Professors and librarians at the University of Victoria could vote as early as next week on whether to form a new faculty union.
The faculty association applied for certification as a trade union last Thursday, and the B.C. Labour Relations Board has called a hearing into the application for Friday in Vancouver.
Anyone objecting to the application can give evidence at the hearing.
Association vice-president Jason Price said union organizers are confident they have more than enough support to withstand any challenge.
The association said
540 professors and librarians — 63 per cent of its membership — signed union cards during a recruiting drive before Christmas.
The labour relations board requires 45 per cent support before ordering a vote.
“From what we’re hearing, there’s no problems with the cards at all,” Price said. “There’s such an overwhelming number of cards that we could survive any challenge.”
A vote has to held within 10 days of the application unless it’s done by mail, which could take longer.
Price said the parties are deciding whether to hold the vote on campus, electronically or by mail-in ballot. A simple majority will decide how faculty and librarians will be represented in the future.
The university’s administration has taken no position on the union drive and says it will respect whatever its employees decide.
“[We] believe strongly that the process must be respectful, and whatever the outcome, must be regarded as an opportunity to move forward together in particularly challenging times,” the administration states on its website.
