BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
The Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) had already set up strike headquarters, made picket signs and rented portable bathrooms Monday evening when union negotiators announced they had reached a tentative agreement with LU administration.
The faculty union representing about 400 professors and librarians was planning to go on strike Oct. 12 if a deal was not reached. The two parties had been engaged in intense ?lock-down? negotiations since Oct. 4.
?We were all ready for a strike. We were ready to go. Everything was set up. It came that close. We're all absolutely delighted that we've made a deal,? says Barry Cotton, communications director for LUFA.
Cotton couldn't reveal specific details of the tentative agreement as of Northern Life's press deadline, because it still had to be approved by Laurentian's board of governors and LUFA's board of directors.
After the two parties approve the agreement, faculty will have a chance to vote on the deal.
A major sticking point in negotiations has been salaries. The faculty union says professors at the university are paid $8,600 less than their colleagues in the rest of the province.
They also wanted improvements to working conditions, workloads and benefit packages.
?I have to tell you that we're delighted with this agreement. It was very, very hard work, and it was a long time coming. We eventually managed to hammer it out,? says Cotton.
?I think there's some really good provisions here, particularly on the monetary items, and even on the non-monetary ones. I think faculty will be happy with this.?
The tentative agreement means a great deal to students, who were afraid their professors might go on strike, says Cotton. The commerce professor e-mailed LUFA members Tuesday morning as soon as he found out and the word is probably already spreading to students.
?It means a great deal to students...I have to tell you that we're absolutely delighted for the students. It really means that their studies are not going to be disrupted in any way. The students and their families really have gone through a period of really high, unavoidable uncertainty,? Cotton says.
Cotton praises negotiators from both sides, who have worked extremely hard to come to an agreement since August.
?Intense as those negotiations have been, they have been amicable and healthy. They haven't been hostile. There have been some heated comments, but that's part of negotiation. Feelings are bound to run high from time to time.?
Laurentian University director of public affairs Michel Bechard says administration and the faculty union worked hard to reach the tentative deal before the strike deadline.
?It was a difficult period for students to go through, but now that there's a tentative agreement, the important thing is there will be no class disruptions. I think that was one of the concerns for both parties throughout the process,? he says.
?We're all relieved. Faculty, students and staff are all relieved.?
