The Lecturers Union of Memorial University (LUMUN) has received overwhelming support for a strike mandate during strike voting over the weekend. Voter turnout was also extremely high.

“This sends a clear signal to Memorial University’s Administration that per course instructors are fed up with the Employers’ insulting behavior,” says Alison Coffin of LUMUN. “Not only that, but we saw clearly from the outstanding voter turnout that members are very engaged. It’s time for Memorial to table a fair deal, and to do so right now. After 4 years of delays, enough is enough.”

The Union says that after 4 years without a new collective agreement Memorial University was only forced to the table by conciliation and ever since has acted in an evasive and unprofessional manner.

The Union adds that they have been more than patient but that this is an issue about whether the University will treat teaching students as a priority and fund it adequately or not.

LUMUN states that they don’t want to go on strike, and don’t want to impact students, but that whether a strike happens or not is down to the University and whether they choose to come to the table right away with a fair deal. They say the University clearly has the capacity to do this, to act fairly to lecturers, and to prioritize the education of students, that this was made clear by the recent Auditor General’s report on Memorial University: https://lumun.ca/2023/11/01/lumun-is-gobsmacked-by-the-auditor-generals-report-on-memorial-university/

“Lecturers provide the education students pay for and it’s ridiculous that we work at a university where the Administration pays more for parties with alcohol than they spend to pay an instructor to teach a course. We love our jobs and providing quality education to our students, but that is already difficult with the minimal pay we receive and it’s going to be even more difficult without a fair deal,” adds Coffin.

The Union says that the University could be leading the way in offering wages that not only keep pace with inflation but which would make it possible for instructors to focus on the courses that benefit students whether the instructor only teaches at MUN or are balancing multiple jobs to make ends meet. They also say it’s time for Lecturers’ rights in the institution to be respected.