Unionization and the canadian university: Historical and personal observations

Abstract

In 1949–50 Canadian professors, reacting to historically low salaries and inadequate pensions, founded the Canadian Association of University Teachers. Although its early concerns were economic, by the late 1950s the interest of the organization was spreading to issues of academic freedom and tenure and, related to it, university government. Having opened a national office in Ottawa, the CAUT soon championed an increased role for professors in governing their institutions. The bookA Place of Liberty (Whalley, 1964) eloquently made the claim for faculty empowerment. This movement also gained strength from the shortage of qualified staff in the 1960s and the resulting need of universities to improve terms and conditions of employment. Although faculty involvement in governance grew, by the mid-1970s many faculty members were embracing faculty unionization. This initiative had for years repelled most professors because it seemed unprofessional. However, deteriorating finances created a condition in which especially junior staff turned to faculty unions for protection. Not all Canadian universities became unionized. In spite of dire warnings about the effects of unionization, it does not seem that unionized universities today offer less scope for faculty participation in governance than the non-unionized.