Day 3 of University of Manitoba strike, faculty president optimistic deal can be reached

WINNIPEG — It’s day three of the faculty strike at the University of Manitoba.

More than 1,200 member of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) officially went on strike Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., leaving 29,000 students in academic limbo.

The UMFA and the university are set to sit down at the bargaining table with a concilitator Thursday afternoon. Both groups met with a mediator Wednesday, but a deal was not reached.

READ MORE: Faculty on strike at the University of Manitoba

UMFA president, Mark Hudson said he’s optimistic a deal can be reached soon.

“We haven’t reached a settlement yet, obviously, but I think if some progress hadn’t been made, they might not be going back into the room today,” he said.

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "We haven't reached a settlement yet, obviously, but I think if some progress hadn't been made, they might not be going back into the room today," he said.

Professors have backed down a little bit on their demands for a salary increase and are now concerned more about their work load.

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Although many classes are cancelled, some are still being taught  by non-bargaining members. You can find the full list online.

The last faculty strike at the University of Manitoba happened back in 2001 and lasted about four days.

WATCH: Timeline: A look back at strikes at University of Manitoba

0:47 Timeline: A look back at strikes at University of Manitoba

Longest university strike in Manitoba

• The longest university strike in Manitoba’s history was in 2011 at the Brandon University.
• The strike lasted 45 days.
• Staff headed to the picket line on Oct. 12, which affected 3,100 students.
• The strike ended Nov. 25.

Longest university strikes in Canada

• The longest strike at an English-speaking university in Canada was at York University. The strike lasted 85 days, from Nov. 6, 2008 to Jan. 29, 2009.
• The longest strike in Canadian history lasted four month at Laval University in Quebec in 1976.