RAAS Report
RAAS REPORT
A biweekly newsletter from your
Association of Academic Staff
Friday, February 14, 2020
RAAS PRESIDENT'S UPDATE
Thank you to everyone who attended our RAAS Luncheon (and Second Birthday celebration) on Wednesday, February 12th. More than one third of RAAS members enjoyed cake, camaraderie, and conversation with Andrea Calver from OCUFA. Andrea is big fan of the RAAS Report.
Please note that we will be holding our RAAS AGM on Tuesday, April 14th from 11am-1pm in the Dunker Family Lounge. Lunch will be provided. If you haven’t already done so, please accept the Outlook invitation for this important meeting. We may need to call additional emergency member meeting in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned.
We are holding an election for the positions of President, Vice-President, and Secretary/Treasurer. FAUW has kindly agreed to facilitate these elections for us in the absence of a RAAS Past-President. You should have received an email from FAUW by now with a call for nominations and an outline of the elections process. If you did not receive this message then please let me know as soon as possible so that we ensure you are on the voting list. We encourage all members in good standing (i.e. signed membership form and paying fees) to consider putting their names forward for the RAAS Executive. Please note that nominations close TODAY, February 14th!
Our next RAAS Luncheon will be held on Friday, March 27. Many thanks to Julia Williams for organizing these events.
As always, please keep in touch with your RAAS Executive should you have any questions, information, or concerns about your working conditions. You can reach me at kristina.llewellyn@uwaterloo.ca.
SATIRE
Ontario teachers reject latest offer of ‘Ford gets to punch one teacher in the face every day’
Luke Gordon Field, The Beaverton (February 11, 2020)
After taking the weekend to mull it over, Ontario’s teachers have decided not to accept the provincial government’s latest offer, where salaries would be drastically cut and Ford would get to punch one teacher in the face each and every day, including weekends.
NOT SATIRE
Maude Barlow appointed Honorary Chancellor of Brescia University College
Council of Canadians (January 7, 2020)
Brescia University College, Canada’s only women’s university, has appointed Council of Canadians Honorary ChairpersonMaude Barlow as its Chancellor. Maude Barlow will serve a three-year term in this honorary position, acting as an ambassador for Brescia and an inspirational leader for the Brescia community.
Jane Philpott Appointed Dean of Queen's University Faculty of Health Sciences
Canadian Press (February 11, 2020)
Former federal health minister Jane Philpott has been tapped to lead the faculty of health sciences at Queen’s University. Philpott, who represented the Ontario riding of Markham-Stouffville from 2015 until last year’s federal election, will serve as dean of the faculty and director of its medical school. She is set to take on her new role on July 1.
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
March strike looming for Trent University part-time academic workers
Peterborough Examiner (February 11, 2020)
A potential strike or lockout by part-time faculty at Trent University is looming March 2. The union bargaining committee for the 537 teaching assistants, lab assistants and marker graders in its negotiations with Trent University asked the Ministry of Labour to issue a no-board report late on Friday night after talks failed to produce a deal.
‘Reconciliation is dead and we will shut down Canada,’ Wet’suwet’en supporters say
Alex Ballingall, Peterborough Examiner (February 12, 2020)
The federal government is getting dragged into a spiralling protest movement as blockades and demonstrations of solidarity with Wet'suwet'en chiefs in British Columbia spread across the country, snarling passenger train traffic and the shipment of goods.
Elementary teachers to protest outside Ontario education minister’s talk
Global News (February 12, 2020)
Hundreds of elementary teachers protested outside a downtown Toronto hotel where Ontario’s education minister was set to speak. […] Teachers filled the sidewalk outside the hotel, stretching nearly the entire block.
Teacher strike strategy makes back-to-work bill hard to justify, expert says
Ryan Patrick Jones, CBC Ottawa (February 11, 2020)
Ontario teachers' unions holding targeted, rolling walkouts instead of a general strike makes it difficult for the Ford government to justify back-to-work legislation, according to one legal expert.
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
MAFA ON STRIKECAUT News (February 2, 2020)
The 150 full-time and 60 part-time faculty and librarian members of the Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA) set up picket lines in Sackville after seven months of frustrating bargaining. The key issues at the negotiating table are job security and compensation for part-time faculty, academic resources and workload, disability accommodation, and employer demands for concessions on tenure, promotion, and sabbatical processes.
UPDATE: The MAFA was quick and effective, as expected. It lasted only TWO DAYS.
CAUT IN SOLIDARITY WITH TEACHERS AND EDUCATION WORKERS
CAUT News (February 11, 2020)
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) stands in solidarity with Ontario’s elementary and secondary teachers who have been without contracts since last summer. The four major teachers’ unions are conducting rotating strikes and work slowdowns as they oppose cuts to the province’s publicly funded education system, along with wage-cap legislation imposed by the Ford government on all public sector workers.
FAUW NEWS
RAAS has a service agreement with the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW), a campus-wide association of our peers.
Indigenous Employee Luncheon, February 24th at 12:00 PM
Just a quick reminder that if you wish to RSVP to the Indigenous employee luncheon on February 24th, or let us know about your dietary preferences, TODAY IS THE RSVP DEADLINE. Please RSVP to wisc@uwaterloo.ca or laura.mcdonald@uwaterloo.ca. While an RSVP is not necessary, it is helpful to ensure we order enough food.
The Indigenous Employee Luncheon is sponsored by the Faculty Association of University of Waterloo (FAUW), the University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA), the Renison Association of Academic Staff (RAAS), and the St. Jerome's University Academic Staff Association (SJU-ASA). All First Nation (Status/Non-Status), Métis, Inuit, or self-identifying as Indigenous due to connection to First Nation (Status/Non-Status), Métis, or Inuit ancestry, employees are welcome.
This is a great opportunity for Indigenous faculty and staff to connect with each other for informal discussion and networking. The discussion will be facilitated by Lori Campbell, Director of Shatitsirótha’, the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre.
Full FAUW Events Calendar (Winter, 2020)
FAUW has a full slate of events posted on our website and open for registration, and we’ll be scheduling more, including our annual tenure workshop later in the term.