Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
Friday, April 3, 2009
vol 31, no 33
Shedding some light
imprint . uwaterloo . ca
Revealing our accessible campus, page 14
St. Jerome’s votes to unionize
22 5
St. Jerome’s University Academic Staff Association responds to crisis of morale Adrienne Raw staff reporter
T
he St. Jerome’s faculty has voted overwhelmingly in favour of forming a union. In a vote, conducted by the Ontario Labour Relations Board March 31, 22 of the 30 academic staff eligible to vote cast their ballots in favour of the union while five were opposed. “That’s a very strong affirmation of the effort to unionize the faculty,” said David Seljak, president of the St. Jerome’s University Academic Staff Association. The motivation behind this drive for unionization is not, Seljak said, a desire for higher salaries, more benefits, more job security, or other issues of this nature. “Basically,” Seljak said, “the reason for it all is to protect the academic integrity of the institution, to protect the sense of community that used to be the best part of St. Jerome’s.” The faculty’s primary concerns have been changes to policies and procedures made by the administration that the faculty see as unilateral and arbitrary. Faculty and staff see these decisions as a departure from traditional collegial governance and a breakdown of academic integrity.
Dubai digits down A look at the new Dubai campus, which is failing to attract students. page 3
For complete details, see the March 27 Imprint article, “Trouble at St J’s prompts vote.” The response from the board and the administration in light of the results of the unionization vote has been positive, said Seljak. “The board and the administration have both accepted the decision of the faculty and have pledged to work with the union and I’m very happy about that,” said Seljak. “The whole goal of this unionization effort was to work towards a reconciliation with the administration and with the Board.” Dorothee Retterath, chair of the St. Jerome’s University’s Board of Governors, said to Imprint that, “St. Jerome’s University is committed to learning and academic excellence, and is proud of its excellent faculty. We respect the decision of the faculty and are committed to working on a collective agreement with the proposed union.” There remain two small technical steps that need to be taken to complete the certification process. Seljak said these steps are routine and doesn’t expect them to be “major barriers.” The process, he says, should be complete by the end of April. araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Life in the ECHL UW’s Doug Spooner talks balance and commitment as a member of the East Coast Hockey League, page 27