Officials from Queen’s University Faculty Association (QUFA) held a rally on Thursday to draw attention to the faculty union’s negotiations with University administrators.

After a No Board report was issued on July 29, negotiations between QUFA and Administration moved from conciliation to mediation meetings. If a settlement isn’t reached in mediation, the union and University will be in a legal strike or lockout position as of 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 15.

Approximately 100 people, including members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Public Service Alliance of Canada, gathered outside the JDUC for the rally. It ran from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Roberta Lamb, QUFA’s chair of communications, said the event was meant to mirror a rally held by CUPE in July. CUPE and University officials reached a tentative agreement last week—a positive sign for QUFA negotiators, Lamb said.

“We are hoping to follow in example with CUPE’s information rally,” she said. “We are hoping that mediation will bring us a fair and just collective agreement.”

QUFA President Paul Young said CUPE’s tentative agreement shows that the University is ready to negotiate.

“I think it shows that we are heading in the right direction and are on the way of having two parties comprise in making a rational decision,” he said.

Young said he hopes the negotiation process results in compromise on both sides.

“I’m optimistic about it. I mean, we are hoping to settle,” he said. “To be quite honest, we were hoping to settle in June.”

Young said education is the bottom line for QUFA during negotiations.

“Faculty, for the most part, have usually spent a great deal of their lives working with students and this by no means is a way to harm them in anyway,” he said, adding that this process is a part of a normal labour relations structure.

Young said he’s uncertain how long a contract with the University will be negotiated for.

“Traditionally it would be about three years, but as I said if it’s a terrible [contract] we’ll probably sign for a year,” he said.