Dear Premier Stefanson
I came to Manitoba from my home in the USA in 2000, to join the faculty of the University to Manitoba. As was expressed to me then, and which has been amply demonstrated since, recruitment and retention of new faculty is of huge concern. Building and maintaining a world-class university absolutely requires a steady intake of truly exciting and innovative researchers. The salary grid at the University of Manitoba remains at the bottom among comparable universities, particularly at the early and mid-career levels, and thus is presently an impediment to that recruitment and retention.
It is vitally important that university president Michael Benarroch be allowed to bargain in good faith with his unions, with the best interests of the university, its growth, and its reputation foremost in his mind. As you know, policies and attitudes inculcated by your predecessor, with his well-demonstrated disdain for education, higher education in particular, and his obvious antipathy to public sector unions, resulted in bargaining mandates which have twice been found to be unlawful interference in collective bargaining. I am extremely concerned that under your watch, these policies are continuing.
The University of Manitoba Faculty Association is presently in its second week of strike action largely due to the intransigence of the administration in negotiation, in matters of governance as well as in compensation. President Benarroch has claimed that he is constrained by provincial mandate. Your Ministers of Finance, Scott Fielding, and Advanced Education, Wayne Ewasko, have both claimed that there is no such mandate. The absence of a written mandate is not in itself evidence that undue pressure is being placed on President Benarroch from somewhere in your administration.
Are you able to state, publicly and unequivocally, that President Benarroch is somehow mistaken about such a mandate, and that no undue pressure or threat of reprisal is coming from your government, your ministers, or their aides? Do you repudiate the unlawful attempts by your predecessor to interfere in collective bargaining? Would you publicly encourage President Benarroch to bargain freely and fairly, in good faith, with only the best interests of the university in mind?
Respectfully
3 comments:
Wow. Wishing you all best of luck! I certainly hope that the University does what is necessary and offers solutions to retain talented staff.
I believe Ewasko has actually admitted there was a mandate, but passed the buck about who was responsible for it (news flash! Not him.)
This is a great letter, Rob. So far though it seems that public and unequivocal statements from our new Premier about _anything_ have been in short supply.
An issue that I am becoming more aware of as the strike goes on is retention of _students_. Some of our smartest and wisest students are considering leaving because, in their words, U of M is becoming a second-class institution. This is where the approach of the previous Premier and, to date, this one, leads.
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