With only a few days of classes left, students at Capilano University were left wondering Tuesday afternoon whether they’ll soon find their classrooms behind picket lines.
About 640 members of the Capilano Faculty Association are in a position to walk off the job Wednesday morning if no progress has been made at the bargaining table.
Negotiators for both the university teachers and administration met for mediated bargaining sessions Tuesday afternoon.
Those sessions were continuing as the North Shore News went to press Tuesday.
Brent Calvert, president of the Capilano Faculty Association, said he remained optimistic that progress will be made at the bargaining table.
But he acknowledged in a worst-case scenario, students could show up to find their classes behind picket lines.
Faculty members voted more than 80 per cent in favour of a strike March 9 and 10. So far, faculty have opted to continue teaching and marking, but have refused to officially enter grades. Calvert said professors have done their best to minimize the impact on students.
He acknowledged Tuesday that reaction from students to a possible strike has been “mixed.”
Erin Van Zyderveld, a theatre student at Capilano University, said if the end of the school year is cancelled by a strike, performance pieces that first and second year students have been working on for several months will likely have to be cancelled or rescheduled.
“We’re just hoping it doesn’t happen,” she said.
So far, students are feeling “a lot of frustration,” she said.
Marc Desaulniers, a global stewardship student, said he will be leaving for a summer tree-planting job May 2, so wouldn’t be able to make up course or exam time if a strike were to drag on.
“I’m concerned but I still support the teachers,” he said.
Desaulniers said he blames senior levels of government for underfunding the university.
While bargaining sessions continued Tuesday, the faculty association and other unions at Capilano held a lunchtime rally on campus, where union leaders told a small crowd they are fighting to stop further university cutbacks.
“This isn’t the same university it was just a few years ago,” said David Black, president of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, which represents 300 members at Capilano University.
“Capilano University has the lowest funding per student of any degree granting institution in B.C. This is completely unacceptable,” he said.”
Calvert said the strike isn’t about wages, where the two sides have essentially already agreed on terms.
Key issues in the dispute include working conditions of “non-regular” teachers, who make up about 40 per cent of faculty at the university.
Those teachers are paid lower wages, don’t get benefits and have little job security compared to more permanent professors.
Another issue is the faculty’s desire to have a say and receive notice of any future program cuts and layoffs.
The university is advising students to check online for possible strike news at capilanou.ca/faculty-strike-updates/
