RAAS Report
RAAS REPORT
Friday, March 26, 2021
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
A friendly reminder that the RAAS Annual General Meeting is this coming up this Tuesday, March 30th from 1-3pm via Zoom. The zoom link for the meeting will be distributed to RAAS Members by email on Monday (the day before the meeting). Agenda materials were distributed last week, including a lengthy President's Report. It is our hope that Members have time to read through the material prior to the meeting and will come with any questions/comments. The written reports are an attempt to free up more time for discussion during the meetings.
One item that was missing from my President's Report is an important meeting I had recently with Chairs/Directors regarding communications. Occasionally, the RAAS Executive contact Chairs/Directors for information on issues related to faculty in their areas. Chairs/Directors were rightfully cautious in not wanting to speak on behalf of faculty in their areas on union decisions. The RAAS Executive agreed with this position. During our meeting we clarified as a group that Chairs/Directors are members with the same status as any other RAAS Member. That said, the RAAS Executive regularly contacts specific members for information gathering or decision-making input if they have specialized knowledge of an issue at hand. We concluded that the RAAS Executive will continue to contact Chairs/Directors for information purposes, but without any intention or expectation that they speak on behalf of all faculty members in their areas. We want to encourage RAAS Members to come directly to the Executive or the appropriate RAAS committee with any issues to address and initiatives to consider. This meeting was part of the broader and ongoing work the RAAS Executive is doing to clarify and open lines of communication.
I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday for our AGM!
Kristina Llewellyn
RAAS President
NEGOTIATION UPDATE
CAUT's annual Chief Negotiators' Forum took place on Friday, March 19 by Zoom. In conjunction with this event, CAUT released two reports on the bargaining landscape across Canada (attached).
Facts & Figures highlights trends in bargaining and provides a summary of the agreements reached by faculty associations across Canada. Notably, all "settlements" in Ontario have complied the with the 1% cap on public sector salaries, though some have language in their CAs that allow for an increase if the legislation is overturned. RAAS is not entirely alone in accepting increases lower than 1%. Both Lakehead and Northern Ontario School of Medicine also accepted 0% increases (for two years in both cases).
The Collective Bargaining Survey details results of a web-based survey of Chief negotiators across Canada. RAAS contributed to the survey. In response to a question of what Chief Negotiators perceive to be the most important priority for Employers at the negotiating table, the most frequent answers were "compensation", "cost saving" and "teaching stream." The two most common responses to a question about what CAUT should take on as priority advocacy issues this year "equity" and "governance." See attached for more details.
Organizer, author, and scholar Jane McAlevey (Senior Policy Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley’s Labor Center) gave a terrific keynote address. Among the insights she shared about building healthy and effective unions was that association executives and leaders need to spend more time talking with those who do not talk to them; and that we (the association leadership) need to have a credible plan for making this happen. We (your RAAS executive) don't have a complete plan yet for doing this, but I look forward to getting to know some colleagues better in the coming months.
Rob Case
RAAS Lead Negotiator
BRASS TACKS AND RAAS FAQs
Q: What is a Grievance?
Under Article 14.2, a grievance is a claim, dispute or complaint involving the interpretation, application, administration, or alleged violation of the Collective Agreement.
Every inquiry or complaint that comes to the attention of RAAS is a potential grievance. Even informal inquiries that may seem minor have the potential to become significant. RAAS may call a 'grievance' anything from an informal inquiry to a formal complaint. It just means we are treating your matter seriously.
The grievance process can be anything from an informal inquiry to a formal matter that progresses to a Meeting with the Administration (Step 1a), to review by an ad hoc Dispute Resolution Committee (Step 1b), to Arbitration (Step 2) and in rare cases, judicial review (Step 3).
RAAS assumes that you wish to resolve your matter expeditiously and with as little friction as possible. The sooner you come to RAAS with your concern, the better. We will do our best to answer your questions and address your concerns quickly. Please visit the RAAS website for further details.
Jason Blokhuis
RAAS Grievance Officer
SATIRE
York Professor asks for a note from a dictator before agreeing to defer student’s exam
Luke Gordon Field, The Beaverton (March 20, 2021)
A York University professor demanded a Myanmar-based student produce a note from that country’s dictator before he would grant them a deferral on a midterm exam. “Unless you produce a note from a dictator, member of a military junta or recently deposed royal monarch, how am I supposed to know your claims of a coup d’etat are genuine,” he wrote.
NOT SATIRE
The Social Justice Purge at Idaho Colleges [may require subscription]
Michelle Goldberg, New York Times (March 26, 2021)
The right-wing caricature of progressive public schools as pampered re-education camps is extremely far from my own family’s experience, but if any kids are being bullied and shamed for refusing to espouse social justice principles, even principles I agree with, that’s wrong. However, the claim that the right’s war on critical race theory doesn’t threaten academic freedom is also wrong. Consider what just happened in Idaho, where last week Boise State University suspended dozens of classes, online and in person, dealing with different aspects of diversity.
BOARD UPDATE
I have three notes to share.
First, the terms of three Board members will expire on December 31, 2021. I encourage all faculty members to consider and to invite potential nominees for these Board vacancies. Policies and procedures can be found here. See pages 66-68 for Appendix F for ‘Operational Policies and Procedures of the Board.
Second, there are four remaining Board meetings scheduled for this academic year: March 31, 2021, April 28, 2021, May 26, 2021, and June 30, 2021. All meetings begin at 6:00 pm. I encourage all faculty members to attend or listen in during the open portions of these meetings. If you’d like to attend, please email Lisa Kessig for the Microsoft Teams link or phone-in number.
Third, Jason Blokhuis has just been elected to serve as the second Regular Faculty Appointee to the Board. Congratulations, Jason!
Edwin Ng
Faculty Board Representative
LECTURERS COMMITTEE UPDATE
Update on the UW Complementary Teaching Assessment Project Team (CTAPT)
The LC invited Ian VanderBurgh to provide some updates on the work of CTAPT. Vanderburg talked about the composition of the team, its objective, and the work accomplished since 2018. He reported that Phase 1 of the project-–developing theoretical framework (principles of teaching effectiveness)—has already been completed and resulted in recommending the use of multi-faceted assessment of teaching and providing graduate students and sessionals with opportunities for teaching assessment. Phase 2—developing processes for assessment of teaching—began in January 2021. CTAPT aims to complete the project by September 2021 so that new assessment tools are available for implementation by Fall 2022. The main objectives of Phase 2 include developing processes for feasible implementation of teaching dossiers and peer reviews in teaching assessment, preparing specific and useful toolkits for instructors, peer reviewers, and performance review committees, building a system for graduates and sessionals, and revising relevant policies.
The FAUW Lecturers Committee invited all University of Waterloo faculty members at the rank of Lecturer to complete a survey about their contractual obligations, workload, and work experiences in the context of COVID-19. Lecturers at Renison were invited to participate in a parallel survey. The survey was conducted in February, and the participation rate was very high: 83% for UW lecturers and 77% for REN lecturers. A preliminary summary of the survey results for UW will be presented during the Lecturer Town Hall at the end of March 2021. A report of the results for REN lecturers will be prepared at the beginning of the spring term and disseminated through RAAS.
Aga Wolczuk
REN Representative
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
Unprecedented Insolvency at Laurentian University
CAUT News (March, 2021)
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is deeply concerned over the unprecedented situation at Laurentian University, which has filed for court protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. CAUT notes that contributing factors leading to the crisis include a lack of transparent and accountable institutional governance by the Laurentian administration, recent cuts by the Ontario government, and the long-standing erosion of public funding for post-secondary education.
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
University Finances – Questions for Faculty Associations to Ask [report attached]
OCUFA (March 26, 2021)
With Laurentian University under creditor protection, university practices for managing their finances are under scrutiny.
For OCUFA member faculty associations, there are four principal questions about university governance and university finances:
· Are Boards of Governors, or their equivalent bodies, exercising due diligence?
· Are Boards and university administrations providing full disclosure?
· Are there any indications the university’s financial position is at risk?
· Are university administrations undertaking transactions or engaging in practices that put the university’s finances at risk, and/or are not adequately disclosed? […]
For additional reference, CAUT has also published a legal advisory on the fiduciary duties of university board members.
Court ruling allows Laurentian University to reduce value of pension plan payouts
Darren MacDonald, CTV News (March 24, 2021)
[T]his week, the faculty association at Nipissing University called on the province to halt the insolvency process at LU and instead provide the university the funding it needs. "If a public university can be dismantled by a secretive, closed-door process intended for private businesses, then why not any other public institution?" the Nipissing University Faculty Association said in a news release March 23. "A Crown corporation, perhaps? Or a hospital? The province needs to act immediately to stop the inappropriate and radical misuse of the (insolvency) process at Laurentian."
Sudbury Accent: Laurentian struggling to stay alive
Jim Moodie, Timmins Daily Press (March 20, 2021)
The president of Laurentian had a stark message this week regarding the pressure the university is under to solve its financial woes and the consequences of failing to do so. “If we’re not successful in mediation with all the different parties and the recommendation to Senate is turned down, the university will cease to function as of April 30,” said Robert Hache. “It is not an if, and, or maybe — that’s when the money runs out.”
Laurentian left off of list of schools sharing in $106M pot of provincial dollars
Sudbury.com (March 22, 2021)
The province announced Friday it is providing $106.4 million to help publicly assisted colleges and universities address the financial impacts of COVID-19. But left off of the list of 12 colleges and 10 universities receiving funding is Laurentian University, which declared in February it is insolvent, and is currently restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
Pandemic burnout is rampant in academia
University World News (March 20, 2021)
A year into the coronavirus pandemic, many in the academic scientific workforce are experiencing a state of chronic exhaustion known as burnout, writes Virginia Gewin for Nature. Although it is not a medical condition and can occur in any workplace where there is stress, burnout is recognised by the World Health Organization as a syndrome. Its symptoms are physical and emotional, and include feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from and feelings of negativity or cynicism towards one’s job...
Pandemic prompts Alberta government to pare back post-secondary funding model changes
Janet French, CBC News (March 1, 2021)
The Alberta government is scaling back its plans for tying post-secondary institutions' funding to their performance this year. Starting this fall, five per cent of provincial funding to polytechnics, colleges and universities will be contingent on their ability to meet one target.
FAUW NEWS
RAAS has a service agreement with the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW), a campus-wide association of our peers
President’s Report to the FAUW Board
Dan Brown, FAUW Blog (March 2, 2021)
There is so much to talk about from the past few weeks! Our negotiating team has achieved a settlement with the university administration, including the 1% scale raises that are the maximum possible under Bill 124, an eye exam benefit, an expansion of bereavement leave and establishment of paid compassionate care leave, and more. One particular advance is that the administration has committed to using equity group membership data to assess whether there is a structural inequity in salaries for racialized and Indigenous faculty, and if so, correct it. I’m very grateful to our negotiating team: Bryan Tolson (chief negotiator), Mary Hardy, and Linda Robinson, for their steadfast efforts.
At February Senate, the make-up of the new committee to redraft Policies 76 and 77 to focus on teaching-stream faculty was approved. The committee will take advantage of the many years of work of the previous Policy 76 committee, while specifically examining working conditions, advancement, and hiring of teaching-stream faculty. FAUW’s representatives on that committee will be Su-Yin Tan and Kate Lawson.
We continue to work hard on the approval of Policy 14, the policy on parental and pregnancy leaves. We are still looking forward to it being presented for information at the March Senate meeting, and finally approved at the April Board of Governors meeting.