Dear APUO members,
On July 3rd, the APUO held a special general assembly to update members on the current round of negotiations and discuss potential next steps. It was a historic meeting with a record-breaking number of 222 members attending, despite the fact that it had to be held at a time when members are less present on campus because of holidays and field-research. As a follow up to this meeting, we want to share the following with all members:
1. After outlining the implications and timing of the employer-initiated process of conciliation, the necessity of holding a strike mandate vote in the coming weeks was discussed in order to enable the APUO to be in a position of strength during mediation. The Executive Committee will therefore call another Special General Meeting for Wednesday, July 31, from 9:00 AM to noon in the Marion Hall Auditorium (140 Louis Pasteur). The precise agenda for this meeting will be determined closer to the date of the meeting, pending developments in the negotiations. Please do everything you can to make sure you can participate in this meeting since it may be a determining moment in these negotiations.
2. The Executive Committee shared a variety of presentations with the membership at the special General Assembly of July 3. Over the next two weeks, we will be sending out slightly more detailed versions of these presentations so that members who were not able to participate can examine this material as well. There will be significant information on the real financial situation of the university, a number of very detailed presentations on the facts of the pension plan, the University’s financial situation, as well as other topics. We ask that you please take the time to read this information very carefully as we are trying to provide you with as much data and analysis as we possibly can to allow you to make your own judgments on some of the key issues in these negotiations.
3. As a start, please find attached the President’s report delivered on July 3. It outlines where we are, how we arrived here, and some of the potential paths and timelines moving forward.
Finally, we would like to thank all the APUO members for their very strong support. We very much appreciate the emails we have received and the questions and comments at the Special General Assembly. And we strongly believe that the strength and solidarity of the membership will ensure that we can negotiate a fair and equitable collective agreement with the employer to conclude this round of negotiations.
Sincerely,
The APUO Executive Committee