For your consideration:
A reasonable deal
The college faculty bargaining team
recommends acceptance of the terms of the memorandum settlement reached. The
members will cast their vote Monday, September 10, 2012.
This is essentially the same deal that
was accepted by 51% in February, 2010 except that offer had wage increases.
Every new collective agreement since 1973
has had improvements for every faculty member. There have always been salary
increases. Even during the Harris years gains were made and there were no
concessions.
The influence of external circumstances
Circumstances external to the bargaining
table had great impact on the bargaining team's decision to accept this offer.
The Ontario Liberals have targeted high
school and elementary school teachers with Bill 115, also known as the "Putting
Students First Act." In order to win the support of the Ontario Conservative
members for this Bill, McGuinty removed all gains for secondary and elementary
school teachers, leaving only takeaways on salary and sick leave.
The College Employer Council indicated
that college faculty could be next. While the bargaining team did not accept
that similarly punitive legislation was a certainty, we could not rule out the
possibility. We decided it was better to accept the offer on the table rather
than put our membership at risk.
Removal of all employer demands makes the deal
Settlement became possible when the
colleges withdrew all of their demands from the table. The most offensive
management proposal was the introduction of "facilitators" as a new teaching
classification. It was the scheduling of a strike vote for September 10 that
motivated the College Employer Council to withdraw all demands.
Job security for partial-load faculty
Negotiation by the union team lead to the
inclusion of some job security for the vulnerable partial-load faculty. The only
substantive gain is for partial-load teachers who will have priority in hiring
if courses they have taught within the past six months are re-offered. The
partial-load employee must have a minimum of 10 months of service in the past 4
years and have previously taught the courses that form
the new assignment.
Clarification of the role of coordinators
Another gain in the offer is that
coordinators will have their specific duties determined prior to their
assignment. This agreement clarifies that they are not to supervise other
bargaining unit members.
Preservation of the pay grid and sick leave
Annual increments remain in place for
those not at their top step in the pay grid. Sick leave remains as is. There
are no days of unpaid leave.
Minor amendments
Additional minor amendments to the
Collective Agreement include:
-
Article 4.01 A to include two additions to the Ontario Human
Rights Code Ñ gender identity and gender expression Ñ and change "handicap"
to "disability".
-
Article 26.08 C Sick Leave Plan-Bridging Benefit reworded to
clarify.
-
Appendix IV 4 B - Joint Insurance Committee Ð updated to
reflect Council's procurement policy.
Which of your proposals are missing from this deal?
There are many proposals the bargaining
team addressed during negotiations. The College Employer Council systematically
refused to include any of these items in their offer. These include:
-
Academic freedom
-
Intellectual property rights
-
On-line teaching improvements
-
Full workload recognition for partial-load
-
Salary increases
-
Dental benefit improvements
-
Protection against interference in sick leave by third-party
agents
-
Better job security
-
The end of the distinction between non-post-secondary and
post-secondary faculty
-
Exclusion of lawyers from local workload complaints
-
Full recognition of educational experience for new hires
-
Preference for hiring full-time and partial-load, rather
than part-time
The problems that gave rise to these
priorities have not been resolved, and therefore will likely remain issues for
the next round of negotiations in 2014. Most are no- or low-cost items. Each of
them is an improvement to faculty's working conditions.
Faculty are the experts in student
success.
We will continue to work toward the inclusion of language to
ensure faculty, the content experts, have the appropriate role in academic
decisions. Respect for college faculty is the cornerstone of a healthy and
vibrant college system.
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
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