LU Profs on Strike

Yep - I've been on strike since Thursday.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/laurentian-university-faculty-strike-1.4310973

Administration tabled a bevy of new demands to up the work payload and mess with the pension. A new LU president and corporate lawyer want to make their mark by stonewalling the union and piling on the demands. This isn't a fight for new benefits but to keep a sane work environment. As a sessional I have no pension but if full-time profs are forced to teach more courses then my job may be finished.

The union seems to have wandered into this strike and barely mention part-timers in their demands (despite the fact that we are 200 of the 500 professors at LU), but now that the strike is on, we have to fight.

Solidarity!

I have now worked for a year in a non-unionized environment and it is terrible. Let me rephrase that - I only got to work in a unionized environment for 4 years. Every other year of work has been degrading.

Capitalism has to go. It's broken. It's destroying everything and everybody knows it. There are days where I just want to take all the money I have and burn it in the streets because I don't want to play anymore. It is funadmentally cruel and explotive and I don't want to play those games with real lives at stake. It seems insane.

So it turns out the 'strike' was a big swindle.

Last semester, despite the blip of a one week strike, I worked the usual amount. The week of class that was missed in October was simply tacked on at the end on the semester in December. Like every other year I taught 12-weeks of class and did all the usual assorted marking and preparation. I kept my side of the contract with Laurentian.

But according to Laurentian's economic abstraction I only worked 15 of the 16 weeks, therefore I'm out $600 for each class I taught. I performed the real-world labour of teaching but Laurentian has decided not to honour the contract and pay me for it because of a loop-hole.

Laurentian management are thieves. The stole over a $1000 from me alone. Now multiple $600 times the number of total course taught last semester. LU managed to swindle tens of thousands of dollars from all the professors! And the unions response to me when I mentioned this thievery? "Only a scab would be so interested in LU's payment - isn't your strikepay enough!"

LU forces this strike by walking away from the table (a fact confirmed by everyone on the bargaining committee), 'saves' huge sums of money by not paying for a full semester while still getting a full semester of labour, and the union is supine.

This theft will not go uncorrected.

I'm not sure what's more obscene in this whole situation, LU or the union.  The processes in place for resolution are cumbersome, but it sounds like a grievance is needed against both the University and the Union.  OLRB?

Are you gonna rattle cages up the totem pole up to the top dog with the union?

I've already had a email exchange with the union president where I bluntly told him they got swindled by letting management steal a paycheque from us.

I have also been sounding out other professors but they are mostly cowards pragmatic. It has been fun to see their faces changes as I keep explaining the scam until it finally sinks in and it dawns on them that I have a point.
It's strange, I met plenty of money-obessed profs on the strikeline, but I'm the only one complaining about this blatant theft.

I'm open to tactical advice. Any grievance would have to face the steely grip of economic contract law. Right now I'm working on remedies best not discussed in public forums and my own on campus PR campaign. I figure LU brought $1,200 of bad publicity from me.

I'd prefer public redress, not just for me but for all contract professors. My argument is about real-world labour versus economic abstractions and the whole capitalist system relies on that very abstraction, so I'm not optimistic.

Hobb wrote:
I've already had a email exchange with the union president where I bluntly told him they got swindled by letting management steal a paycheque from us.

The days where the Union labor force was massive enough to impact the economy and shake up the auto manufacturing sector and/or other resource sectors has been gone for quite some time.  Unions give the appearance of a collective and unified approach that has power to either bargain / negotiate.  Sadly, reality dictates otherwise.

I have also been sounding out other professors but they are mostly cowards pragmatic. It has been fun to see their faces changes as I keep explaining the scam until it finally sinks in and it dawns on them that I have a point.
It's strange, I met plenty of money-obessed profs on the strikeline, but I'm the only one complaining about this blatant theft.

It's not only strange, it's disconcerting.  In my mind, it's the "rocking the boat" fear factor, despite the drive and focus on money.  I think subconsciously, people see how impotent and powerless they are on their own or even with the union, the power imbalance keeps people in check.  It's as if everyone has been "neutered", for lack of a better term.  Nobody wants to rock the boat anymore.  People just take their lumps, chalk it up as a loss and move on; thereby maintaining the status quo & enabling the next round of likely concessions.

I still remember presenting in my history class about George Stanley's book I was reviewing.  During that presentation I had a smile on my face when mentioning the one story which alluded to a Mayor being chased around the town by a woman with a frying pan as she was incensed over a particular action taken by said mayor.  The time and location eludes me, but it's a striking contrast to the mechanisms for redress in place today.  I was also very cognisant of the fact that all the students in that class were either ignoring me, half listening or completely oblivious.  It was my own opinion and choice to mention this little tidbit in Stanley's book, but the only person who did react to my comment was the Professor.  Curiously, he actually took me aside after class and encouraged me to become a teacher after that.  It certainly wasn't the usual type of feedback after presenting a book review.  

I'm open to tactical advice. Any grievance would have to face the steely grip of economic contract law. Right now I'm working on remedies best not discussed in public forums and my own on campus PR campaign. I figure LU brought $1,200 of bad publicity from me.

I'd prefer public redress, not just for me but for all contract professors. My argument is about real-world labour versus economic abstractions and the whole capitalist system relies on that very abstraction, so I'm not optimistic.

I do have a contact who loves to play with contract / employment law.  It sounds like a case he would enjoy sinking his teeth into.  He's the most litigious and obstinate advocate you could get and he would likely relish the chance at making a University cry uncle.  He's also a socially awkward and absolutely brilliant (borderline genius).  He's already sued a Canadian Senator (successfully - though settled out of court) where the Senator was associated / connected with a ponzi scheme.  It was quite the Tort action.  

Have you isolated the specific section of the CBA which identifies that loophole?