RAAS Report
RAAS REPORT
*Final Summer Edition*
Friday, September 4, 2020
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
It is my sincere hope that you have found some way to enjoy the summer weather during these uncertain times. RAAS has been hard at work throughout the summer, but particularly this month. We will be providing a full update and will be having important discussions about the collective agreement at our next membership meeting on Wednesday, September 30 from 1-3 pm via Zoom. We will send out an Outlook invitation shortly, but please mark your calendars in the meantime. We will send out the agenda and Zoom link closer to the meeting date.
Daniel Bratton has had to step away from our negotiation team. Daniel has been an extremely valuable member of the negotiation team since we first submitted out intent to bargain to the Administration in June, 2018 and began formal negotiations in October, 2018. He has been tireless in his commitment to negotiations and to RAAS. Without Daniel, I cannot imagine that RAAS would be the strong and cohesive association that it is. His commitment and expertise regarding collegial governance and faculty rights has strengthened us. Daniel has been an unwavering advocate for all faculty, but particularly for Definite-Term and Continuing Lecturers. We will miss his talents, good humour, and presence as we embark on the final stages of negotiations. Thank you, Daniel!
We are hoping that another member of the CLS department will be willing to serve on the negotiation team. The time commitment varies based on the timing of negotiation sessions. We are in the final stages of negotiations that will likely last through the fall. If you are willing to serve in this important role, please reach out to Rob Case (rob.case@uwaterloo.ca).
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Christine Logel for serving as Chair of the RAAS Equity Committee. As you all know, Christine is an incredible advocate for equitable learning environments, which includes ensuring just working conditions for faculty. Thank you, Christine. We are thrilled to welcome Kathy Hogarth as the new Chair of theRAAS Equity Committee. Kathy was recently appointed to serve on the FAUW Equity Committee, so she will now serve in a dual role. We are incredibly appreciative to have Kathy’s expertise in equity, particularly anti-racism in education. This position is an appointment by the RAAS Executive and not an elected position.
Finally, we would like to thank Craig Fortier for his willingness to serve as our trustee for the CAUT Defence Fund. At the CAUT Defence Fund meeting on August 26, the trustees unanimously voted in favour of accepting our application for membership and in favour of Craig’s appointment. While there are a few administrative details to complete, RAAS is now a member of the CAUT Defence Fund. This means that RAAS is eligible for financial assistance should we need it for mediation/arbitration or in the event of a strike or lockout. For additional information about the CAUT Defence Fund please see https://defencefund.caut.ca/.
Please reach out to any member of the RAAS Executive should you have any questions or concerns. We were pleased to support several members over the summer on various issues. You may reach out to me (kristina.llewellyn@uwaterloo.ca), to Rob Case, to Trish van Katwyk, or to Jason Blokhuis. We look forward to sharing more details of the work before us at our upcoming meeting.
Thanks to all our members for keeping RAAS strong!
Kristina Llewellyn
RAAS President
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
The parties met on August 19. The RAAS team submitted a proposal describing Research Grants, which we anticipate will be the last new proposal that we will submit. We got agreement on that proposal at the table, and also got agreement on the long-contentious Discipline proposal.
The Employer team submitted a proposal on Compensation, which the RAAS team is currently examining in order to understand its implications. This proposal appears to follow an established model found elsewhere in our sector, but includes some significant deviations from our current and past practice. The Compensation article will be a central agenda item at our upcoming Members' meeting (September 30, 1:00-3:00 PM).
Also at the August 19 session, the Employer team returned a response to our Librarian proposal. At this point, there appears to be considerable differences in how we view the Librarian position, but we are preparing our counter-response for negotiation at the next session.
The next negotiation session is scheduled for September 18. In addition to discussing the Librarian proposal, we anticipate receiving counter-proposals on Financial Exigency, Program Redundancy, Layoffs & Terminations, and Non-Disciplinary Terminations. Other than these proposals and Compensation, only Management Rights remains to be settled. Both parties have agreed to dates throughout the fall term, and we are hopeful that we can complete negotiations before the term is over.
Rob Case
RAAS Lead Negotiator
RAAS STATEMENT ON THE SCHOLAR STRIKE ACTIONS
Inspired by the actions of the WNBA and NBA and the Scholar Strike actions in USA, September 9 and 10, 2020 have been set aside for university academics in Canada to join in solidarity for racial justice, to end anti-Black police violence and anti-Indigenous colonial violence. These days were chosen for their proximity to Labour Day and the dates when many university programs begin their new academic year. Academic staff will be standing together for social justice across Canada and the world.
The days are marked by protest and by a series of teach-ins as well as a twitter storm using #scholarstrike and #scholarstrikeCanada. RAAS stands with OCUFA in its support of the Scholar Strike labour action/teach-in/social justice advocacy. We encourage our members to demonstrate their support for racial and decolonial justice by participating in and/or contributing to the activities of Scholar Strike on September 9 and 10. We call for support from the REN Administration during these days of action.
For more information about the Scholar Strike, please visit: https://scholarstrikecanada.ca
Trish van Katwyk
RAAS Secretary-Treasurer
SATIRE
More ways to pay your full, unreduced tuition
Kevin Binder, McSweeney's (August 28, 2020)
As we all deal with the greatest challenge our community has ever faced, this university administration is pleased to announce yet another step to help you during these unprecedented times. Starting this semester, we’ll be unveiling an expanded number of remote payment options so that you can pay your entire, unreduced tuition bill — and not a cent less — from the comfort of your own home.
NOT SATIRE
We’re all socially awkward now
Kate Murphy, New York Times (September 1, 2020) [may require subscription]
Research on prisoners, hermits, soldiers, astronauts, polar explorers and others who have spent extended periods in isolation indicates social skills are like muscles that atrophy from lack of use. People separated from society — by circumstance or by choice — report feeling more socially anxious, impulsive, awkward and intolerant when they return to normal life.
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
Postsecondary staff concerned about remote teaching, research, health and safety, and jobs
CAUT News (August 20, 2020)
A survey conducted by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) shows that the pandemic has significantly increased the workload and the stress level of academic staff across the country.
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
OCUFA Statement in Support of the Scholar Strike for Racial Justice
OCUFA supports the Scholar Strike for racial justice, an end to anti-Black police violence and anti-Indigenous colonial violence which will take place on September 9-10 in Canada.
While many OCUFA members are unable to legally strike during the length of their contract, we encourage faculty, academic librarians, and other staff to join the public digital teach-ins and other events being organized by #ScholarStrikeCanada against racist, institutional, and systemic forms of violence and to learn more about the demands of #ScholarStrikeCanada.
OCUFA condemns institutionalized racism and racist policing that inflict violence on Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities across Ontario and the rest of Turtle Island. We extend our solidarity to Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities that are subjected to this loss and trauma.
We echo the call of the #ScholarStrikeCanada organizers who “believe that it’s of crucial importance for those of us in higher education to take a stand in solidarity with our students and the communities we serve [and]...affirm protestors, workers for social justice, and activists who are crucial parts of making our communities safer places.”
We also call on university administrators to support faculty, librarians, other staff, and students participating in these actions and not penalize those who do. With over half of Ontario university courses taught by contract faculty, OCUFA acknowledges the precarious employment status of many academic staff and supports the #ScholarStrikeCanada organizers’ call for individuals to participate in ways that mirror their capacity to engage.
OCUFA is committed to working internally and externally to end racism and systemic discrimination. At universities across Ontario, Black, Indigenous, and racialized faculty, librarians, staff, and students bear the burden of systemic discrimination and of combating it. The OCUFA Executive is committed to examining and reimagining OCUFA’s structures to make them more representative and inclusive, and to effect systemic changes that support our racialized colleagues and students. This important work is ongoing.
For more information about the Scholar Strike, please visit: https://scholarstrikecanada.ca
International students recall covert racism, gaslighting in Canada
Ayesha Ghaffar, National Post (August 28, 2020) [may require subscription]
Young adults from around the world come to Canada to pursue their dreams, attracted by its image abroad as a diverse and tolerant society. But once here, their self-esteem is often shattered when they are subjected to many forms of discrimination, particularly one of the less talked about but most prevalent examples — covert racism, coupled with gaslighting.
Ryerson and Navitas announce partnership
The PIE News (August 31, 2020)
The cornerstone of this partnership is the introduction of a pathway program for international students designed to ease the transition to a Canadian university environment. To be known as Ryerson University International College, the program will comprise academic course content, study skills development, and wraparound social and academic support systems.
How women are changing the face of Canada's union leadership
Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage, CBC News (August 28, 2020)
Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey data reveals that, as of 2019, women made up 53.1 per cent of union members. That's up from 45.8 per cent in 1998 and 29 per cent in 1978.
How to navigate academia as a female who is the first in her family with a PhD
Sarah A. Gagliano Taliun, Academic Matters (August 28, 2020)
Academia is not immune to nepotism, that is to say the favouring (even if unintentional) of individuals whose relatives are established professors, research scientists, or clinician researchers.
Number and salaries of full-time teaching staff at Canadian universities (partial), 2019/2020
Statistics Canada (August 20, 2020)
The Full-time University and College Academic Staff System (FT-UCASS) provides Canadians with a detailed portrait of full-time academic staff in Canadian universities, including gender, year of birth, principal subject taught, academic rank, salary and administrative stipends, administrative responsibilities, previous employment, and province or country of degrees earned. Today, Statistics Canada is releasing the first group of data on university academic teaching staff from the FT-UCASS for the 2019/2020 academic year.
FAUW NEWS
RAAS has a service agreement with the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW), a campus-wide association of our peers.
Climate Justice Working Group calls on faculty to support divestment campaign
FAUW Blog (August 19, 2020)
The University has committed to align its investment decisions around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria and recently signed the Responsible Investment Charter for Canadian Universities. But to date, the University continues to invest tens of millions of dollars in fossil fuels. If you want this to change, you can sign this letter from the Climate Justice Working Group calling on the University of Waterloo to divest from fossil fuels and re-invest in a just, climate-safe future.
Ten ways academics can promote climate justice today
Allison Kelly and Sharon Kirkpatrick, FAUW Blog (July 28, 2020)
The pandemic has consumed much of our attention and energy over the last few months, making it understandably difficult to find the mental and emotional space to consider other societal challenges. However, as the pandemic persists, we may gradually be able to turn our attention to issues such as climate and racial injustice that pre-dated – and will certainly outlive – the pandemic.