Bargaining News! December 13, 2024

CUASA’s Negotiating Team met with the Employer on Tuesday December 10th and Wednesday December 11th. Counterproposals were presented by both teams over the two days. While no issues have been resolved an active dialogue continues. CUASA’s team has made clear that we are not interested in regressive proposals or surface bargaining. We are determined to make real changes to the Collective Agreement. Changes that not only safeguard the protections of the previous CA but also address the real pressures and increasing amounts of work faculty members and librarians are expected to do on a daily, term and yearly basis. We continue to emphasize the connections between health and safety, equity, leaves, grievances and workload to the Employer’s team.

Meanwhile, the Employer, who is quick to publicly take credit for the work of CUASA members in Carleton’s research success (Carleton’s Research Excellence Fuels Record Growth), is slow to recognize, at the bargaining table, how that success is hampered by increasingly untenable working conditions. When the administration proudly announced a month ago that Carleton University had been named one of Canada’s Top Employers they listed as proof benefits won in bargaining by CUASA – and other campus unions – including “a comprehensive benefits plan, a generous number of vacation days, pension plan, and other supports for them and their families … flexible work arrangements, allowing for a mix of both in-person and remote work options”. Benefits they now want to renegotiate.

The workload of CUASA members needs to be safeguarded not just for the sake of ourselves, our teaching and our research, but also for the 30k students at Carleton – our working conditions are their learning conditions. When we bargain for better working conditions we bargain for the future of Carleton as an institution we can all be proud of.

We return to the bargaining table December 16th and 18th.

Watch your email and the CUASA website for bargaining updates going forward!

The 2021-24 Collective Agreement remains in force until a new agreement is concluded by both parties, or until a lockout or strike. CUASA will continue to regularly inform its members on collective bargaining.

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