The Acadia Labour Movement

We, the Acadia Labour Movement, numbering more than 100 concerned students, alumni, faculty and community members of Acadia University are looking to have a minimum labour standard implemented at this University.

We are not standing idly by as working members of Acadia are under-represented, underpaid, insecure in their employment, and disrespected in their workplaces and our community. Instead we are standing with the workers in the meal hall who feed us each and every day with positive energy beyond what they are compensated for. We are standing with the physical plant workers who maintain our classrooms, but have no say in the operations of the university. We are standing with the teaching assistants, tutors, and residence assistants who make our university experience what it is. We are standing for democracy for all members of the Acadia community, respect for all members of the Acadia community. We are standing for living wages, for job security, and for commitments to health. Our goal is the improvement of Acadia for all those who contribute in its operations. Our goal is a unity of students, of workers, of faculty, and administrators working together for one another.

Our demands include and are not limited to:

1. Democracy. Members of the Acadia community, including students and supporting staff should have the ability to express their opinions on how the community operates without fear of reprisal and to have those opinions matter when it comes to the operations of the university.

• Management on Campus cannot be allowed to threaten workers over expressing concerns about their place in the Acadia community.
• Workers and students must have a seat at the table whenever Acadia assesses contracts with third parties.
• A system for students and workers to revise the basic labour standards for all workers on campus.
• All stakeholders, (students, support employees, faculty) deserve representation on the University’s board of directors.

2. Low Wages. The members of the Acadia community do good work, over long hours, with a smile. The service they provide to students is key to the operation of this university and they deserve to be paid accordingly.

• Workers on campus deserve to be paid a living wage of $15 or more (tied to inflation)

3. Job Security. Students have confidence that they will wake up each day and be able to eat in the meal hall. The members of the Acadia community who make that happen deserve the same level of confidence in their continued employment.

• An equitable pension plan for all long term campus workers.

4. Sick days. Sick days prevent the spread of illness, promote the general health of our community, and allow time to recover and bring your best work to our community. All campus workers must be allotted sufficient sick days to achieve these goals and there should be zero penalties for those who use sick days for rest and recovery.

• Sick days cannot be used in evaluations against those who use them.

5. Respect. Members of the Acadia community are in fact members of our community. Workers at meal hall support this community and receive no thanks from it. Attempts from students to understand the struggles of our community members at meal hall have been met with hostility from management and this is entirely unacceptable.

• Day of appreciation for meal hall workers.
• Develop a system for campus workers to share their complaints with the Acadia community in a way that protects them from reprisal.

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