Weekly Update – April 23
April 23, 2021
Weekly Update – April 23
CUASA Business
Save the Date: CUASA 2021 AGM
The CUASA 2021 April General Meeting will be held next Friday, April 30, from 1:00-3:00pm. The meeting will take place on Zoom, and all Association members are welcome to attend.
The meeting documents and Zoom details will be sent closer to that date.
Expiration of the 2017-2021 Collective Agreement
We are now just one week away from the expiration of the 2017-2021 collective agreement. On Thursday, April 22, CUASA Council met to discuss next steps. Per the terms of Article 32: Duration and Continuance of the Agreement, the terms and conditions of the collective agreement will continue. We will share updates on this as they become available.
Nominations for Steering Positions
The following Steering positions are either currently vacant, or will be up for re-election this year for terms beginning on July 1, 2021 (click on the title to see position description):
- Vice President
- Chair, Collective Bargaining (note: this position also serves as Chief Negotiator)
- Salary and Benefits Officer
- Communications Officer
- Chair, Nominations and Elections
- Chair, Internal Affairs
Nominations are due to the virtual CUASA Office by Friday, May 14, at 12:00pm. Elections will be held at the May Council meeting on Thursday, May 27. If you are interested in one of these positions, or wish to nominate a colleague, please contact us for a nomination form at [email protected].
Information on the nominations process can be found on our How to Volunteer page. Remember that our Association is only as strong as its membership, so we count on the time and commitment of our members to achieve our goals. Some of these positions come with a course release subject to the availability of funds (please ask if interested).
Carleton Updates
New action to help free Cihan Erdal
Carleton PhD candidate and CUPE 4600 member Cihan Erdal has been unjustly jailed in Turkey since September 2020. CUPE is pressing the Canadian government to support Cihan as he prepares for trial, and to work to get him released from jail and safely home to Canada.
Please add your voice. Send a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau and other officials calling on Canada to take concrete steps to support Cihan and secure his release.
Academic Community Updates
Update on campaign to save Laurentian University
The mediation phase of the proceeding with the Laurentian University Faculty Association and Senate has ended. As a result, 110 Laurentian faculty members lost their jobs and 69 programs were cut at the institution. The next few weeks will determine whether the new “business plan” is acceptable to the lenders. This phase of the restructuring will end on May 1.
After nine weeks of mediation, LUFA has reached a renewal collective agreement, as required by the CCAA judge. A membership meeting on Tuesday, April 13 resulted in the agreement being ratified. The agreement will see a five per cent pay cut and freeze for two years, five forced furlough days each year, and increased workload for faculty at the university. The LUFA executive has expressed profound sadness at the situation and the senseless destruction this proceeding has caused to Laurentian’s standing, the lives of faculty who will be terminated, and the education of students who have been left in the dark with no institutional support.
To read the full update, click here.
CFS: Statement of Solidarity with Laurentian Students, Faculty, and Staff
The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, representing 350,000 students across the province is in solidarity with the students, faculty, and staff at Laurentian University. We join with Laurentian University Faculty Association in demanding that insolvency proceedings stop and the Ontario government immediately secure funding and end these cuts.
Click here to keep reading.
Romano strikes again, severs Northern Ontario School of Medicine with no warning or consultation
Only days after watching Laurentian University collapse without raising a finger, Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano is now steamrolling ahead with additional detrimental changes to Ontario’s university system. With no warning or consultation, Romano announced that the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) would no longer be able to offer degrees as part of Lakehead or Laurentian University and would instead become a fully autonomous degree-granting institution.
Click here to keep reading.
Budget 2021: CAUT welcomes historic investments in childcare but says more needed for post-secondary education
The federal budget makes historic investments in childcare and long-term care, extends emergency supports for students and provides a welcome boost to minority language post-secondary education, but is a missed opportunity to address core issues facing the post-secondary education sector, says CAUT.
Click here to keep reading.
CAUT Council imposes rare censure against University of Toronto over Azarova hiring controversy
Delegates to CAUT Council voted to censure the University of Toronto because of the Administration’s failure to resolve concerns regarding academic freedom stemming from a hiring scandal in the Faculty of Law.
Click here to keep reading.
Labour Community Updates
April 28 – National Day of Mourning 2021
Join the Ottawa and District Labour Council (ODLC) on Wednesday April 28th, 2021 at 12:30pm for the National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job Ceremony.
For more information and to register for the virtual event, click here.
OFL: Poll confirms overwhelming support for mandated paid sick days
There is overwhelming support for mandated paid sick days, as confirmed by polling data released yesterday. The poll found that 83 per cent of Ontarians believe “governments should make all employers provide paid sick days for all employees,” with strong support from 64 per cent of the majority.
Click here to keep reading.
