On Nov. 2, the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA), which represents 1,2000 instructors, professors, and librarians, walked off the job to demand higher pay. The union has said that low pay has made it difficult to hire and retain new faculty, leading to “brain drain.”
As a matter of fact, University of Manitoba (U of M) faculty have among the lowest wages of any Canadian research university. Salaries for both full professors and assistant professors are the second-lowest in the country. The union has also pointed out that inflation has cost them eight per cent of their salaries in recent years. Despite the U of M hiking tuition multiple times in the past few years, and even running a $94-million surplus in 2021, the university has refused to provide any substantial raises.
This low pay is partially due to government interference. The UMFA and opposition parties have accused the provincial government of overstepping its power by intervening to pressure the administration not to hand out any raises. UMFA president Orvie DIngwall has said that, because of this, “Our salary has basically been frozen since 2016”.
In a wonderful display of solidarity, U of M students have organized together to support the strike. Students have put together a group called “Students Supporting UMFA”, which has played an active role in countering disinformation spread by the university administration. For example, they called university administration out when they lied that they had offered faculty a 9.5 per cent wage increase. The students have also been promoting education on labour issues and mobilizing students out to picket lines and union demonstrations. Leading up to the strike, the group passed an emergency resolution that convinced the U of M student union to issue a statement supporting the UMFA. On Nov. 15, the group blocked off the doors to the university administration building to demand a fair deal for faculty.
This is a fantastic step forward. Not only does it help strengthen the strike, but it gets students organized around labour issues. These sorts of actions should be continued and expanded to address the issues of students. The university mistreats students as much as it does faculty. For instance, students have been subject to repeated tuition hikes in the past few years. During the 2018/2019 period, tuition was raised by 6.6 per cent. In the 2021/2022 period, tuition was raised a further 3.75 per cent. To add insult to injury, students have been forced to keep paying for services that were cut because of the pandemic.
The UMFA and Students Support UMFA should link up faculty issues with student issues. They should show that the university administration is their common enemy. Students and faculty share many of the same issues and have everything to gain by fighting together. The union should work closely with the student group to expand these actions, organize more students, and build towards a student strike, both in support of the UMFA and to improve their own conditions. Strike together and strike to win!
