Sault Ste. Marie & District Labour Council is speaking out in support of the Algoma University Faculty represented by OPSEU Local 685, after the university’s Board of Governors dismissed an overwhelming vote of no-confidence in the school’s President, Asima Vezina.
After months of efforts to raise concerns about the university’s pursuit of unsustainable growth at the expense of quality education and student experience, full-time faculty members held a vote of no-confidence on June 7th. The strong show of opposition to the administration’s direction was made public on June 20th, after the Board of Governors refused to address the vote at its monthly meeting. In response, outgoing Board Chair, Mike Moraca alleged that the vote was merely the result of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) waging a campaign to force votes of no-confidence in university administrations across the country. These comments reflect a Board that is out of touch with the reality in the institution it purports to govern and a cynical ploy to deflect attention from its mismanagement by denigrating organized labour.
The Sault Ste. Marie & District Labour Council condemns the ignorant comments of Algoma University’s outgoing Board of Governors Chair, and their anti-labour undertones. We furthermore call on the Algoma University Board of Governors to respect the faculty vote and to deal in good faith with the issues that provoked the vote, including the university’s unmanageable growth model and its unilateral approach to decision making.
