Concordia University of Edmonton faculty pass non-confidence vote in school's president
The union that represents faculty members at Concordia University of Edmonton says employees don't have confidence in the school's president and that their workplace is dysfunctional.
Fifty members of the Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association (CUEFA) voted on May 3 that they had no confidence in Tim Loreman's ability to fulfill his duties and responsibilities to lead the university.
Sixty-two members, or 74 per cent of the full-time academic staff at the school, participated in the vote. Members also voted non-confidence in board chair John Acheson.
Concordia faculty went on strike early last year, negotiating a four-year collective agreement with salary, workload and research improvements.
"While that fixed a lot of issues that faculty were having and there were some very important gains, it unfortunately didn't address ongoing problems of leadership or workplace dysfunction at Concordia," said Glynis Price, president of the faculty association.
The faculty association also voted non-confidence in the school's president last year following the strike.
Price said the relationship between the union, the board of governors and administration has deteriorated further over the past year.
More disciplinary measures
One of the union's concerns, Price said, is an "excessive use of disciplinary measures against faculty members."
Price said around 15 per cent of its members are undergoing some form of disciplinary action, with more instances occurring in the last 18 months than in the previous eight years combined.
A bulletin posted to the union's website said "discipline has been inconsistently applied" and administration has hired a full-time labour relations consultant to run investigations.
Price said faculty members have concerns about a lack of transparency from administration, recent staff restructuring and the financing of new buildings but fear retribution if they speak out.
"Everyone's concerned about, 'Am I on the chopping block next? Am I going to be the one who who gets that e-mail saying I'm being disciplined?'" Price said.
Board has confidence in leader
John Acheson, chair of the board of governors, said in a statement that the board met on May 19 to discuss matters raised by the union.
The board continues to have full confidence in Loreman's leadership, he said.
"The board takes the position that Concordia University of Edmonton's organizational structure is sound, and that the matters the union has brought up are to be addressed by the administration, and not by the board," he said.
Acheson said the board has encouraged the union to follow grievance procedures outlined in the collective agreement and contact the university president with concerns.
Price said the union has been filing more grievances but has exhausted its options, short of complaining to the provincial government.
The union requested to meet with the board but Acheson told CUEFA in a March 28 letter that he would not call such a meeting. He reiterated that decision in another letter last week.
Do you have a story to share about Concordia University of Edmonton or another institution? Contact reporter Madeleine Cummings at madeleine.cummings@cbc.ca.
