In November 2021, a petition was filed to the Tribunal adminstratif du travail to certify the association representing tenured and tenure-track law professors, the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) as a bargaining unit. Following legal challenges by the employer, exactly a year later, the labour tribunal has certified the group of McGill Law Professors as a union under the Quebec Labour Code. This historic decision comes as a feather in the cap to the academic labour movement at McGill, with AMPL becoming the first faculty-specific union at the university, and the first union representing professors at McGill.
AMPL joins 14 certified academic and non-academic unions at the university, and their certification only makes the community of McGill workers stronger and more united. As an union of academic workers, the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) Executive Committee extends its heartiest congratulations to the Association of McGill Professors of Law on their certification as an exclusive bargaining unit, and looks forward to collaborating on common issues affecting both unions.
As was acknowledged in the McGill Communities Council (MCC) on May 2nd, 2022, it is imperative the University is not run as a business, and that highly-educated and knowledgeable faculties, unions, and associations have a strong role in the governance of the university. It is noteworthy that senior administration ignored advice from the Faculty of Law concerning the implementation of a proper vaccine mandate which has placed a pall on labour relations at McGill. Nevertheless, as we move forward, the AGSEM Executive Committee hopes to work together with AMPL and other unions in addressing health & safety, pedagogical, and governance issues at the university.
If AGSEM members would like to learn more about unionization drives and its role in expanding the base of members, please contact president@agsem-aeedem.ca