Abstract
It has been argued that strikes are morally objectionable in the university context. They injure third parties – the students – and for this reason ought to be rejected. More generally, the strike weapon has led to a reduction of the power of Boards of Governors to adjust universities to changing times. And furthermore, the use of the strike weapon and the ensuing conflicts can injure the collegial form of governance that is essential to higher education. It is here argued that these arguments are hardly conclusive, and that there are virtues to having the strike as a means to resolve disputes. But keeping things on track requires both parties to adhere to the moral and social virtue of civility.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Birnbaum, R. (1989). The latent organization functions of the academic senate, Journal of Higher Education 60, 423–443.
Buchbinder, H. and Newson, J. (1985). The Academic work process, the professoriate, and unionization. In C. Watson (Ed.), The Professoriate: An Occupation in Crisis (pp. 221–247). Toronto: Higher Education Group, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
Cameron, D. (1991). More than an Academic Question. Halifax: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
King, W.L.M. (1973). Industry and Humanity: A Study of the Principles Underlying Industrial Reconstruction. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Kingwell, M. (1995). A Civil Tongue: Justice, Dialogue, and the Politics of Pluralism. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Murray, J.C. (1981). The Industrial Kingdom of God. L. Armour and E. Trott (eds). Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
Plato, Republic, transl. G.M.A. Grube. (1974). Indianapolis: Hackett.
Pocklington, T. and Tupper, A. (2002). No Place to Learn: Why Universities Are not Working. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
Toronto Star, Saturday, November 2, 1996, p. C3.
Whitaker, R. (September 2002). In Literary Review of Canada 10 (2).
Wilson, F. (1996). In defence of speech codes, Interchange 27, 125–159.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wilson, F. Are Faculty Strikes Unethical?. Journal of Academic Ethics 1, 27–39 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025473723170
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025473723170