UWOFA: Western, Fund the Front Line
The following is from UWOFA:
No matter where we might sit in terms of our employment status here at Western, all of us share a common commitment to maintaining the core mission of the university by pursuing the highest possible standards in our teaching and research, engaging in collegial governance, and protecting academic freedom.
UWOFA members have become so accustomed to the language of austerity that we no longer imagine asking for or fighting for better, but we have more power than we think, and Western has the budget surpluses to afford a lot more.
If we do not fight for improved compensation and working conditions for everyone on campus– especially the most vulnerable amongst us – we undermine our own positions and, most crucially, we betray our foundational professional commitments and values.
UWOFA stands for these values. We are working hard to protect and defend the ability of every one of our members, comprehensively, across the university, to undertake the very best teaching and research possible by demanding that the university administration reinvest in its people and recommit to its core mission.
Stand with your colleagues to demand better from the Western Board of Governors and senior administration! Add your voice to call for renegotiation of faculty salaries and a fair contract for librarians and archivists that redresses the wrongs of Bill 124. These are elemental actions required for recruitment, retention, and research and teaching excellence at Western.
The erosion of job security and compensation has serious implications for all employees at Western; our fates are tied together by our Employer’s governing logic that undermines quality teaching and research, collegial governance, and academic freedom, while maximizing university surpluses.
A BETTER BUDGET IS POSSIBLE. But only if we demand it. Let’s join together and call on our employer to fund the front line!
