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February 1 marks the start of African Heritage Month. This year’s theme is Black History Matters: Listen, Learn, Share, and Act.

To mark the month, we encourage all members to take some time to reflect on and learn more about the legacies and contributions of people of African descent in Canadian and Nova Scotia history and society. We should also take some time to reaffirm that Black lives and Black history matter, and commit ourselves to working towards a more inclusive society. As educators and post-secondary workers, CUPE 3912 members have opportunities and responsibilities to incorporate anti-racism into our work and our teaching, and to listen to, learn from, and share Black voices, experiences, and history. You can see this growing list of resources we have complied for including anti-racism and Black Lives Matter into your syllabus and classroom practices.

We hope you take some time to look into the virtual events being hosted by MSVU, SMU, and Dalhousie, and events in the community more broadly. You can learn more here: https://ansa.novascotia.ca/african-heritage-month.

Furthermore, CUPE National has a list of resource and actions to help celebrate African Heritage Month and to fight against anti-Black racism in our workplaces and society more broadly.

CUPE 3912 stands in solidarity in the fight against anti-Black racism.

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The Student, Staff, Faculty Alliance, which represents 20 unions or associations with over 20,000 college and university employees and students across NS, have released a statement on the Liberal Party of NS leadership campaign in relation to post-secondary education. It is attached below (click the download link if it doesn’t load in your browser):

“The SSFA believes the PSE sector in Nova Scotia is about more than education; it is a pathway for immigration and community building, a gateway for entrepreneurship and research innovation, and an economic driver in urban and rural communities. Its members are disheartened that none of the candidates for premier seem concerned with the fate of PSE in Nova Scotia.”

• Download the Liberal Leadership Candidates Answers

 

We are pleased to present the following joint statement is issued from to CUPE 3912 Members from Frank Harvey, Provost and Vice-President Academic and Karen Harper, President, CUPE Local 3912:

MEMORANDUM

To:                   CUPE Members

From:               Frank Harvey, Provost and Vice-President Academic

Karen Harper, President, CUPE Local 3912

Date:               January 19, 2021

Re:                   COVID-19 Supports and Resources 

Online Teaching Support

Dalhousie University has a variety of supports and resources to aid part-time academics making the transition to online teaching. Our Academic Technology Services (ATS) is now providing closed captioning support: https://www.dal.ca/dept/online-teaching/teaching-support/closed_captioning_support.html.

Educational Developers at the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) are available to offer help and support with your course design and course development plan. They can help you select online learning and assessment strategies to meet your course and learning objectives. Part-time faculty members can also join the Going Online Together community on Brightspace by contacting clt@dal.ca

Equipment and Resources

Part-time academics may require additional equipment, software and/or Teaching Assistant support. Those seeking additional equipment, resources and support should contact their Department Chair/Head/Director.

Access to Libraries and Campus Spaces

Dalhousie University’s libraries are offering a variety of virtual services, as well on-campus bookable work spaces. Part-time academics can also access bookable recording space on campus to record their online lectures.

Home Office Expenses

Dalhousie University is looking into the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRAs) regulations on home office expenses. If and when a part-time member’s circumstances meet the CRA eligibility criteria for a T2200 tax slip, one will be issued upon request.

Professional Development Fund

For the 2020-21 academic year, CUPE and Dalhousie University have agreed to waive the requirement that part-time academics hold an appointment at the time of the conference and/or events. Part-time academics only need to be on the precedence list to be eligible to apply for professional development funds.

Teaching Evaluations

Dalhousie University’s Senate has made the decision that course evaluations collected for the period of Winter 2020 to Summer 2021 will only be used for formative purposes. Instructors will receive their course evaluations and these evaluations will be sent to Department Chairs/Head/Directors but they will not be used for evaluative purposes.

Once again, thank you for all of your hard work and dedication during this very difficult time.

As we settle in to the new academic term, we would like to remind instructors, teaching assistants, markers and demonstrators at Dalhousie that we have a digital duty form that can be filled out to set expectations for hours worked.

On December 18, at 3 pm, we are holding a virtual general meeting to hold a by-election for a new Vice-President for Saint Mary’s University. Other items may be added to the agenda.

If you are interested in standing for election for this position please contact us. To be nominated, you must attend the meeting or submit your nomination before hand to president.cupe3912@gmail.com.

Nominations of members of marginalized groups are encouraged. 

To RSVP for the meeting, contact our Membership Officer, Kim Robinson (kimrobinson1945@icloud.com), by December 16. A link will be sent to those who have RSVP’d prior to the meeting. 

All members are welcome.

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A “Digital Duty Form” is now available.

Submitting a jointly signed Duty Form, agreeing on the description of duties, and the corresponding hours for payment, is a Teaching Assistant individual course contract requirement, and a Marker course contract or hourly rate activity recommendation. The first financial payment from a course contract to a TA or Marker typically happens after a signed Duty Form is submitted and processed.

If you might be an academic service provider for a class starting in 2021, consider using this digital version of the form in Appendix C of the CUPE 3912 – Dalhousie University Collective Agreement.

This “Digital Duty Form” version is an effective equivalent in content and layout to what is presented in Appendix C of the Collective Agreement. It can be a simpler, equivalent alternative to a paper process (ie. download – print – 1st signature – scan – send – print – 2nd signature – scan).

This “Digital Duty Form” is similar to one used by the Civil Engineering Department. Duty Forms have also been used for some engineering course Marker contracts in recent years.

This “Digital Duty Form” is also an available option for Dalhousie University Instructors and administration representatives, involved with the employer side of TA and Marker contracts.

Work hours = Contract hours = Paid hours

When TA’s and Markers have better documentation of their course specific agreements, there is a better case for all those originally signing a Duty Form, to later choose to mutually agree to changes in the scope of work, such that work hours = contract hours = paid hours.

If you have any questions of comments, please feel free to contact the CUPE 3912 office, or Dave Banoub, CUPE 3912 Outreach, or the relevant CUPE 3912 Vice President.

CUPE National is inviting Black, Indigenous, and Racialized members to participate in the consultation stage to develop a National Anti-Racism Strategy for the Atlantic and Maritimes Regions on November 23, 2020. Please see attached invitation for details. We hope that some CUPE 3912 can be part of this consultation.

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Our fall General Meeting will be held, online, on Friday November 13 at 2 pm.

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To CUPE 3912 members at Dalhousie: We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in the Dalhousie Faculty Association. Please see the latest email update for a message about the impact of a possible DFA strike on TAs and part-time instructors. Also note Karen Harper, our president, will email further information after meeting with Dalhousie administration next week.

CAUT’s Fair Employment Week is from October 19-23. Fair Employment Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness about precarious employment on university campuses, and the issues that contract academic staff face. There are a series of online events planned. You can check out the schedule here: http://makeitfair.caut.ca

We will be sharing updates and information on our social media throughout the week.