Strike scare just about over

Dalhousie administration and the Dal Faculty Association (DFA) may have come to a tentative agreement, but there are still a few steps to be taken.

Karen Janigan, communications officer for the DFA, said the association’s ratification vote will take place March 15, 16 and 19.

The DFA executive recommended the members accept the tentative agreement, and a general meeting took place Thursday night. Janigan was unable to talk about what was included in the agreement itself, because at the time of print the faculty members had not had the chance to hear about it.

“They’re dying with anticipation to find out what the deal is,” Janigan said in a phone interview.

As for the negotiations themselves, Janigan only described them as “long.”

“It took a long time, longer than some members of the team probably expected,” she said. The two sides met at the Dartmouth Holiday Inn from March 8-11.

Charles Crosby, spokesperson for Dal administration, said he is optimistic the agreement will be ratified.

“We’re optimistic, and we’re thrilled we were able to come to an agreement,” he said.

“All the signs have been really positive, and we’re really looking forward to moving on with this.”

At the time of print the Board of Governors had not yet set their ratification vote date.

One unexpected side effect of the negotiations, Janigan said, was a spike in web traffic: the DFA’s website crashed March 11, as thousands of students, parents and faculty tried to find out what was going on.

It was a dramatic increase in traffic all month, Janigan said, and with almost 5,000 views per day earlier that weekend.

“I was trying to post an update that we had come to a tentative agreement, and the site crashed from underneath me.”