The UNBC administration has done itself no favours by telling the media before telling the bargaining team of its decision.

I think that I read her ‘reaction’ as the media loves to ask for, to be bargaining in the media?

Langara College just voted down 5.5 over 5.

UNBC’s tactics are irrational at best. No more quality staff=no more quality students=no more UNBC

UNBCFA president Jacqueline Holler:
“What’s particularly troubling to me about this situation is that we have students out of UNBC, out of their classes”

I guess that is because the faculty puts their students first, right?
NOT

The faculty are the ones who initiated the job action, if they are at all concerned about the students, they could have waited ’til after the current semester, even if that would have diluted their bargaining power.
By launching their action last week they are apparently hoping to pressure UNBC into a settlement.
metalman.

I would ask anyone reading this if you would work for 30% less than colleagues doing the same job as you in roles across Canada?

The University has forced the FA’s hand by not addressing the compensation issue sooner and as a student I am troubled by the lack of meetings by the two sides.

The Teacher’s Association went on strike during an inopportune time (in the summer) and that was not resolved for months. I believe the FA needed to strike mid semester to be taken seriously by the university.

I would like to inform metalman that the students have received several emails from Daniel Weeks informing us about how important the students are to the universities mission. By not tabling timely responses to proposals, sticking to a compensation package that barely meets up with inflation to a staff that is highly underpaid, and negotiating through the media Daniel Weeks has shown how much he cares about students and staff at UNBC!

I guess UNBCFA took a gamble that not only didn’t pay off for them, but has cost the students, the university and ultimately Prince George. It will take a long time to rebuild the damaged reputation.

It sounds like tuition is going to go up! are the UNBCFA poor? or greedy? school is over in two weeks they made a choice to screw over the students who paid for an education, if I was a student there I would want my money back.

As for working for 30% less than elsewhere it happens all the time. Trades people in BC make substantially more than there counterparts in Nova Scotia. People in Ft McMurray make more than workers Halifax.
If you are making 30% less and feel it is not justified then either a move to another center is required or it may be time to analyze the overall cost of living. Sometimes making less money and living in a center with a lower cost of housing, transportation, etc, actually at the end of the day leaves more money in your pocket.

Resident – that is exactly the issue here. The UNBCFA is trying to negotiate a way to prevent future professors from leaving to a different institution. We have the number 2 ranked undergraduate university yet it will not be able to stay there if we lose all high quality professors to other universities because they’ll get paid more (or at least what they deserve).

Also, to completely discredit that argument with UNBC – administration makes on average, if not a little above comparable university administration salaries. Why does the president get paid the nationwide average but UNBC faculty is still supposed to accept 20% lower because they live in the north? Seems a little ridiculous to me.

I still don’t see how recruitment and retention is the employees responsibility. If the wages are truly too low, they will lose professors, they will lose students, and the university will close – surely administration is able to work that out without the professors going on strike. The professors are on strike to improve their wages – which is fine, that’s why we have unions in this country, if you don’t think the offer is fair, withdraw services.

What’s different about this strike, vs the teacher’s strike, is the University actually isn’t making money each day the professor’s are out. In fact, they all stand to lose big time when they get to the point of no return, and students are demanding their tuition fees back. You can’t just say to them, we’ll tack the extra weeks on at the end of the semester, many of these students have work plans for the summer, to make money for the next year.

No, UNBC will have to start writing cheques and take a huge hit on enrollment next Spring as kids transfer to other universities, and the professors – will likely lose 8 months pay, and many their jobs due to low enrollment. It’s odd that the most educated people in our area are sitting across from each other, and can’t figure out how to make this work, and it is them, we entrust the training of the future generations to.

Obviously the cost of living is greater in major centers of the country in comparison to Prince George. However, from my understanding the FA is not asking to compensated like the staffs at UBC, McGill, or U of Toronto. UNBC Faculty earns significantly less than their peers in markets such as Sackville NB, Wolfville NS, Brandon Man, etc.

I believe UNBC is going to lose much of the momentum and positive publicity the community gained from the Canada Games.

I agree, taylor. As well, UNBC faculty compensation is significantly lower than the smaller universities in BC. I remember too, that Vince Ready said that the university HAD the money to improve faculty compensation and bring it closer to that of other smaller universities. It seems the new president and the acting provost, who heads up the university negotiators, have other plans for the money. If they continue “negotiating” the way they have been, they won’t have a faculty or a university to spend their money on! One could almost think that was their long term plan! And talking to the media rather than the faculty association was downright disrespectful; heads should roll over that.