May 16, 2012
Improvements to staffing language: A top priority in upcoming bargaining
The union recognizes that full-time positions are essential to quality
education. Improvements to staffing language are one of the top priorities for
upcoming bargaining. The union will be tabling proposals to strengthen language
to create full-time positions and to prevent contracting out of faculty work.
Colleges need full-time faculty
When alumni are asked what they remember best about their college experience,
most often it is a connection made with a full-time teacher in their program. It
is someone who they were able to sit down and chat with, who meant a lot to
their learning and provided insight into their career.
Students need full-time teachers; colleges need full-time faculty. Part-time and
partial-load faculty have competence and skill to be part of the academic staff
but the colleges do not hire them to deliver the full spectrum of academic
services, and they are not compensated for that work. The work that goes into
helping keep students on track and programs current is being done by fewer and
fewer full-time teachers. This increases the burden on full time teachers and
decreases the time available for program planning, curriculum development,
professional development and other academic work that makes our programs
outstanding.
The work of full-time faculty exists at the colleges, but the will to hire
full-time faculty does not. There are more grievances in the college system over
creating full-time faculty positions than any other issue. This underlines the
struggle to improve fulltime faculty levels.
Where is the money going?
Colleges in 2010-11 spent less than one quarter of their budgets on full-time
faculty. Increasingly, college funding dollars are directed away from the
classroom: System-wide, 35-40% of tuition and grant revenue goes to college
administrative overhead. The colleges have diverted funding to increased
management ranks and other nonacademic activities instead of providing students
with high-quality education.
Your bargaining team
•• Carolyn Gaunt, Cambrian College (Co-Chair)
•• Ted Montgomery, Seneca College (Co-Chair)
•• Rod Bain, Algonquin College
•• Gary Bonczak, Fleming College
•• Benoît Dupuis, La Cité collégiale
•• Lynn Dee Eason, Sault College
•• JP Hornick, George Brown College
Contact your team:
negotiations2012@gmail.com
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