uOttawa full-time professors, librarians vote in favour of strike mandate

The union representing full-time professors and librarians at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) says its members have voted 80.9 per cent in Favour of strike mandate.

The vote results authorize the executive committee to call a strike as of February 2025, if conciliation with the university fails, the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO) said in a news release Thursday.

The conciliation between the two parties started on Nov. 5. The union says both sides will carry on with conciliation on Jan. 15, 16 and 17, 2025. The APUO says 'both sides have also agreed that neither will call for a no-board report before Jan. 15."

A strike could take place as of February 2025 due to the scheduled conciliation dates, APUO says, pointing out that its "members have never before been on strike and have only voted in favour of a strike once before, in 2013."

"This vote is a signal to the employer that members are prepared to trigger their first strike at this university to secure better working and learning conditions on campus," said Dimitri Karmis, APUO president. "Receiving this strong strike mandate will help the APUO secure the best agreement for members and the university community."

The strike vote comes as a result of the university's continuous refusal to take the members proposals to improve the quality of education and research, says the union.

"This strong strike mandate reflects the importance of the issues under negotiation to faculty and librarians, particularly those pertaining to the deteriorating teaching and learning conditions at the university," read the release.

The APUO adds that full-time professors and librarians have been in collective bargaining for over five months. A full day of mediation between the union's and the university's negotiation teams took place on Oct. 17.

Over 70 per cent of APUO's members signed a petition last month asking the university to address issues surrounding increasing workload and governance. 

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, uOttawa said the university remains committed to reaching an agreement with APUO.

"We have been encouraged by the many agreements that have been achieved on a range of proposals over the course of more than 20 substantive bargaining sessions held since June 12," read the statement.

"From the beginning, we have demonstrated our commitment to bargaining in good faith and arriving at a negotiated settlement with the APUO that advances our research and teaching mission.

"We entered conciliation with optimism. After one and a half days of conciliation, held on Nov. 5 and 6, the parties agreed to pursue conciliation on Jan. 15, 16 and 17, 2025. We continue to believe that it is possible to reach a settlement."

The union represents just under 1,300 members. Among the 1026 ballots that were cast, 830 voted in favour, and 196 voted against the mandate during the strike vote, which took place between Nov. 12 and 14.