Professors Organize Against Budget Cuts and Union Attacks: Three New Unions Join the FQPPU

KEY POINTS :

• Three recently unionized faculty associations, AMPFA, AMPE, and AMASCS, have joined the Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université (FQPPU), raising its total number of affiliated unions and associations to 22.
• Austerity Measures and Union Attacks Threaten Our Universities: McGill University has projected a $194 million deficit by 2028, resulting in significant budget cuts. At the same time, the Quebec government has tabled a bill that would restrict the right to strike, undermining worker protections.
• A Call for Solidarity and Mobilization: the FQPPU strongly supports ongoing unionization efforts and encourages all faculty members to join the fight to protect working conditions and uphold our universities' public mission.

MONTREAL, Feb. 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Amid announced budget cuts in Quebec universities and growing threats to workers' rights, faculty mobilization is gaining momentum. Three newly unionized McGill faculty associations—the Association of McGill Professors of the Faculty of Arts (AMPFA), the Association of McGill Professors of Education (AMPE), and the Association of McGill Academic Staff of the School of Continuing Studies (AMASCS)—have joined the Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université (FQPPU), bringing the total number of affiliated unions and associations to 22.

Austerity and Attacks on Union Rights: The Urgency of Solidarity
The recent unionization of McGill faculty coincides with the administration's announcement of a projected $194 million deficit by 2028. In response, the administration has proposed job cuts and budget restrictions, which directly threaten teaching quality and faculty job security. These budget cuts are part of a more significant crisis impacting all Quebec universities, both anglophone and francophone, in large and small cities alike. Many of these financial pressures arise from shortsighted government policies that the FQPPU and other key stakeholders had warned against.

At the same time, the Quebec government is escalating its attacks on workers' rights by introducing a bill to limit the duration of strikes. If passed, this law would significantly undermine the balance of power between employers and employees, setting a dangerous precedent for all workers in Quebec. In this climate of uncertainty and precarity, faculty unionization and province-wide mobilization are not merely strategic options; they are urgent necessities to ensure fair working conditions and defend the public mission of our universities.

Defending Our Rights, Protecting Our Universities
"In a time when budget cuts are weakening our institutions and the government is attempting to roll back union protections, faculty mobilization is more essential than ever," says Madeleine Pastinelli, president of the FQPPU. "For over 30 years, the Federation has actively fought for the recognition of the central role of universities in Quebec society and for the protection of working conditions that uphold their mission. Together with our current and future members, we will remain steadfast in this fight."

Several other faculties at McGill University are working towards unionization, and the FQPPU will continue to support their efforts to protect the integrity of Quebec's higher education system. The Federation invites all faculty associations and unions to join this growing movement: solidarity and collective action are our strongest defences against the threats facing our universities.

Since 1991, the FQPPU has been Québec's university faculty's coordinating and representative body. 

SOURCE Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université (FQPPU)

For additional information or to request an interview, please reach out to: Émile Bordeleau-Pitre, Strategic Communications Advisor, 514-692-3643, [email protected], www.fqppu.org/