exact answers to this question. It depends on how bargaining unfolds and if AUFA and AU can make satisfactory progress on a fair deal. AUFA is continuing to bargain in the hope of reaching an agreement. The earliest that a strike could begin is April 8th.
Prior to serving strike notice, AUFA must complete formal mediation with AU, vote on any recommendation made by the mediator, conduct a strike vote, and issue 72 hours of strike notice. At any time during this process or a strike or a lockout, the parties can continue bargaining and achieve a new agreement. What this means is that you will always have advance notice if there is a strike.
Strikes are designed to pressure the employer (AU in this case) to agree to a new collective agreement that the members can agree to (AUFA). When this happens, the strike will end.
The recent strike at Concordia University of Edmonton only lasted 10 days, including the weekend. The average length of strikes in Canada is about 3 weeks. However, the University of Lethbridge strike lasted 40 days (6 weeks).. You can read more about it here.
9. I am working as a research assistant with an AU prof. Will this affect my work?
As far as AUFA knows, RAs would continue to be paid. Their work; however, may be self-directed.
10. Would AU lose its accreditation?
No, the strike will not impact AU’s accreditation.
11. What components of taking a course at AU will be available if there is a strike?
Many of these questions are not under the control of AUFA but will be decisions made by AU depending on how they respond to the strike. These are questions that are best directed to AU.
12. I have more questions!
You can email aufahq@aufa.ca those questions, we will answer as best as we can! We will update this FAQ periodically to reflect the questions that we are getting.
We also understand that you have important questions that AUFA may not be able to answer. What we do know is that the work of AUFA members is closely integrated with the work of AUPE Local 69 and CUPE Local 3911 members working at AU, meaning that a strike will impact us all. If, for example, you have submitted all your coursework to your tutor and need to make arrangements for an alternate assessment, those arrangements can only be approved through your course coordinator who will be an AUFA member. There are other questions you may have that will be ones that have to be posed directly to AU administration. All these questions illustrate how imperative it is that AU prioritize negotiating a fair deal for those who are supporting your learning most directly. For example:
How might a strike impact visiting students on a letter of permission from another university?
What happens when I submit coursework for courses where the primary instructor is an AUFA member?
Can I still register for and take exams (via ProctorU)?
How might a strike impact the May 1st start to classes? For example, if I have not received final grades, can I register in courses that require a prerequisite?
What can I expect after the strike in terms of grading times?
Will AU be giving extensions to students who required support from faculty during a strike? How will these extensions impact the workload of AUFA members?
If AU does not negotiate a fair deal and faculty are locked out or are forced to withhold their grading labour, will that compromise my provincial funding?
13. How can I support AUFA?
Thanks for asking! If you want to share support with what we are asking, there are lots of ways you can do that both before a strike and during, if we have one:
Share information about our experience bargaining
Talk to friends, family, and community members about the issues
Tell AUFA staff that you support them and tell the administration this too!
Let AU know that you support AUFA staff by emailing or sharing on social media
If there is a strike, we will be having pickets in different locations, and you can show up and show your support there
Our working conditions are your learning conditions, and we want to make them better!