Members of CUPE Local 3912 are essential to three of our province’s esteemed universities, and the work they do deserves recognition not just from those in the Legislature, but from the Boards of Governors and administrations who employ them. Without teaching assistants, researchers, and part-time instructors, our province simply wouldn’t have its world-class institutions of higher education.
You can watch the recorded Member Statement below:
PAUL WOZNEY « » : I rise today in solidarity with the teaching assistants, researchers, and part-time instructors of CUPE Local 3912 employed at Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s, and Mount Saint Vincent. Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s members have voted overwhelmingly to strike, and members at the Mount voted yesterday on the same question.
At our universities, scores of staff must renegotiate their contracts each semester and face the constant fear that they may not be re-signed. They do much of the same work as tenured professors but without the same benefits of stability or of employment. To make matters worse, many of these academic workers are among Canada’s lowest paid in the sector, despite our tuition fees ranking among the highest in the country.
Speaker, I ask that all present join me in calling on our universities to recognize the value of these essential workers and avert further job action. Those who are so integral to higher education in our province deserve conditions commensurate with their expertise and passion and the stability to do the work they love, with confidence.
