We are reposting the following memo from Dalhousie, to make sure members have seen it:

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COVID update: Mask requirements extended to June 10; Campus Check program suspended as of May 1  

As previously communicated, Dalhousie will be adjusting vaccination requirements for students, faculty and staff effective May 1.

However, mask requirements will now be extended to June 10th, after Convocation. This reflects concerns regarding the current increase in COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia and the associated impacts on our Dal community and university operations. 

• Masks will continue to be required for most indoor common spaces and other appropriate settings until at least Friday, June 10. More information on where masks are required can be found here. Masks will also be required at Spring Convocation ceremonies in May and June in both Halifax and Truro; more detailed instructions will be sent to invitees in the coming weeks.
• We continue to encourage all members of our Dal community to get their vaccine and booster doses to help maintain and strengthen our already impressive vaccination rates. As of May 1, students, faculty, and staff will no longer be asked to provide proof of full vaccination to work and study on campus. Although the Campus Check program will be suspended, we will continue to monitor health and safety risks to our community and will consider reinstating Campus Check if necessary.
• Enhanced health and safety requirements (including masks) may continue to apply beyond June 10th in health-care settings and contexts, in alignment with the health-care sector in general. This includes students, faculty and staff in Faculties that intersect with health-care settings (Medicine, Health, and Dentistry) and in our Student Health and Wellness clinics in Halifax and Truro.

Given the current COVID situation, extending our mask requirements is the right thing to do for Dalhousie. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue to consult with Public Health and experts in our community. If the situation improves, we may be in a position to lift mask requirements earlier than June 10; we will also be prepared to extend them further if need be.

We continue to expect members of our Dal community to take important steps for our shared health and wellness:

• Stay home if you have symptoms or aren’t feeling well and get tested. Remember: it’s still a legal requirement to self-isolate if you have COVID symptoms or if you test positive — it’s also the right thing to do.
• Continue to wear your mask in spaces that pose a greater risk of infection. In spaces where you are in close contact with others or assembled in large numbers, wearing a mask helps protect your health and the health of those around you.
• Get your booster shot(s) and keep up with the latest vaccine guidance. As vaccine guidance evolves, stay up to date with your shots as additional booster doses become available to reduce your risk of infection and serious illness.

For the latest COVID information, including important government resources for testing and self-isolation, visit the Nova Scotia Health website or dal.ca/coronavirus.

Join us, April 22, 2022 at 10 am for our annual general meeting. This meeting will include bargaining updates and the elections for:

• President 
• Vice President, Part-time Instructors, Dalhousie
• Vice President. Teaching Assistants, Dalhousie (Sexton Campus)
• Vice President, Part-time Instructors, SMU 
• Recording Secretary 
• Membership Officer 
• Trustee

If you have any questions about these positions, or would like to put yourself forward, you can contact our president, Karen Harper. You can also be nominated at the meeting.

The meeting will be online. To RSVP for the meeting, contact our Membership Officer, Kim Robinson. 

A link will be sent to those who have RSVP’d prior to the meeting. 

Overwhelming Success on Strike Vote

On March 25, 2022, Dalhousie teaching assistants, demonstrators, markers, and part-time and hourly instructors voted in favour of authorizing a strike.

This result provides the Negotiating Committee with strong support as we are heading into conciliation with the Employer later this week in an effort to avoid a strike.

Earlier negotiations with the Employer had reached an impasse. Our members’ willingness and commitment to go on strike if necessary will be instrumental in achieving our bargaining goals at conciliation.

Should the Employer continue to refuse to agree to a fair collective agreement and conciliation fail, we may be in a legal strike position 14 days after the conciliator submits their report.

Tuesday March 22, we are are having an outdoor event in support of our strike vote at Dalhousie, from 12:30-2 outside the Students Union Building.

Whether you are eligible to vote or want to provide your support, please stop by tomorrow to ask questions or to say hi.

We are holding a strike vote for members at Dalhousie on March 25.

In the lead up to that, we are holding information sessions for the strike vote, both via zoom and one outdoors

• PT course instructors – Friday March 18 at noon
• TAs and markers – Monday March 21 at noon
• Truro – Wednesday March 23 at 4
• Hourly paid instructors – Thursday March 24 at 5
• Outdoors, in-person – outside SUB on Tuesday March 22, 12:30-2, rain date March 23

Check your email for the zoom links or contact Dave

Dates of March 31 and April 1 have been set for conciliation at Dalhousie.

February 25, 2022, we had double bargaining sessions at the Mount and SMU. At both we agreed on a few more articles but are still negotiating details before we wrap up some major proposals on internal/external hiring for SMU and discipline for the Mount. We have financial proposals ready to table and are anxiously waiting to wrap up (mostly) non-financial items.

We have a bargaining session at SMU this week and at the Mount next week.

As discussed at our recent Special Meeting we filed for conciliation with Dalhousie. We had exchanged financial proposals, but both sides were still far apart. A conciliator has been assigned and we are waiting for dates.

We bargained at SMU yesterday and made some more progress. Both sides are hoping to wrap up non-monetary items (mostly) and table financial proposals soon.

We are in a similar situation at the Mount, where we bargained on Friday.

We are in bargaining at both SMU and the Mount next Friday.

Join us this Friday February 4, 2022 for a special online general meeting focused on bargaining updates.

To RSVP for the meeting, contact our Membership Officer, Kim Robinson. 

A link will be sent to those who have RSVP’d prior to the meeting. 

Last week we bargained again at the Mount. We reached agreements on a few more minor proposals but we still seem to be far apart on more major proposals regarding hiring and discipline. We have prepared financial proposals but have not yet tabled them. We meet again on Feb. 4.

This week we managed to add another short bargaining session at Dal on Wednesday.

Last week we bargained at both SMU and the Mount (online). For both we are working on wrapping up non-financial proposals – or deciding what is at an impasse – before tabling financial proposals. At SMU we seem to be quite close but at the Mount we are still in some initial discussions about some major issues.

The delay in the Mount compared to the other universities is mostly because the employer filed for conciliation last year early in the process. The conciliator advised both sides to go back to the table so we had a restart at the end of 2021, at which time we were lagging behind the other two universities. However, we have more dates scheduled for the Mount in the next few weeks, so that might change.