RAAS Report
Friday, May 26, 2023
Ann Dennis, Editor
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
Spring is in the air, and I hope that you are all finding time to spend in your gardens, at your cottages, at the park or outside somewhere, and not just at your desks!
I have little to report at this time, besides the update on our contract negotiations, which are occupying most of my time and energy right now. I do want to acknowledge, however, with considerable regret, that we are losing three DTL positions this year, due to declining enrolment in some areas and the consolidation or cancellation of course sections to save money. RAAS has no control over program and course demand and little influence over the creation or renewal of DTL contracts. The negotiating team is currently advocating for new commitments in our collective agreement that would provide at least a little more security for our colleagues on short-term contracts. Please watch for negotiation updates about that. We may need to stand together and take bold action to ensure we make gains on this front.
Some good news for our sector (or potentially good news, at least) is that the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Honourable Franҫois-Philippe Champagne, has been engaging various stakeholders, including CAUT and OCUFA, in consultations concerning the challenges presented by the application of insolvency and restructuring laws, including CCAA bankruptcy procedures, to publicly funded post-secondary educational institutions in Canada (“CCAA” refers to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C 36). Those of us who wrote to the federal government in March this year demanding some changes in these laws following the Laurentian University debacle can feel good that our collective voice was heard.
Consultation, however, is not change (especially in the government context!). At OCUFA’s request and based on a letter template circulated among OCUFA members, I sent a letter to the Minister, on behalf of all of us, expressing appreciation for opening up the consultation process, and re-iterating the need to follow through with changing the laws to ensure that publicly-funded Canadian universities and colleges are treated as public institutions in times of financial strain – like hospitals and school boards are – not like for-profit corporations with private shareholders as per the CCAA. Please email me if you would like a copy of the letter I sent on behalf of RAAS.
Less positive is Ontario’s “Blue Panel” consultation on keeping the postsecondary education sector financially stable and providing the best student experience possible. This panel has been criticized for its impossibly short timeline, for the exclusion of any direct student voices or faculty representation, and for the private-sector and administrative emphasis in the make-up of the expert panel. OCUFA is advocating on behalf of all of its members for broadening the consultation. You can find OCUFA’s statement about the “Blue Ribbon” consultation here.
Rob Case
RAAS President
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
We are now approaching our 13th half-day negotiation session. Our first Collective Agreement (CA) expired on April 30 and although we agreed to a June 30 deadline for completing negotiations, several complicated items remain on the table as that deadline fast approaches. The terms of that agreement stay in force until we ratify our new CA, and any salary increases we negotiate will be retroactive to May 1, 2023.
We have spent considerably more time than anticipated clarifying the language of articles in the CA. Since my last report, in an effort to move us towards an agreement we have made some significant concessions on the structure of Tenure & Promotion Committees and on submission timelines for Annual Activity Reports and other items. We are now trying to fend off proposals that would change (curtain) how sabbatical credits are accrued and used, and make sabbatical applications a more competitive, merit-based process (vs. a necessary element of research-based jobs).
In preparation for negotiation of our salary increments for the next three years, we have asked the administration team for an overall average and a breakdown of salary increases among senior managers and administrators. The administrative team has not (yet?) provided that information and has asked for further explanation of its relevance to our negotiations.
We are framing our compensation asks now. If you have strong feelings and/or good ideas about what we should ask for or what we should be prepared to accept, please reach out to me or any member of the RAAS negotiating team now.
Rob Case
Lead Negotiator
GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE UPDATE
Ongoing Training
On May 26th, a workshop is being hosted by OCUFA Contract Faculty Committee Workshop on Organizing for Collective Strength. There are several excellent panel presentations that are relevant to us here at Renison including the following; Negotiating good jobs for contract faculty, Contract faculty member engagement: Lessons from the front lines, Lessons on contract and tenure-stream solidarity: Opportunities and obstacles and Communications training: How to broadcast your issues and frame the bargaining narrative.
Please let me know if you would like to attend the above workshop on behalf of the Grievance Committee. OCUFA hosts many informative and relevant panels and workshops over the academic year. Unfortunately, it is not always possible for a committee member to attend due to schedules to attend these events.
The Grievance Committee thanks RAAS members for their continuing support this past year! The Committee welcomes anyone who would like to join us.
Colleen McMillan
Grievance Committee Representative
BOARD UPDATE
The May meeting of the Board (Wed., May 31) has been cancelled. The next meeting of the Board is confirmed for Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at 6:00 pm.
Edwin Ng and Tracy Peressini
Faculty Board Representatives
RAAS LECTURERS COMMITTEE (LC) UPDATE
1. Membership engagement and communications efforts
The members of a small working group of the LC were involved in looking for a representative of the lectures on the action group organized by the FAUW Negotiation Team to stimulate membership engagement as well as the communication process between this team and the RAAS membership. Sam Clarke, a definite-term lecturer from SSW, will be representing lecturers in this group. A big thank-you to Sam.
2. Preparation for the spring-term meeting
The co-chairs started preparing a meeting with the lecturer membership to discuss the developments in the bargaining process as well as the changes in the committee’s leadership. The meeting is scheduled for the beginning of June. The RAAS President will be in attendance.
FAUW LECTURERS COMMITTEE (LC) UPDATE
1. 2023 Lecturer Town Hall
On April 4, 2023, FAUW LC hosted a virtual town hall for UW Lecturers on Microsoft Teams. The main agenda items included:
spring 2023 updates;
most recent developments of Policy 76 and Policy 77 revisions and mediation;
AF&T report on lecturer issues;
Lecturer Committee status and actions; &
relationships between FAUW and UW Administration.
The meeting was well attended (112 lecturers).
2. Continued efforts to improve the working conditions of the UW lecturers
The revision of Policy 76 & 77/P76-77 (Faculty Appointments & Tenure and Promotion of Faculty Members), regarding teaching stream is in the mediation stage. The process was supposed to start at the end of 2022, and the expectation was that it would have ended by now. However, the mediation is still ongoing. As a member of the current Policy Drafting Committee, the chair of the LC has been involved in this process, but the details are confidential.
Because the P76-77 process has been dragging on since the end of 2014 and there is no clear indication of a possible end to it, both the LC members and lecturers not on this committee have been communicating with the FAUW Executive members as well as OCUFA and CAUT representatives about alternative methods of improving working conditions of this group of faculty on campus.
3. Selection of new members and a new chair
The LC will be accepting applications to the membership on this committee until June 9. The seats for representatives from the Faculty of Environment and Engineering need to be filled.
After the new members have been selected, all the members will choose a new chair from themselves. The current chair has held this position for almost four years (two consecutive terms) and will need to step down at the end of June. She’ll hold the position of a past chair for one year afterwards.
SATIRE
Where are they now? Volleyball from Castaway deflated version of former self
April 28, 2023, Lindsay Ellis, The Beaverton
After climbing to great heights as Tom Hanks’ co-star, the volleyball from Castaway is a deflated version of his former self.
NOT SATIRE
Is your union strategizing about AI and automation?
May 2023, Cal Murgu, CAUT Bulletin
An increasing number of specialists warn against the harsh realities of AI adoption in post secondary education settings.
CAUT NEWS
Keep up to date on the latest news from CAUT in their May-June bulletin posted here.
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University CAUT Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
International students protest against deportation for fraudulent document
May 20, 2023, The Canadian Press
International students from India protested outside M.P. Marc Mendincino’s office against their possible deportation from Canada involving fake admittance letters.
Did the PSAC strike impact work from home policies?
May 15, 2023, Zac Vescera CTV News
The Public Service Alliance of Canada lost its bid to have the right to remote work enshrined in its new contract with the federal government.
Singh: Feds would move CCAA bill if ‘serious’ about changes
May 9, 2023, Heidi Ulrichsen, Sudbury.com
The leader of the federal NDP said he’s “reserving judgement to see what comes out of it” regarding consultations on federal insolvency laws inspired by Laurentian University’s recent journey under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
University of Waterloo cuts ties with China’s Huawei to ‘safeguard scientific research’
May 4, 2023, Aaron D’Andrea, Global News
The University of Waterloo is ending its partnership with Chinese tech firm Huawei to “safeguard scientific research” amid a sharpening focus on intellectual property protection, global espionage and foreign interference in Canadian society.
OCUFA Conference
Publicly funded universities are vital to the economic, social, and political wellbeing of our province, yet Ontario universities have the lowest per-student funding in the country. It does not have to be this way.
Register now for OCUFA’s Policy Conference Funding Our Future: Keeping Universities Public, to be held November 30-December 1, 2023, at Yorkville Royal Sonesta Hotel, Toronto. More details here.
Mark Your Calendars!!
Please make note of the following three items:
| Item | Key Date |
|---|---|
| OCUFA Contract Faculty Committee Workshops | Friday, May 26th *TODAY* |
| Tenure and promotion application | Member to notify VPAD in writing of their intention to apply for tenure or promotion on or before July 1. |
| OCUFA’s Policy Conference Funding Our Future: Keeping Universities Public | November 30-December 1, 2023, at Yorkville Royal Sonesta Hotel, Toronto |
Member Spotlight
By Craig Fortier (they/them)
Hello RAAS members!
I am an Associate Professor in the Social Development Studies Department. I grew up in the rust-belt town of Welland, Ontario in a union family. My father and grandmother worked as assistants at the local hospital (OPSEU local 215), my grandfather was a steelworker (USW local 455) and my mom worked as a hairstylist. Unions were one of the main reasons that our family was able to make ends meet - despite having to at times hit the picket line and survive on strike pay. When my dad came out of the closet as gay in the mid 1990s, it was his union that boldly supported him against harassment and discrimination from management in the workplace.
During my PhD at York University, I participated in one strike as a member of CUPE 3903 and supported two others (before and after my degree). I saw how important collective organizing was in securing academic workplace rights, benefits, and a healthier work-life balance. A big takeaway that I bring to RAAS from those experiences is that a strong, healthy, and caring union is not only a place to protect our rights as workers, but is also a place of community-building, a place where we can begin to collectively dream-up and imagine the type of organization we work for - and organizations that recognize this type of relationship building through shared governance and decision-making are often more successful!
My research and teaching focuses broadly on what can be described as "the radical imagination" - the act of ordinary people in all kinds of social spaces coming together and imagining new ways of being, and then practicing them (not without failure and tribulation) until such worlds come about. For me this includes Indigenous-settler relationships, the social work profession, baseball culture, police/prison abolition, queer/trans* political movements, migrant justice movements, pop culture, and anti-authoritarian social movements more broadly.
I feel extremely grateful to be part of the unique academic space we cultivate at Renison and love hearing about the incredibly diverse and thoughtful teaching, research, and community work of my colleagues in SDS, Social Work, and CLS! I hope that our union organizing will help produce a vision of Renison that telescopes into the future and provides students with public education experiences that are enriching, grounded, and filled with possibility. As a kid who would not have been able to access post-secondary education were it not for the robust funding and support of Ontario's public education system, I hope that we can continue to push for academic programs that are accessible, diverse, supportive, and tailored to the needs of students above all else!
The union makes us strong!
Craig