Gord Reid, Toban Staff

As of Thursday, October 26th, Brandon University professors have been joining striking U of M faculty in an act of solidarity. As many as 10 Brandon profs are making the three-hour trek to Winnipeg daily, to add their manpower to the picket lines.

"Issues in this strike are issues common to universities in Manitoba, stated Errol Black, a BU economics professor.

"It's important to show solidarity," continued Black, president of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA). "It's important to remember that [the strike] is driven by the people on Broadway."

Brandon faculty are preparing for a possible labor dispute of their own. The current contract between the Brandon University Faculty Association (BUFA) and Brandon University expires March 31 of next year.

While the issue of academic freedom is important to BUFA members picketing at the U of M, the major unresolved issue in their contract is Article 3.8, the "Union Inclusion Rule." This states that any instructor of a course at Brandon University automatically becomes a member of BUFA -- and therefore becomes subject to their regulations.

"If Article 3.8 is removed, then the university administration would be able to hire staff who aren't qualified to teach courses," remarked Dr. Ken Shields, president of BUFA.

"It's important to maintain quality control."

With the removal of Article 3.8, any instructors hired would not be required to conform with BUFA's minimum standard of a MAster's degree in their field. Shields commented that allowing underqualified instructors to teach classes would reduce both the quality of education at BU and the university's academic reputation.

Brandon faculty members voted unanimously last week not only to join the picket lines, but also to deliver financial support totalling $1000 to UMFA.

BUFA intends to increase support of UMFA's strike action as the work stoppage continues. Shields promised that BUFA will adopt an "ongoing supportive scheme" in its efforts to aid the faculty strike in the weeks and months to come.

This article first ran in The Manitoban, Vol. 83, No. 12 (November 1, 1995). The article was written in the final days of October 1995, which also happened to be the final days with my then-girlfriend, M. (See Crappy Ex-Girlfriend Rant #3). M. happened to attend BU, and wrote for the newspaper there, The Quill. The Quill sent a reporter named Jen to cover the story. I volunteered to escort Jen around campus, and she reluctantly agreed. It turns out that Jen was close friends with M. at the time, and likely was privy to the fact that our relationship was in its death throes.

I interviewed Dr. Black on picket lines formed on the corner of Chancellor Matheson Dr. and Pembina Highway. This man had, in my opinion, possibly the most unruly eyebrows in Christiandom. They were sparse, patchy, but comprised of hairs that reached nearly an inch in length. I was standing there, trying to ask insightful questions, all the while staring at this little man's forehead. Not my brightest journalistic moment.