McGill law professors union says university trying to delay talks

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The union representing law professors at McGill University is accusing the school of attempting to undermine its right to strike instead of negotiating a contract at the bargaining table.

On Tuesday, the Association of McGill Professors of Law asked a Quebec Superior Court Judge to set aside a decision by the province’s labour minister — requested by the university — that ordered the union and the university into arbitration.

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The union opposes the order, which would see an arbitrator decide the contents of its collective agreement and would prevent the union from striking during that process. The union — which went on strike for eight weeks earlier this year — said it wants to keep negotiating with the university and maintain its ability to strike during those talks.

“Despite public statements about progress, McGill spent student, taxpayer and donor money this summer to hire a downtown lawyer to ask Minister (Jean) Boulet to force AMPL, against its will, into mandatory arbitration that limits its right to strike,” AMPL vice-president Kirsten Anker said in a statement. “We opposed this, pointing to the significant progress that had been made. Our ability to resume our strike is the only reason McGill agreed to even meet with us this August.”

Anker said in an interview that the union sees the university’s application for arbitration as a delaying tactic, adding that it could add a year or two to the process as an arbitrator is appointed, any appeals to that appointment are heard and sessions are scheduled.

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The university continues to oppose AMPL’s certification as a union and is challenging its approval by Quebec’s labour tribunal. A court hearing on that challenge is scheduled for December.

Anker said that if an agreement is reached before then, it could undermine the university’s claim that a faculty is not a legitimate bargaining unit. She said McGill maintains that only a union representing all professors would be a legitimate body to negotiate with.

Timing is also important for McGill’s first faculty union, which is negotiating its first collective agreement.

“We have nothing, we’re not like another union that’s been around for 30, 40 years that is trying to get a better deal, that still has something, we don’t have anything,” she said.

In a legal filing, the union argued that the right to strike comes from the fundamental right of freedom of association and that arbitration should only be ordered when a negotiated agreement is impossible.

It argued the minister’s decision should be suspended because it contained no reasons; was unreasonable, because it didn’t appear to consider the union’s right to strike and negotiate collectively; didn’t consider the union’s submissions; and disregarded criteria set out in the labour code.

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“Minister Boulet’s actions are not only a threat to AMPL, but a threat to all Quebec unions,” Evan Fox-Decent, the union’s president, said in a statement. “The legislation that allows for mandatory arbitration was created to protect fledgling unions like ours from being pushed around by employers. Instead, the minister’s decision gives Quebec employers yet another weapon to crush unions.”

Boulet’s office declined to comment Wednesday morning.

While negotiations have made progress in a number of areas, Anker said sticking points include McGill’s refusal to accept union’s legitimacy, the fact that union wants a say on major changes around tenure and leave — which the university has said would be unworkable, because it could lead to different rules in different faculties — and the union’s desire to ensure faculty members have a say in the selection of new deans.

Salaries, which Anker said are lower than at other comparable universities, are also a sticking point. She said the union is seeking a cost-of-living increase.

AMPL was the first faculty union recognized at McGill, though professors in the faculty of arts and faculty of education are now in the processes of forming unions.

In June, more than two dozen academic associations cancelled conferences at McGill, moving them to other Montreal universities or online, due to the strike by AMPL, while other professors boycotted conferences to avoid crossing the picket line.

McGill did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday morning.

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