Faculty attitudes toward union membership and strike action: Evidence from two Eastern Canadian universities

Although faculty collective bargaining has existed in Canada for almost three decades, there have been relatively few studies of faculty attitudes toward collective bargaining in recent years. The present study investigated the attitudes of faculty members at two universities in Eastern Canada with respect to two issues-the benefit of union membership and whether engaging in strike action is unprofessional. Faculty in business and science disciplines were less likely to perceive union membership as beneficial while union instrumentality was strongly and positively associated with the belief that union membership is beneficial and that strike action is not unprofessional. In addition, there was evidence that the maturity level of the collective bargaining relationship may also be related to faculty member attitudes.