The executive board met twice this month. Here’s a brief report on what your union has been doing for you this month.
Collective Bargaining
A Collective Agreement is a contract between your union and your employer that governs our work. It determines issues such as wages, paid sick leave and vacation pay, benefits, and working conditions. Our five bargaining units are actively engaged in a continuous cycle of negotiation with our employers to secure the best deals for our members:
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Dalhousie TAs and Part-Time Faculty are in the process of consulting with members to finalize their proposals.
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MSVU Part-Time Faculty have requested dates to negotiate with the Employer
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NSCAD Instructors will present their financial proposals at the next bargaining meeting on 30 January.
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SMU Part-Time Faculty started bargaining at the end of the Fall. They have exchanged bargaining proposals with the Employer. They have five bargaining dates scheduled for February.
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SMU TAs met with the Employer five times this month using a bargaining procedure that is open and transparent. You can find regular updates from the bargaining committee here.
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Keep up to date with collective bargaining for your unit under the ‘Bargaining’ tab of our website.
Grievances
The union stands up for members’ labour rights as articulated in the Collective Agreement and under the law. If an employer acts in a way that violates your rights, the Vice President of your unit can address the issue by filing a grievance. This month, CUPE 3912 stood up for members by:
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Standing up to an administration for hiring Instructors outside the Collective Agreement and hiring TAs to do Part-Time Faculty member’s work
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Filing a grievance for a Part-Time Faculty member who we believe was discriminated against on the basis of disability through refusal of accommodation
Trustees Audit Report
Our finances are in order! Audits from 2019-2023 have been accepted by CUPE National.
Addressing Risk from Teaching Evaluations at MSVU
At MSVU, a Part-Time Faculty member who receives two unsatisfactory evaluations in two of four consecutive terms can be removed from the precedence list. Without precedence, an Instructor will likely lose their job. Unfortunately, teaching evaluations aren’t based on merit alone: they can reflect department chair bias, use of academic freedom, and student complaints that may be unfounded. The union is ready to help Instructors understand and appropriately respond to unsatisfactory evaluations.
Fighting for Senate Representation for Part-Time Instructors at SMU
Part-Time Faculty are currently ineligible to vote and serve on Senate at SMU; despite teaching a third of the University’s courses, they have no say in educational policy. This ineligibility is because the Senate bylaws do not recognize Part-Time Faculty as academic staff—despite the Saint Mary’s University Act saying otherwise. Part-Time Faculty teach a third of the University’s courses and should have a say in educational policy, especially as the University faces budgetary challenges that are leading to program changes. You can help by signing this petition to advocate for the Senate by-laws to be amended to include Part-Time Faculty.