(Ottawa - 28 September 2017) Members of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) set up picket lines today after last-ditch mediated negotiations failed to produce a satisfactory agreement.

LUFA’s 367 full-time and over 200 part-time academic staff had voted 91 percent in favour of job action and are fighting concession demands that would erode core faculty rights, reduce salary scale competitiveness and diminish eligibility for parental/pregnancy leave. Workload is also a major issue with administrators demanding an increased teaching schedule.

LUFA asks that supporters write letters to senior administrators at the school asking for a return to negotiations towards reaching a fair deal.

The union’s previous contract expired on June 30.  Faculty have not been on strike at the institution since 1989.