Daily Bulletin #4, August 29

Author

Dalhousie Faculty Association

Published

August 29, 2025


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DFA Files Bargaining Complaint against the Board. The Board Replies with the Same Misinformation

It seems like just yesterday morning that we hadn’t heard anything new from the Board of Governors or President Brooks in over a week. Then, briefly, it seemed like we had! But, then it became clear what we heard was the same ol’ same ol’. Another round of “meet the new tactic, same as the old tactic.”

To get a full summary of the Board’s … “activities” yesterday, please read Dave Westwood’s President’s message. For a pithier version, though, I’d like to direct you to the video above that Dave did with some of the Job Action team. Thrown together in a hallway with a phone propped up on a box of granola bars, this 2 minute video explains 2 weeks of labour action, and just how egregious the board’s behaviour has been.

Today, the Executive Committee of the DFA reiterated its commitment to full and fair bargaining, demanding the Board of Governors return to the table. To be clear: The Board did not put a new offer on the table. Instead, they pulled yet another publicity stunt.

And so the executive of the DFA decided enough is enough. The Board cannot continue to pretend in public that it’s bargaining while doing nothing of the sort in reality, and so the executive approved an official bargaining complaint with the Department of Labour, which is now filed. As Dave puts it, this complaint is

“based on the Board’s use of public messages to bargain directly with DFA Members and to circumvent bargaining at the table through appropriate channels. Further, the Board deliberately misrepresented their “offer” in their messaging, omitting the key detail that their proposal on interest arbitration required the DFA to abandon all unresolved proposals except wages.”

The university’s response? To do the exact same thing! In her message of August 28th, Vice-President Grace Jefferies writes, “the DFA requested a return to the bargaining table with a refreshed financial mandate.” 

NO! We requested that the Board return “to the bargaining table as soon as possible to discuss a revised Board offer with a fresh mandate that substantively addresses all the proposals in the DFA’s last package.”

It is past time for the Board to stop playing games and start bargaining.”The need to negotiate, not dictate.”

New Schedules are Coming Soon!

Some notes from our amazing team of schedulers, who have done a tonne of work, and deserve the thanks of the entire membership for these efforts!

Schedules have changed

A lot of people will have moved shifts and even roles. We understand that it can be hard to start a new routine and say goodbye to a group you have already learned to appreciate. Please take this as an opportunity for new friendships and feel free to visit the Care Hub.

Special circumstances are accommodated as best as possible

An incredible 305 of you responded to the survey with some circumstances that make our current job action a challenge. Rest assured that we have done our best to find shifts and roles that suit your needs. 

Joint scheduling

A lot of you have requested to be scheduled with someone else. Because of the high volume (over 100 requests) we were only able to grant joint scheduling to those of you who mutually mentioned one another on the survey and who selected compatible locations and times. If you’re participating in person, we hope that you will get to catch up with others during general actions. If you are not assigned with a preferred partner, please feel free to go to one of our headquarter locations with your partner to see if you can change shifts.

Rally and “Chalk and Talk” (or “Chalk and Walk”!)

Please revisit yesterday’s newsletter for a full description of tomorrow’s outreach campaign, the “Chalk and Talk” or “Chalk and Walk,” depending on who you talk to (or walk with), and a reminder of our noon rally in front of the Killam library! Robin Whitaker, the President of CAUT (and Atlantic university colleague from MUN) will be joining us in solidarity, and flying picketers will be joining us from across the country! We’d like a strong turnout to welcome this solidarity, and we can’t wait to see our Truro colleagues here in Halifax!

Last but not least, we will be handing out “freezies” to students as a treat on a hot day, and to remind them that term isn’t “frozen” because of us, but because of the Board’s behaviour. (Seriously, the Board needs to “Let it Go,” thaw relations, and come back to the table…)

The rally will be broadcast via Facebook at the “@dalfacultyassoc” account.

Letter Campaigns

I Stand with the DFA: With the help of our colleagues in CAUT, we are now running a letter-writing campaign, “I Stand with the Dalhousie Faculty Association.” If you follow this link, you will be taken to a page that will generate a form letter (which can be personalized), and when you click “Add Your Voice,” the letter will be emailed directly to: 

Please feel free to share with any supporters!

LTA Letter: A reminder

(Pictured: Kassandra Luciuk (l.) from JAC and Christine Saulnier (r.), the Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia, who stopped by our Solidarity Hub. Thanks Christine!)

Shout Outs!

Today, a shout out to the heroic 7:00 a.m. transportation team:

Dorette Pronk, Farzaneh Naghibi, and Michael Young!! 

Up at the crack of dawn to be sure our picket lines are ready to go!!