Bargaining 2024

The 2021-24 Collective Agreement between Carleton University and Carleton Faculty and Professional Librarians represented by CUASA expired on April 30th 2024. But the processes of bargaining for a new agreement began before that. In November of 2023, CUASA circulated the first pre-bargaining survey with 17 bargaining questions. From late October 2023 to February 2024, the Collective Bargaining Committee organized over 30 unit visits and dozens of other general and targeted consultations. In February, CUASA Council passed a motion to adopt the general lines of the 2024 Collective Bargaining mandate. The Bargaining Team began the process of drafting proposal language, based on the priorities identified through the consultations. The active consultation process with members continued, and the team circulated surveys, hosted town halls, and interviewed members. These processes determined CUASA’s precise bargaining demands.

Over the summer 2024, CUASA and Carleton’s negotiating teams agreed to start with 3 questions: retroactive pay and adjusted salaries after the repeal of Bill 124; the updated Teaching Stream designations for members previously ranked Instructors; the process of salary adjustments. Having worked out those 3 questions, the teams returned to bargaining in October.  In November, the two teams exchanged all non-monetary proposals. The negotiations of monetary proposals will follow.

An overwhelming majority of CUASA members have identified workload as the one of the most significant challenges in their overall ability to excel academically; so CUASA made workload a priority in this round of bargaining. Equally important to CUASA members is the improvement of salary and benefits. Finally, the membership identified health and safety, governance, and equity as other important issues to be addressed in this round of bargaining.

The Negotiating Team is now working hard at the bargaining table towards achieving the best possible agreement for our members. We know that the working conditions of CUASA members directly affect the quality of education, research excellence and student experiences at Carleton. CUASA members are central to the core mission of the university, teaching and research. Our working conditions are central to ensuring the fulfilment of this mission. CUASA is bargaining for a better Carleton.