The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 4600, representing contract instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) at Carleton University, will be in a position to strike in fewer than three days. The university needs to do more to communicate the situation to students. The collective bargaining process has taken months and been unsuccessful. The university’s failure to communicate the potential implications of this to students is insulting.
A staggering 3,000 members in the union would be in a position to strike unless the union and university reach an agreement by March 27. The university needs to come to an agreement in order to support students through a fast-approaching exam season.
In the event of a strike, classes taught by contract instructors will come to a halt until an agreement is reached. If an agreement is not reached within 11 days, the university will need to make a decision on whether to grant credits for affected courses. The university has yet to comment on what would happen to students expecting to graduate, which is unacceptable and inconsiderate.
An analysis of the university’s course status table by the Charlatan showed about 28 per cent of classes—774 out of a total of 2774— would be disrupted. The data excludes tutorials or labs, which are primarily run by unionized teaching assistants and would likely also be disrupted.
Local transportation to the university may no longer be accessible to students as OC Transpo buses will not be crossing the picket line onto campus, the university said in a statement to faculty Tuesday. Some departments have communicated this to students, but there has been no university-wide messaging to students regarding this potential disruption. It has also been communicated that non-effected classes may move online.
Students received an email earlier this week with a measly update on the bargaining process, saying that progress was being made. The university failed to include any information on how a strike could affect students, stating further updates would be provided should a strike be declared.
The university lacks awareness of students’ concerns. In an email last week, the university wrote it is committed to negotiating in a “timely manner” despite the fact that bargaining has been ongoing since August 2022.
In the same email, the university said it is “committed to a successful end of term for students.” This is hard to believe due to the university’s complete lack of transparency. The university needs to communicate with its students on the strikes potential impact on their education and life on campus to ease growing anxieties.
Feature graphic from files
