The teams met on July 7 and 8 this week to discuss ground rules, set the tone for bargaining, and exchange initial proposals. Attached, please find the opening statement and summary of initial proposals that your bargaining team tabled in the course of negotiations with the College Employer team earlier today, [...]

Over the past several years there has been a wide-spread attack on academic freedom across Ontario Colleges. So wide-spread that the protection of this freedom was a key addition to our most recent collective agreement. Recently the Union put forward a grievance related to the protection of academic freedom and the [...]

Microcredentials - the new buzz word in post-secondary education. You’ve likely already heard of them.  In fact, you or someone on your team might already be involved in the development of microcredentials at SLC. The Province of Ontario has announced significant financial support for the development and implementation of such credentials. [...]

Love them or hate them, Program Advisory Committees (PAC) are part of operating any college program in Ontario.  The role of a PAC is to assist the Board of Governors in monitoring program quality and supporting student success. The college describes these volunteer members as providing a “critical link between the [...]

Several union grievances have been filed by OPSEU Local 417 over the past two weeks, arguing that the programs are overstaffed by Part-time and Partial Load Faculty. In some cases, the grievance states that a position vacated by retirement or resignation has not been filled. If successful, the grievances would result [...]

A few notes from the Board of Governors meeting today for members who may be interested. Much of the work at today's meeting was reports only and review of and voting on the 2021-22 budget. Look for a new branding of Continuous Learning. For those of you are interested in marketing, [...]

A message from Grant Currie, President, SLC Faculty Local 417: Our Collective Agreement (CA) lays out the terms of employment for Faculty (Full-Time and Partial Load), Librarians (we used to have one), and Counsellors. It is a document that is agreed to by College Employer Council, on behalf of Ontario Colleges [...]

The Local Executive Committee (LEC) of OPSEU Local 417, representing Counsellors, Partial Load Faculty, and Full-time Faculty at St. Lawrence College, stands in solidarity with Laurentian University students, staff, and faculty. Laurentian University is a vital part of Northern Ontario. The LEC recognizes that this relationship extends to students, staff, and [...]