RAAS Report
Friday, March 25, 2022
Ann Dennis, Editor
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
Happy Anniversary RAAS! On March 23rd, 2020, the Ontario Labour Relations Board officially certified the Renison Association of Academic Staff. As you may recall, we took our vote on March 11th, which was the same day the WHO declared a global pandemic. As a two-year old union, we have made great strides that should be celebrated, including, but not limited to, the ratification of our first Collective Agreement! Congratulations for making a union that has created clearer policy and procedures and has protected our labour rights.
New Executive Committee (starting July 1st)
I look forward to the union growing even stronger under our newly-elected Executive Committee. You have elected Rob Case as President, Trish van Katwyk as Vice-President, and Jason Blokhuis as Secretary-Treasurer. This new RAAS Executive will begin their term on July 1st, 2022. Congratulations to Rob, Trish, and Jason. Thank you for your willingness to serve in these roles. Your new Executive will be responsible for appointing the Lead Negotiator and Negotiation Team and for appointing a Grievance Officer.
This all means that I have 3 months remaining in my term as President and as Acting Grievance Officer. Over this time, I will work with the new Executive to ensure there is a smooth transition, including ensuring that our archival records of the association are complete. I will of course continue to spend that time defending our Collective Agreement, handling informal and formal grievances, and advocating for more transparent collegial governance at Renison.
Provincial Election (1 minute required for action)
With an upcoming provincial election, we have an opportunity to make postsecondary issues ballot box issues. Please take a minute to use OCUFA’s email action to send a message to your local Ontario election candidates to tell them it's time to revitalize public postsecondary education in Ontario. Ask them to show their support for fairness for contract faculty, increased student aid, and robust public funding for Ontario’s universities. Click here, fill in your name, institution, email address, and postal code and click “Add Your Voice”. Let your colleagues, friends, and family know how to participate as well by posting on social media or sending an email. This election presents a valuable opportunity to put postsecondary education on the agenda and build a better future for Ontario. Each political party is making promises that will impact faculty and the whole university community.
The RAAS Executive has committed to work with our local college and university faculty associations (e.g., Conestoga, FAUW, WLU, SJU) in advocating for the prioritization of the post-secondary education through the upcoming provincial election. A group of us are working on plans for a rally in mid to late May, at which our local MPPs have indicated they will speak to the issues. Our general message is that there is an urgent need for the next government to trust, invest, and make accessible post-secondary education. No other college or university should be treated as a corporation like Laurentian and should be bound by neoliberal performance-based budgeting. I will be letting you all know as soon as we have more details about the rally. I hope all of you will plan to attend.
Momoranda of Understanding (MoU)
On March 3rd, 2022, RAAS signed three MoU with the administration. We were pleased to received support from our Joint Committee representatives on some of these issues. It is critical to note that changes to the CA should be rare, usually reflecting small clarifying language if necessary or addressing unforeseen changes to the context of our working conditions (e.g., COVID).
The first is for Article 25 on Parental, Pregnancy and Adoption Leave. At the negotiating table, the administration agreed to follow the UW policy but wanted the policy written out in full for the CA. Since signing our CA the UW has updated this policy. Renison proposed to RAAS that we simplify the article now to state that we follow UW policy. We fully agreed with this proposal. The article now reads as stated below:
Article 25: Members are entitled to Pregnancy, Parental and Adoption Leave in accordance with the University of Waterloo’s Policy 14 -- Pregnancy and Parental Leaves (including Adoption), and the Return to Work, as may be amended from time to time.The second is Article 37.2.1 on the Renison Research Grant. There was a concern from Academic Council that the original text would not allow for carry-over of unspent funds within an academic year. The revised text is below.
Revised text – Article 37.2.1
37.2.1 – The Renison Faculty Research Grant exists to support research output among full-time tenure-track/tenured professors at Renison University College. The Employer shall make available an annual budget of at least $10,000 for the Renison Research Grants, to be distributed twice per year ($5,000 in October and $5,000 in March) through the Research Committee, in accordance with terms set by Academic Council. Half of the research funds should be distributed in the Fall term and the other half in the Winter term. If half the funds are not distributed in the Fall term, the remaining funds shall roll over to the Winter term for distribution, up to the total annual budget. If the total amount of available funds has not been distributed by the end of the winter term, the funds will not carry forward to the following year. In addition, individual awards will normally not exceed $2,000, and applications from pre-tenure Members shall be given priority.The third is Article 21.8 on the TPC/VPAD-TPC student feedback. RAAS and the Renison administration agreed that the solicitation of student interviews was impractical for the tenure and promotion process. The provision has been stricken from the article. I am proud to say that tenure and promotion applicants choose how they wish to demonstrate teaching effectiveness in their files.
Revised text – Article 21.8. (a) iv.
21.8. (a) iv. Feedback from students, gathered by members of the TPC/VPAD-TPC through interviews. Eligible students are those previously enrolled in a Member’s course. The TPC shall randomly and confidentially select three (3) to five (5) students who received a mark of seventy-five percent (75%) or greater in one or more of the Member’s classes to interview The Member may choose to include student feedback and input in the format of their choice in their tenure and promotion application package. The TPC and VPAD-TPC will refrain from soliciting student input on the Member’s behalf.
All other subsections (i, ii, iii) of Article 21.8. (a) remain unchanged.
Annual General Meeting
Lastly, a friendly reminder that we will be having our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, April 6th from 12:30-2:30pm. If you have not already done so, please respond to the Outlook invitation for the meeting that was sent out a couple of weeks ago. I will be sending the agenda materials with zoom link approximately one week prior to the meeting. I look forward to seeing you all then.
Kristina Llewellyn
RAAS President
BRASS TACKS AND RAAS FAQs
As we reported in the previous issue, the OCUFA Grievance Officer Orientation Workshop scheduled for February 17 was initially shifted to Zoom and subsequently postponed. Members of the RAAS Grievance Committee were planning to attend, and the event was going to do double duty as a RAAS Grievance Committee meeting. Unfortunately, we still don’t know the new date for the next GO Orientation Workshop. It will either be in early September or late December at the Harbour Castle in Toronto. Either way, your RAAS team will be there. These are catered events.
On behalf of the RAAS Grievance Committee, Jason Blokhuis attended the virtual OCUFA Grievance Committee meetings on February 18 and February 25, as well as the monthly “GO Is In” session on March 18. He will report on these and other events and developments at the RAAS Grievance Committee meeting scheduled for the end of this month.
Please consider registering for the OCUFA Workshop on University Governance scheduled for May 6th from 9 AM to 5 PM. The registration deadline is April 22nd. This will be a catered event at the Toronto Courtyard at 475 Yonge Street, so if you’ve been itching to spend a spring day in Toronto, this is your chance.
The Erosion of Collegial Governance: Reclaiming Lost Ground will provide hands-on training to support faculty associations and faculty representatives on governing bodies and committees. This workshop accompanies a resource document released last month by OCUFA’s University Governance Committee called Strategies for Enhancing Collegial Governance and Effectiveness in Governance Spaces. These initiatives reflect OCUFA’s commitment to supporting faculty representation and strengthening the systems of shared / collegial governance that are vital to publicly-funded universities.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Jason Blokhuis
Grievance Committee Member
BOARD UPDATE
The next Board of Governors meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 30th at 6 PM. The agenda for this hybrid meeting is not yet available, but some important items are anticipated (including the 2022-23 budget and some promotion and tenure recommendations). Please contact Lisa Kessig if you would like to attend the public portion of the meeting in person or via Teams.
We will offer a full report in the next RAAS Report. In the meantime, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Edwin Ng and Jason Blokhuis
Faculty Board Representatives
EQUITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE
What are the experiences, knowledges, and passions that you could bring to our shared vision of a positive, fulfilling, and inclusive community here at RUC?
Have you experienced the important ways in which connection and validation enrich our experiences of teaching, learning, research, and knowledge sharing?
Strong considerations about equity have come to the fore. Are there things you've learned that you would like to see explored further here with your colleagues?
What personal, institutional, systemic change would you like to contribute to?
PLEASE consider joining RAAS' Equity & Inclusion committee, please add your voice and energies to making our community the best that it can be.
The committee is concerned with equity issues including, but not limited to, those covered by the protected grounds of the Ontario’s Human Rights Code.
The committee engages in educational and advocacy activities as appropriate and liaises with other related committees of the College, University of Waterloo, OCUFA, and CAUT.
The committee makes recommendations to the RAAS Executive Committee concerning policies and actions in regards to equity and inclusivity concerns.
The committee works to identify and support community-based initiatives to bring about equity in education and in greater society as appropriate.
Contact Trish at pvankatw@uwaterloo.ca to let me know of your interest or if there are questions I can answer.
Trish Van Katwyk
RAAS Representative
FAUW COUNCIL UPDATE
FAUW is holding elections for new members for its Board of Directors. Voting continues until April 4. While RAAS members are ineligible to vote, we still want you to be aware of this update and for more information, see: https://uwaterloo.ca/faculty-association/get-involved/elections.
FAUW's Spring General Meeting will be held on April 6 at 1:30 pm. For more, see https://uwaterloo.ca/faculty-association/events/2022-spring-general-meeting.
Finally, FAUW has also been compiling faculty input around plans for the Spring 2022 term. FAUW is urging the administration to take seriously the faculty's concerns about lifting vaccination and masking mandates, and, if these are lifted for Spring term, FAUW is highlighting the need to fully accommodate faculty who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. For the full statement, see: https://uwaterloo.ca/faculty-association/news/fauw-statement-covid-19-requirements-spring-2022.
Meg Gibson
RAAS Representative
RAAS LECTURERS COMMITTEE (LC) UPDATE
Recognition of the OCUFA Annual Social Media Day of Action
Some members of RAAS LC met just before the OCUFA Annual Social Media Day of Action to express their solidarity with contract faculty. A collated picture of those in attendance with the graphics in support of such faculty in the background was circulated to the RAAS & FAUW members with the message from the OCUFA CFC.
FAUW LECTURERS COMMITTEE (LC) UPDATE
Concern about no Masking or Proof of Vaccination Mandates for Spring 2022
LC members expressed some concerns about the recent communication about the UW Administration removing both the masking and proof of vaccination mandates for the spring 2022 term. One particular concern voiced is a potential negative impact of the decision to wear a face mask while teaching on instructor evaluation by students. Faculty opting not to remove masks might receive worse evaluations than those who will choose to teach not wearing a mask. Kate Lawson, FAUW Vice-president, attending as a guest, responded with a hope that the choice to continue wearing a face mask by some faculty would be treated as a mitigating factor and that the administration would take this potential bias into account.Lecturers Annual Town Hall on March 24, 2022
FAUW Lecturers Committee (LC) is preparing to hold its annual town hall on March 24, 2022. The meeting open to all UW lecturers and will focus on discussing concerns related to working conditions, Policy 76/77 developments, contract renewals, recent changes of the masking and vaccination mandates and more.Upcoming Elections to FAUW Board of Directors
The nominations for FAUW Board of Directors closed last week. Because there has been no candidate from the Faculty of Science, both the LC chair and Dorothy Hadfield sitting on the nomination committee for this board encouraged the LC members to solicit potential candidates.LC Membership Update
Three members of the FAUW LC will step out at the end of June. The committee will launch a call for nominations at the beginning of May. One position for a representative from each of these faculties will be available: Arts, Math, and Engineering.
OCUFA CONTRACT FACULTY COMMITTEE (CFC) UPDATE
Annual Social Media Day of Action in March
OCUFA CFC has held its Annual Social Media Day of Action on March 9 advocating for academic employees in the most precarious positions: contract faculty. The committee members engaged its allies in this day by sending emails, tweets, and graphics on different social media platforms. The main message was the need for equity in terms of job security, equal pay, and equal benefits. The list of allies at the provincial level included Ontario Universities and Colleges Coalition, CUPE, Canadian Federation of Students, OCUFA member associations, and The Ontario Federation of Labour.
At the local level, Renison OCUFA CFC rep contacted the following organizations: RAAS membership, FAUW membership, Organize uWaterloo, Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife, and Waterloo Regional Labour Council. There was a positive response from the last three allies.
Aga Wolczuk
RAAS Lecturers Committee Co-chair
Renison Representative on FAUW Lecturers Committee
OCUFA CFC Member
SATIRE
Apple unveils single-use Macbook with zero ports
Carly McCready, The Beaverton, March 8, 2022
https://www.thebeaverton.com/2022/03/apple-unveils-single-use-macbook-with-zero-ports/
Apple introduces its first ever single-use MacBook, dubbed the MacBook Zero.
NOT SATIRE
Increasing harassment of researchers subject of new report
Robert Rombouts, Western News, March 21, 2022
A Canadian task force made up of university-based researchers, is tackling the growth number of online threats and harassment researchers face and has called on the federal government to initiate a nationwide, coordinated approach to addressing the issue.
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
Government of Manitoba to pay $19.3 Million for violating Charter rights of UMFA members in 2016 collective bargaining
February 25, 2022
The University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) received some very good news this week.
Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench has found that the Government of Manitoba violated our charter rights and "significantly disrupted" UMFA's relationship with our employer. The Court ordered the Government to pay UMFA and its members $19.3 Million, plus interest, for the costs of the 2016 strike, and for member's lost wages.
This is a bittersweet ruling. Though it is affirming that the judge decided definitively in UMFA's favour, the government should never have interfered in our collective bargaining in the first place. And the government has 30 days to appeal this decision.
The full decision is available on the UMFA website in two parts:
We hope you'll join us in our preliminary celebrations. A win for one of us is a win for all or us. Hopefully this ruling sends a very clear message to all of the meddling Conservative governments that attempts to interfere in collective bargaining will not go unpunished.
In solidarity,
Orvie Dingwall
she/her
President
University of Manitoba Faculty Association
president@umfa.ca
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
UOITFA’s two-week strike achieves big gains on workload, equity and benefits
OCUFA News, March 21, 2022
After months of negotiations, escalating pressure on the Ontario Tech administration, and a strike, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Faculty Association (UOITFA) has ratified a three-year collective agreement that makes big gains on the faculty association’s workload, equity and benefits priorities.
University of Lethbridge Faculty Association to review proposed collective agreement Saturday
Danica Ferris, Global News, March 21, 2022
The University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA) strike is into its fifth week, but a new development shows signs of potential progress.
Strike called off after Ontario’s colleges and faculty union agree to enter binding interest arbitration
Bryann Aguilar, CP 24 News, March 18, 2022
Ontario’s public colleges and the union representing 16,000 faculty members agreed Thursday to enter binding interest arbitration, averting a strike that would have affected hundreds of thousands of college students.
University equity work must include job security, equal pay, and benefits for contract staff
OCUFA, March 10, 2022
Ontario’s universities should take immediate steps to improve job security, pay, and benefits for contract faculty and their precariously employed colleagues.
Decolonization in Education
Yasmeen Al Momani, The Cord, March 8, 2022
Providing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training at institutions may be a stepping stone to decolonization and inclusion at university.
Western University students council declares campus sexual violence 'crisis'
Heather Rivers, London Free Press, March 4, 2022
The students' council at Western University has voted unanimously to declare a gender-based and sexual violence crisis on campus, and is now pushing for Western officials to follow its lead.
RAAS WEBSITE
Check this out: The RAAS website has a fresh, new look! We are offering even more menu options to choose from, featuring, ‘Lecturer’s Corner’, a dedicated resource for our Lecturer staff. Keep track of our latest, signed documentation and archived highlights.. it’s all there plus much more!
Fun Fact
Did you know… even medical science proves that RAAS is good for the body and soul!?
Medical journals describe The Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS), as a hormone system within the body that is essential for the regulation of blood pressure and fluid balance. The system is mainly comprised of the three hormones renin, angiotensin II and aldosterone.
RAAS is literally coursing through your veins! Just like its namesake, RAAS works hard to help regulate faculty blood pressure and achieve balance!
Member Spotlight
by Kelly Laurila
In the attached document, Kelly Laurila offers her approach of using circle pedagogy to carry the dialogue of reconciliation forward in academic courses and community engagements.