Table of Contents
- APUO Stands in Solidarity with our ATPUO colleagues
- Solidarity Picket, Friday, November 13 at 11:30 a.m.
- ATPUO Picket Lines & Solidarity Actions
- Lesson Learned for APUO: Preparing for Potential Email and Brightspace Restrictions
1) APUO Stands in Solidarity with our ATPUO colleagues
On November 11, the APUO Executive Committee passed a solidarity motion to express our support for the Association of Teaching Professors of the University of Ottawa (ATPUO) and their strike for a fair agreement. The motion includes:
- an initial donation of $3 000 to the ATPUO’s strike fund with an additional $1 000 for every additional week of strike;
- a call to the University of Ottawa Central Administration to immediately return to the table and bargain in good faith;
- ongoing support to ATPUO picket lines and events.
We are proud to continue the long tradition of interunion solidarity at the University of Ottawa. Our collective working conditions directly affect our students’ learning conditions. The fight for fair collective agreements for all campus workers is key to upholding our university’s education and research missions.
2) Solidarity Picket, TODAY, November 13 at 11:30 a.m.
The Employer has agreed to mediation on November 15 but has locked ATPUO members out of their institutional emails and Brightspace accounts and has engaged in strikebreaking tactics by attempting to download ATPUO tasks on other workers. Now, more than ever, is the time to show our unequivocal support for our striking colleagues.
The ATPUO and their allies will be rallying today at 11:30 a.m. at the intersection of King Edward and Marie-Curie. We urge APUO members to come out in larger numbers to show the Employer that an attack on one group of workers is an attack on all campus workers.
3) ATPUO Picket Lines & Solidarity Actions
Unfortunately, the APUO Collective Agreement (CA) does not currently afford members the right to refuse to cross other union’s picket lines around campus, despite repeated efforts to have it included in the CA. During other unions’ work actions, APUO members are expected to continue regular duties.
Members have inquired if it is possible to respect ATPUO picket lines by moving courses online. The APUO’s position is that moving classes online does not respect the purpose of a picket line which is to disrupt, not displace, business as usual.
A meaningful way to demonstrate solidarity is to spend a few minutes at the beginning or the end of your classes to talk to your students about the ATPUO strike. You can consult these talking points to discuss with your students and encourage them to participate in the ATPUO’s letter-writing campaign.
We cannot overemphasize the importance of members exercising their right to refuse to take on tasks usually undertaken by ATPUO members during this strike. When APUO members undertake ATPUO tasks, it diminishes the impact of the strike and eases the pressure on the Employer. The sooner this strike impacts the functioning of our institution, the more likely we are to see it end quickly.
Our November 8 bulletin also outlines a number of other potential solidarity actions.
4) Lesson Learned for APUO: Preparing for Potential Email and Brightspace Restrictions
The Employer’s decision to block ATPUO members’ access to institutional email and Brightspace follows a similar restriction on Support Staff of the University of Ottawa (SSUO) members’ email access during their 2020 strike.
With the APUO’s own negotiations currently ongoing, we strongly encourage members to provide us with your personal email address to ensure ongoing communications in the event of an APUO work action or Employer lock-out.1
Share your information by clicking here. Your information will never be shared with a third party.
1. We wish to remind members that, as of November 12, 2026, the APUO and the Employer have not engaged in conciliation, and the union has not sought a strike mandate from its members yet.