RAAS Report
RAAS REPORT
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Ann Dennis, Editor
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
It seems that the end of the term is already close at hand. RAAS often holds a December membership meeting. We have decided this year that we will wait until January to call our next meeting. There is a great deal unfolding at Renison, from administration hires to financial challenges. We will be better positioned to discuss some of the changes with a meeting in the new year. Our plan for the January meeting is to welcome an expert from OCUFA to help our membership with university financial analysis.
RAAS is working with the administration on a series of documents related to the implementation of the Collective Agreement. These documents include forms for Article 16.6 Teaching Reductions. This Article provides for a one course release for those tenure/tenured faculty who conduct research and provides for research in lieu of service for CLs. More information should be coming from the administration soon.
You can now access the Collective Agreement in the new SharePoint site under Faculty Document. And, of course, you can always access it at the RAAS website https://www.renisonassociationofacademicstaff.org/.
RAAS recently responded to some consideration requests from the administration via the budget sub-committee. These requests pertained to further sharing of office space and to a potential competitive process limiting sabbaticals (i.e., Article 10 Working Conditions and Article 24 Sabbaticals). Our responses were detailed. To summarize, RAAS asserted the rights of faculty to office spaces as outlined in the Collective Agreement. RAAS did indicate that faculty may voluntarily agree to share with more people than required or forego their office space should that request be made. RAAS also asserted the rights of tenure/tenured faculty to sabbaticals. We asserted that the administration should, consistent with past and very recent practice, assess each application on its individual academic merits in accordance with the Collective Agreement. We further asserted that, if operational reasons were to limit sabbaticals, there would need to be a clear justification regarding budget and programs for that department/school. We noted that faculty have a cut in salary that covers a portion of teaching and often sections are not replaced. In some instances, sabbaticals are not a cost to the institution. Further, sabbaticals are critical to the recently re-affirmed mission of Renison to support research and to ensure faculty research workloads are adequately supported. Once again, we indicated to the administration that they can request faculty voluntarily delay sabbaticals, while maintaining their sabbatical credit accumulation.
As I noted in the last newsletter, the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) voted in favour of striking. They are going into their fourth week on the picket line. They are striking against government interference in collective bargaining for fair compensation. Faculty associations across the country are donating to UMFA in support of their efforts. The RAAS Executive unanimously agreed to a donation of $250 to the strike fund. This is RAAS' first donation. Last year, we had agreed to donate to UNBC but the strike ended before we could send the donation. This is a small donation that is within the purview of the Executive to make. That said, we will be seeking to develop with the membership a policy regarding a maximum amount that can be approved by the Executive. You can anticipate a draft motion on this issue for the next membership meeting.
UMFA responded to our donation with the following message:
Dear Kristina,
It's my real pleasure to express the thanks of the members of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association for the support and solidarity of our colleagues in the Renison Association for Academic Staff. Please convey our gratitude to all of your members.
Your support is particularly appreciated as our strike hits the third week, and our members have faced sleet and snow on the picket lines. The support of our colleagues encourages our members, as things get hard.
In solidarity,
Erik Thomson
(he/him)
Vice President
University of Manitoba Faculty Association
www.umfa.ca
I am pleased to be attending the CAUT Council - the gathering for all faculty associations across the country - this coming week. For more information about CAUT Council, and the upcoming agenda, please visit https://council.caut.ca/.
The RAAS Report will not occur next month due to the December break. I will, however, continue to send emails on urgent matters as they arise. Of course, you can anticipate the annual holiday greeting card via email in December!
Stay safe as we enter winter months again during this pandemic!
Kristina Llewellyn
RAAS President
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
Have you come across problems with unclear language or problematic issues in our Collective Agreement that should be fixed during our next round of negotiations? If so, please send your observations and ideas to Ann Dennis (ann.h.dennis@hotmail.com) as you encounter them, so that the negotiation team knows where to begin.
Do you have a point of view, a concern, or strategic ideas to bring into the next round of negotiations? Could you be convinced to join the RAAS negotiation team? The negotiation team will be convened in late Winter or early Spring 2022, for negotiations commencing as early as summer 2022. If you would like to know more about what to expect, please reach out to any of the previous team members: Rob Case, Kristina Llewllyn, Trish Van Katwyk, Jason Blokhuis, or Daniel Bratton.
Rob Case
RAAS Vice President
BRASS TACKS AND RAAS FAQs
On Thursday, November 18, Colleen McMillan, Sharon Roberts and I completed the CAUT National Grievance Handling Course, a scintillating three-hour interactive Zoom seminar hosted by Dwayne Hodgson, Michael Arfken and Christina Muehlberger. This week’s FAQs are based on material presented by Michael Arfken of the UPEI Faculty Association.
Duty of Fair Representation (DFR)
Q: What is the DFR?
A: The association’s conduct in grievance handling is governed by a duty to act in a manner that is neither arbitrary, discriminatory nor in bad faith. Members unhappy with their treatment by their union can file a DFR complaint with the Labour Board. Only a small percentage of these complaints succeed. When assessing a DFR complaint, the Board will consider a variety of factors, including:
Seriousness – critical employment matters such as job security require a high standard of conduct;
Health – when a grievance concerns the mental or physical health of a member requires a high standard of conduct;
Discrimination – particular vigilance is required when human rights issues are involved;
Impact on the bargaining unit – valid trade-offs can be made; and
Finances – whether the union can afford to carry the grievance forward is a valid consideration.
Q. Does the DFR give a member an absolute right to see a grievance taken to arbitration?
A: Not if the union has carriage rights. Unions have considerable leeway in deciding whether to take a grievance to arbitration. Factors to consider include the likelihood of success, the impact of the matter, and the financial position of the association.
In making the decision whether or not to proceed to arbitration, the union must carefully consider impact of the case on the unit as a whole and should arrive at its decision in a good faith manner.
Jason Blokhuis
RAAS Grievance Officer
BOARD UPDATE
1. Financial Management
Renison remains on track in its efforts to close this year’s budget gap and avoid a debt covenant violation with the bank.
2. Scarborough Charter
Renison became a signatory to the Scarborough Charter, which addresses anti-Black racism and promotes Black inclusion in Canadian higher education.
3. By-Law Revisions
Two by-laws regarding Section 14 (Councils) were amended and approved:
a. 14.1. Academic Council (AC). The AC bylaw was re-written to be consistent with the Collective Agreement and shared governance principles. The new AC bylaw is modelled on the senate council bylaw at SJU. The new bylaw is on track for adoption at the next meeting of the Members of the Corporation.
b. 14.2. Student Affairs and Community Education Council (SACEC) (formerly known as the Community and Professional Education Council). The SACEC By-Law, which speaks to the delivery of Renison’s non-degree programs, has been developed following a similar format to that used in the AC bylaw.
4. New Appointments
Effective January 1, 2022, Liz Vitek will serve as Vice-Chair, and Joseph Olubobokun will serve as Secretary. Ashton Romany was reappointed as Treasurer until April 30, 2022. Shumiao Wang will take over as Treasurer, effective May 1, 2022. At the end of the year, Brian Hendley will become the outgoing Chair. He will serve as past Chair in the new year.
5. Farewells
The terms of three Board members will expire at the end of this year: Peter Ringrose, Matthew Griffith (Diocese of Niagara), and Matthew Kieswetter (Diocese of Huron). Each received some commemorative Renison clothing and hearty applause.
6. Faculty Presentation Series
Our faculty presentation series will start in the new year. We’re excited for this opportunity for faculty and board members to learn with and from each other. If you’re interested in speaking about your work at a Board meeting, please let us know!
Edwin Ng and Jason Blokhuis
Faculty Board Representatives
FAUW COUNCIL UPDATE
Conversations about the Policy 76/77 revisions are ongoing. The Faculty Relations Committee has been clarifying what people want in terms of teaching faculty positions and hope to be able to reach an agreement soon. Details can be found at:
https://uwaterloo.ca/faculty-association/news/progress-update-teaching-faculty-policy-revisions
FAUW is also looking for members to join the Nominating Committee. If you are interested in learning more, see:
https://uwaterloo.ca/faculty-association/news/call-nominating-committee-members
Meg Gibson
RAAS Representative
FAUW LECTURERS COMMITTEE UPDATE
1. Updates on Policies 76-77 revision process re. teaching stream faculty
After the negotiations about Policy 76-77 (Faculty Appointments, and Tenure and Promotion of Faculty Members respectively) between the FAUW and UW administration representatives on the Policy Development Committee reached an impasse, FAUW Board, in consultation with FAUW LC, prepared a bottom-line statement summarizing the key negotiation points that need to be addressed. The FAUW Executive members on the Faculty Relations Committee (FRC) presented this statement to the UW Administration the representatives on behalf of FAUW, and the Administration agreed in principle to all the asks in this bottom-line statement.
Consequently, on November 15, a joint statement summarizing this agreement was circulated to all the faculty members by James W. E. Rush, VPAP, and Lori Curtis, President, FAUW, on behalf of FRC. This statement indicated that FRC agreed on changes related to the following aspects of lecturers’ working conditions:
ranks, progression, and permanence of teaching stream faculty, which should be parallel with current promotion and tenure processes for tenure-track faculty, and discontinuing the rank Lecturer for new appointments;
structure and expectations regarding a professional and pedagogical development term (one-term-in-six);
a maximal course teaching load;
restrictions around the cumulative length of definite term appointments for teaching stream faculty; and
the fuller participation of teaching stream faculty in collegial governance and its access to internal and external funding.
This development has been welcomed by lecturers. However, the details about how the policy revision process will continue as well as the timeline for this process have not been established yet. FAUW Lecturers Committee has requested transparent and regular communications on how the revision process will develop. FRC has been working on preparing the terms of agreement, which it aims to finalize by the end of 2021.
2. A joint meeting of FAUW Equity Committee and FAUW LC
FAUW EC and LC have had their second joint meeting this year. The membership of both committees has changed, so the meeting began with brief introductions. EC is currently chaired by Kim Nguyen, Communication Arts.
The two main meeting objectives were
voting rights of the EC and EC chairs
salary anomalies
The chairs and the majority of the members on both committees agreed that based on common practice at other associations, chairs of the standing committees should have the right to vote at Board meetings. The two committees would like to see more frequent and bi-lateral flow of information between the Board and the membership.
EC and LC also agreed to form a working group to analyze the most recent UW report on salary anomalies. Amanda Garcia, Math, took the initiative to organize and lead this group.
If you have any questions related to either FAUW or RAAS LC, contact me at awolczuk@uwaterloo.ca.
Warmly,
Aga Wolczuk
RAAS Representative
SATIRE
Tim Horton's insist Canada is just one more flavored iced capp away from having a unique cultural identity
Janel Comeau, The Beaverton, (November 9, 2021)
The national coffee chain Tim Horton's ended decades of academic and political turmoil this past weekend when it declared that Canada is just one or two more flavored Iced Capps away from having a definitive cultural identity as a nation.
NOT SATIRE
How do you stop sexual violence on campus?
Emily Baron Cadloff, University Affairs, (November 17, 2021)
Alleged assaults at Western prompted policy reviews across Ontario, but it's unclear what changes will come from them.
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
Caut stands in solidarity with Ontario college faculty seeking fair contract settlement
CAUT is fully supporting Ontario's college faculty as they seek to reach a new contract with the province's College Employer's Council (CEC):
https://www.caut.ca/node/10785
CAUT Annual Report for 2020-2021
The 2020-2021 CAUT Annual Report is found in the following link: https://www.caut.ca/content/caut-2020-2021-annual-report
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
Ontario's universities are urged to move to in-person learning
Toronto Star, November 18, 2021
Universities should move to more in-person learning given ongoing student frustration and lack of motivation with online learning- but keep remote options for those who can't safely return to campus because of COVID-19, says the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.
Strike or lockout looms for Ontario colleges as negotiations break down
Guelph Today, November 19, 2021
A potential strike or lockout could be looming for Ontario's colleges as negotiations between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the College Employer Council (CEC) have reached an impasse.
OCUFA supports college faculty bargaining for better working conditions
Education News Canada, November 17, 2021
OCUFA stands in solidarity with college faculty across the province as they work to negotiate a new collective agreement.
CBC Manitoba, November 17, 2021
U of M students blocked the administration building doors to show support for striking faculty. The University of Manitoba Faculty Association has been on strike for two weeks, demanding higher wages to address recruitment and retention issues at the university.
Western University's wear-ID-on-campus plan 'shelved': Faculty union
London Free Press, November 17, 2021
Western University is walking back a plan that encouraged everyone visiting campus to wear identification cards, a proposal that has drawn widespread backlash largely for a lack of consultation with staff and students.
U of L board of governors, faculty association heading for mediation
Global News, November 2, 2021
The University of Lethbridge board of governors and its faculty association are moving to mediation as collective bargaining talks continue.
New course begins new partnership between U of S, First Nation
Regina-Leader Post, November 2, 2021
Students from the University of Saskatchewan and Mistawasis Nêhiyawak will take part in what leaders from the university and the First Nation say will be the first of many meaningful exchanges next spring.
FAUW NEWS
RAAS has a service agreement with the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW), a campus-wide association of our peers
Board Meeting Report
The Board meeting report for October 28, 2021, can be found in the following link:
https://fauw.blog/2021/10/29/board-meeting-report-for-october-28-2021/