Created 22 March 2015 16:03

Academic staff at the University of Northern British Columbia began strike action March 5 after over two years of bargaining and an 85% strike vote mandate from their members”

“We have taken this step after two and a half years of failed negotiations and intransigence on the part of UNBC’s administration,” said Jacqueline Holler, president of the UNBC Faculty Association (UNBCFA).

“While increasing pressure has allowed us to make considerable progress on non-monetary aspects of our agreement, we remain by far the lowest-paid faculty among our comparator institutions,” she added.

In an arbitration decision released in 2013 respected arbitrator Vince Ready concluded that UNBC salaries were far behind the comparator market and that UNBC had additional internal resources to remedy at least part of the disparity.

UNBCFA represents nearly 200 professors, full- and part-time instructors, senior lab instructors, and academic librarians at the University of Northern British Columbia.

CUFA BC member associations have voiced support for UNBC FA and, along with CUFA BC and other faculty associations across the country, have sent “flying pickets” to Prince George in solidarity.

Letters of solidarity can be sent to [email protected].

For more information, visit the UNBCFA website at www.unbcfa.ca or follow on Twitter at @UNBCFA.