As you all know we are in a year of collective bargaining with the College Employer Council. They have made their first move by offering an extension of two years with a 1% increase. The Local Presidents and the Bargaining Advisory Commitee were apprised of this offer last week. The offer was rejected by the [...]

Thank you to everyone who attend the General Membership and Demand-setting Meeting on February 3. Members of the OPSEU CAAT-A Bargaining Team attended and commented on Local 417's collegiality and engagement. Members present at the meeting agreed on draft demands for the demand-setting stage of bargaining our new contract. Our current contract expires September [...]

Full-time Faculty should expect to receive a PD & Vacation Planning Form from their academic department this week. This form asks Full-time Faculty to indicate their expected vacation days and professional development (PD) plans for the 2020/2021 academic year. The Collective Agreement stipulates that Full-time Faculty shall have ten days allotted for professional development activities: [...]

During this past year, we all bore witness as minority groups and their allies around the world rose to give voice to their pleas for equality and justice. We as Canadians are certainly not immune to similar injustices. As educators, we have a responsibility to take pause and reflect on our own practices -- [...]

SLC Faculty Local 417 wants to connect all faculty and counsellors to information and supports from the local, but we need members' help. Each individual union member--or potential member, such as Part-time and Sessional faculty--needs to find out about the local website, email list, and social media. It sounds like connecting members to their union [...]

On the evening of February 3, on Zoom SLC Faculty Local 417 will have a demand-setting meeting. Per our constitution, every local must have a meeting to discuss the Collective Agreement, any issues or concerns and then come up with demands that must be ranked and then submitted to our Division Executive and Bargaining [...]

College Employer Council, just before the winter break, finalized policy on isolation pay for onsite teaching faculty who are required to self-isolate. Essentially, normal pay (not vacation or sick days) should continue for 14 days for all on-site faculty should they be required to self-isolate. The rationale we put forward is that, if required [...]

Dear Partial Load Faculty, Happy New Year! 2020 was a year that will take a long time to reckon with. Contract Faculty felt the weight of that year in very particular ways, as precarious work conditions increased, class sizes increased, and the stressors magnified. This year we are going into bargaining again and need [...]