RAAS Report
Friday, September 30, 2022
Ann Dennis, Editor
MEMBERS MEETING
Tuesday, October 4, 2022, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
By Zoom (https://uwaterloo.zoom.us/j/94639882582?pwd=WTV2UmVhQlNCRTg2VFoxejIrSitPUT09)
In addition to updates from our various committees and from OCUFA, we will be discussing what our union can and should to do promote greater safety and clarity in relation to COVID-19 precautions and protocols, and we will spend some time talking together about how to keep all RAAS members informed and involved in determining priorities for negotiations in the winter term. All RAAS members are encouraged to join and to share your thoughts and perspective.
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
Much like the return to campus, I enter this fall term as President of RAAS with a combination of excitement, dedication, and anxiety. Excitement because, similar to returning to the buzz of campus in September, there is a sense of renewal underlying the shifting composition of RAAS’s Executive and other committees, and a sense of possibility in the work that lies ahead. Thanks in no small part to the vision, skill, leadership and super-human productivity of our past president (whose scholarship, all the while, has earned her the recognition of the Royal Society of Canada!), the foundations of our union have been established and paths forward have been pried open. I am looking forward to seeing what our collective efforts contribute to our academic community and our sector more broadly over the next couple years.
There is work to be done, though. We will be in negotiations early in 2023, and we need to get organized soon to identify priorities, anticipate challenges, and craft our proposals for strengthening our Collective Agreement and bolstering our ability to continue providing education and producing scholarship of the highest quality.
With the return to campus in the midst of a lingering pandemic, there are also bugs to work out in Renison’s COVID protocols, policies, and precautions. Many of you responded to my email asking about your COVID-related concerns. Responses include questions about what to do when a CO2 monitor in a classroom shows high readings or when students in a class disclose that that have COVID. Many of you are asking for a return to using face masks, even on a voluntary basis. On main campus, FAUW is launching a campaign to encourage the continued use of masks, against what many see as a problematic and premature return to a non-masked social norm.
Those who responded also raised concerns about messaging from UW and REN that seems to indicate inflexibility in terms of, e.g., switching to remote teaching for instructors with specific vulnerabilities in relation to COVID-19. In a recent conversation with Wendy, she expressed concern that instructors are getting this message and indicated a commitment to upholding the terms of the MoU on Accommodations for Family Status and Medical Reasons that has been in place for the previous two semesters. While this MoU has not been formally renewed (yet) for Fall 2022, Members in need of accommodations can and should still make this request with the expectation that they will be taken seriously.
We are following up now with the administration to renew the MoU, but those with concerns and ideas should also be raising them through the standing item on the Academic Council agenda and through Renison’s Wellness Committee (on which Jim Perretta is our new RAAS representative, replacing Julia this term). There is also an item on our October 4 General Members Meeting, where we can talk together about what more the union can and should be doing to contribute to maintaining a safe workplace.
Wendy and I had our first monthly ‘President-to-President’ meeting, continuing the tradition established by Kristina and Wendy. It was a friendly first meeting, with little on the agenda other than concerns I shared with regard to COVID precautions and protocols. There appears to be genuine desire on Wendy’s part to do what we can to provide a safe work place, at least within the parametres and limitations of UW policies. We also spent a few minutes thinking ahead to negotiations and how to ensure an efficient process.
As usual, CAUT and OCUFA are busy on a number of fronts. As you are aware, in addition to the advocacy they do and the support they provide to unions around grievances, negotiations, and other operational matters, CAUT and OCUFA also regularly offer information and training opportunities for members of academic unions. Watch your email for these opportunities and let me or any of the RAAS Executive members know if you are interested. You do not have to have any particular role in RAAS to take part, and they are always great for connecting with other scholars around the province or country and for getting tuned in to trends in the university sector. And sometimes it’s just nice to get away for a night or two in a hotel away from home, even if there is work involved.
For the most part, we have managed to populate the committees and bodies that require RAAS representatives. The call is now out, nonetheless, for new members for the Grievance Committee (see call for members below). Many thanks, on behalf of us all, to those who have agreed to dedicate some of their service time to our association.
Jason Blokhuis has resigned as Grievance Officer. As our founding Grievance Officer, Jason almost single-handedly created our Grievance policies and procedures, built and chaired our inaugural Grievance Committee, and used the procedures he created to see our earliest grievances through to successful resolution. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Jason for both his work as Grievance Officer, and for the foundation he built for future grievances. In the interim, until an election at our next Annual General Meeting, Colleen McMillan will serve as Grievance Officer and Grievance Committee chair. Many thanks to Colleen for stepping into this role.
There is much more to say, but if you want to hear it, you’ll have to come to the Members’ meeting on Tuesday Oct. 4, reach out to one of us on the Executive, and/or wait for the next issue of RAAS Reports.
Rob Case
RAAS President
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
Our negotiating team has been formed: Rob Case (SDS, Lead), Julia Williams (CLS), Susan Cadell (SSW), and Edwin Ng (SSW). We will be meeting next week to map out a plan for identify priorities for negotiations (with your input), and to start researching and drafting proposals. Please join us at the October 4 General Members' meeting to share ideas about how we might equitably and efficiently share information and get input from RAAS Members as we plan for negotiations.
Negotiation of a new Collective Agreement will presumably begin in February 2023.
Rob Case
Lead Negotiator
GRIEVANCE COMMITTE UPDATE
Members of the Grievance Committee
Colleen McMillan (SSW, Chair); Meg Gibson (SDS); Amir Al-Azraki (CLS); Rob Case (ex officio) and Lori Curtis (ex officio)
Role of the Grievance Committee
The Grievance Committee is a committee of the RAAS Executive. This means its members are affirmed by the Executive and must maintain its confidence and trust. Thus membership is not simply a matter of stepping forward. Appointees will of necessity become familiar with Collective Agreement and be committed (and be seen as committed) to defending it. They need to have some understanding the nature and purposes of grievances and be committed to getting to know our policies and procedures and following them closely. And most importantly, appointees need to maintain the trust and confidence of our Members, particularly those who might wish to raise an informal query or share confidential concerns. All Members must feel comfortable coming forward with concerns to a member of the Executive or the Grievance Committee. We have a duty of fair representation and must always exercise discretion, reasonableness, and good faith. We must also maintain confidentiality.
Call for Members
We extend an invitation to the membership to consider joining the Grievance Committee. With Jason now taking on new responsibilities, we would welcome some new Members willing to help us fulfil the mandate of this important committee. Please consider this request, and contact any of the current members to gain more information. Thank you!
Thank You
I would like to acknowledge Jason Blokhuis for his leadership of the Grievance Committee since its inception. He has chaired this RAAS Committee and handled grievance matters over most of the past three years with diplomacy, objectivity, and close attention to policy and procedure. Thank you and best wishes in your new role!
OCUFA Workshop
OCUFA is hosting a one-day hybrid workshop for current and prospective Grievance Committee members on October 7th in Toronto. Any member interested in joining the Grievance Committee will be supported to attend / participate, with costs covered. Yes, the in-person workshop at the Harbour Castle will be catered, with breakfast starting at 8:00 AM.
The online registration form can be accessed by going to the OCUFA web-site (http://www.ocufa.on.ca), clicking the "Events Calendar" tab and selecting the Grievance Committee Meeting in the calendar, or by clicking here. Members intending to attend via Zoom also should use the online registration form to confirm your attendance. Please let us know if you’re planning to register.
Respectfully,
Colleen McMillan
Grievance Committee Representative
BOARD UPDATE
The first Board meeting of the academic year took place on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. Here are some of the highlights:
Faculty Presentation
Dr. Manaal Syed, who recently joined the School of Social Work as an Assistant Professor, shared her important and timely work on tracing racialized older women’s lives through transnational aging and family migration arrangements. Many thanks, Manaal!
Future Faculty Presentations
There will be opportunities for faculty to share their scholarship with the Board in April, 2023 and in June, 2023. Please let us know if you are interested in sharing your work next year.
Financial Management
Renison is running slightly ahead of budget at this juncture, with stable cash flow. Demand for residence space on campus is robust. Our residence and food service revenues have picked up.
Financial Statements
KPMG auditors presented their findings to the Board. The Board then approved the audited financial statements for the 2021-22 budget year.
Draft Investment Policy
Renison’s endowment funds have been transferred from UW management to our own. An investment manager from RBC presented an investment policy and related procedures. The Board approved Renison’s investment policy.
Royal Society of Canada
The Board echoed the UW Senate in lauding Dr. Kristina R. Llewellyn, who has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). This is the highest honour an individual can be achieve in the Arts. Congratulations to Kristina on this incredible achievement. We are so proud of you!
Governance Committee
The Board approved the recommendation to appoint Thomas Littlewood as Chair of the Governance Committee.
Chancellor Search Committee
Manfred Conrad has informed the Board of his wish to conclude his second term as Chancellor in the Spring of 2023. The Board formed a Search Committee for a new Chancellor and named Thomas Littlewood as its Chair.
Annual General Meeting
The next Board meeting will take place at the AGM on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 6:00 PM.
Edwin Ng and Jason Blokhuis
Faculty Board Representatives
EQUITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE
Welcome to a new academic year! Over the summer, the Equity and Inclusion Committee has had a chance to meet to begin planning for the forthcoming year. One of the questions we had, which defines the mission and goal of equity work, is why does RAAS need an equity and inclusion committee? Because of the institution that we are, inequities and exclusions are the fabric of the structures, procedures, protocols, rules of conduct, policies, assumptions, and expectations.
In thinking structurally about the committee, itself, we needed to pause as a group, and consider the place where we want to be standing, the paradigm out of which our work as a committee will come. After some discussion, we have identified an "All Our Relations" guiding philosophy, so that we can always recognize (emotionally, physically, cognitively, and socially) the web of relations that we are all a part of. Our many gestures and our intentions have impact that reaches across our programs and the university, into the larger community, the natural environment, our students and their families and communities.
From this stance, our work will begin. Please let us know what your critiques (both positive and negative) are that we might be able to address as a committee and as a RAAS community.
We have begun discussions about how negotiations themselves can be informed by an All Our Relations equity lens. Your thoughts about this are most welcome.
Thank you! This is an important time and we are looking forward to engaging in the collective accountabilities that this committee is immersing itself in.
Trish Van Katwyk
RAAS Representative
RAAS LECTURERS COMMITTEE (LC) UPDATE
1. The survey on negotiation priorities for the coming round of CA negotiations
At the end of June 2022, the lecturers at RUC completed a survey on their priorities for the 2022-23 re-negotiations of the CA between RAAS & RUC. The results were summarized and distributed this July.
Considering the key priorities outlined by the survey, the LC chairs obtained a document from OCUFA representatives, summarizing working conditions of teaching stream faculty in many universities and colleges in Ontario. The LC has followed up on communications with the contract faculty and lecturer representatives on the bargaining teams of two comparator institutions.
2. Support for institutions bargaining for contract faculty
In July, some RAAS lecturers joined the campaign to support the three institutions bargaining for improved working conditions for contract faculty: Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), & Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa (APTPUO).
3. A meeting with a representative of the Brescia bargaining team
This September, the RAAS lecturers met to further discuss the negotiation priorities and to have the contract faculty representative on the Brescia bargaining team share their bargaining experience from the two recent rounds of negotiations. The focus of the exchange was the job security for the contract faculty and gains for teaching-stream faculty at that institution.
FAUW LECTURERS COMMITTEE (LC) UPDATE
1. Policy 76-77 (Faculty Appointments & Tenure & Promotion of Faculty Members, teaching stream) updates
A member initiated FAUW GM in August
As a result of a petition initiated by a non-LC lecturer, FAUW called a GM in August to discuss the updates on these policies negotiations, the developments over the spring/summer, and appointments to the Faculty Relations Committee (FRC).A blog post on revisions of Policy 76-77
To verify quite a few points in a guest post on the FAUW Blog from Aug. 10, the LC prepared a response and had it published on August 25 at Fact Check: How to Fix Policy 76 in 19 minutes.A meeting with the new FAUW Vice-President
As a follow-up of the August GM, the LC invited the current FAUW vice-president, Mary Hardy, to discuss ways forward and methods of increased communication between the FAUW Board, the LC, and the lecturer membership.
2. The orientation meeting in September
During the orientation meeting this month, the LC welcomed five new members from three Faculties. Apart from the orientation, the focus was on enhancing communications between the committee and the FAUW lecturer membership.
OCUFA CONTRACT FACULTY COMMITTEE (CFC) UPDATE
1. A meeting in September
This month, the CFC met to discuss a few current developments related to contract faculty:
Ontario College of Art & Design Faculty Association (OCADFA) #sessionalscount campaign
Fair Employment Week (FEW)—CAUT’s annual campaign for precariously employed faculty, actively supported by OCUFA – Oct. 17-21
OCUFA CFC’s 2nd annual meeting – Oct. 22
Aga Wolczuk
RAAS Lecturers Committee Co-chair
Renison Representative on FAUW Lecturers Committee
OCUFA CFC Member
FAUW UPDATE
What’s happening with Policy 76/77 revisions
July 13, 2022, FAUW News
The FAUW Board of Directors created a new proposal for moving policy 76/77 revisions forward. The proposal includes mediation, and arbitration, if necessary, for any items that can’t be agreed upon at the Policy Drafting Committee. Further information will be shared at an information session to be held in the fall.
SATIRE
“Now that Canadian home prices have dropped, I can finally afford a house!” says maybe one person, maybe
September 6, 2022, Samantha Wyss, The Beaverton
After a recent drop in the Canadian housing market, city dweller and accounts manager, Benedict Witt, 34, has become the only person that is considering he may now be able to afford to purchase a house. Maybe.
NOT SATIRE
CAUT President’s Message: The growing precarity of tenure-track positions in Canada
September 2022, Peter McInnis, CAUT Bulletin
Tenure is a central aspiration for faculty seeking permanent appointments in academic, but there is a broader issue about how Canadian post-secondary institutions compare internationally.
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
Behind closed doors: A look inside the Laurentian scandal
In the months leading up to Laurentian University's 2021 decision to seek creditor protection, senior administrators were quietly soliciting the advice of outside legal and financial consultants on how to navigate a legal process under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), legislation that is designed primarily for private corporations and not publicly-funded institutions.
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University CAUT Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
International students’ visa backlog due to an outdated system: lawyer
September 26, 2022, Rhythm Sachdeva, CTV News
An ongoing Canadian immigration backlog of 151,000 applications has left many international students at risk of missing their entire fall semesters altogether.
No strike, Faculty reach agreement with Community Colleges
September 23, 2022, BayToday
The threat of a strike or lockout at Ontario Community Colleges has ended with a new contract announced on September 23, 2022.
University of Waterloo commits to reconciliation through traditional ceremonies
September 22,2022, Robert Williams, The Standard
The University of Waterloo is making a formal commitment to reconciliation, Indigenization and decolonization.
Western mandates anti-racism training for students
September 19, 2022, Adshayah Sathiaseelan, The Gazette
Western is mandating online anti-racism training for all students to be completed by Nov. 1.
Wage cap law does not infringe on Charter, Ontario says in Bill 124 case
September 19, 2022, The Canadian Press
The province says Ontario’s wage-cap law on public sector workers does not infringe constitutional rights.
Member Spotlight
by Sam Clarke
Hello, to the RAAS community! My name is Samantha (Sam) Clarke. My role at Renison has recently changed from a sessional instructor in both SDS and the School of Social to a Defined Limited Term Lecturer with the School of Social Work. I completed my MSW and currently, I am completing a PhD at the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social work at Wilfrid Laurier University, my dissertation is specifically about how social workers come to understand and practice social justice in their everyday work.
I completed my undergraduate degree in Social Development Studies at Renison University College part-time over a period of 8 years – so this appointment feels like coming home.
I have been in social and community services for over 35 years working in many sectors of the field in both individual, community and policy practices in Southern, Ontario. I have been involved with youth in many different roles in group homes, education, employment and as a consultant for municipal services. I have also worked with folks with brain injuries, and individuals convicted of domestic violence as well as strategic planning facilitation, equity, diversity and inclusion consulting and training for organizations and businesses. I have been teaching at the college, undergraduate and graduate levels for the last 14 years. In all of these endeavours, social justice has been a critical part of my work in the field.
I have been a resident of the Waterloo Region since the early 1990’s so I have had the opportunity to see the community grow and change. When not working on my PhD and teaching, I enjoy connecting with friends and family particularly sharing meals and conversation. When I get the chance I take as many opportunities to travel and explore new places and meet new people.
I am looking forward to being part of the RAAS community as a DTL over the next two years.
Warm regards,
Sam Clarke
Welcome to the Fall Term!
RAAS Reports is back from its summer hiatus! We hope that your summer was full of rest, exploration, and connection, with some special moments with family and friends. Let us welcome the fall term with new energies, new experiences and a new RAAS Executive team! Here’s to a healthy, safe, and successful academic year!