Statement from the President of CUASA, Dr. Angelo Mingarelli

August 9, 2021

Statement from the President of CUASA, Dr. Angelo Mingarelli

I must address you all directly, as CUASA members, in response to the university’s announcement regarding the latest vaccination policy for the fall term, dated this past Thursday, August 5. This is a very delicate issue, but I think that it is important for our members to know how I feel about it.

You know that our union proudly represents, and has always represented, a very diverse group of faculty, instructors, and librarians, and we shall endeavour to defend our members in the workplace to the very best of our ability.

The greatest struggle for me nowadays, as your President, was knowing how hard this pandemic has been on each of you personally, on your families, your friends and all our campus community. The challenges we faced from the outset (some of which we are still facing) have been great, at times apparently insurmountable, and since March 16, 2020, your executive and staff pledged to do whatever was required to keep everyone and their families safe. This was, and still is, our most pressing concern especially since there is a definite policy for an in-person return to campus for teaching and related activities in the imminent future.

By way of a summary, we were up to date on all the recommendations from public health experts. Since March 2020 we met frequently with the University administration to emphasize that they take our and expert advice seriously. We listened to our own members, some of whom are also experts, on every nuance of this scourge. We weighed in heavily on every element affecting our campus life and our present and future work as teachers, librarians, and researchers. We dedicated all our resources, whether intellectual or historical, along with an unusual amount of time, to help keep everyone safe during this singular period in human history. But while CUASA and Carleton University had their discussions, this virus moved relentlessly along, mutated, and completely disregarded our collective agreement.

We’ve all witnessed how vaccinations have impacted the pandemic response efforts and we soon realized that this mode of intervention became a very effective tool in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the total number of infections, both nationally and provincially, decreased dramatically as a function of the number of shots administered. Still, there are many that remain unconvinced that this method of combatting this uninvited invisible and often deadly intruder is warranted.

So, in response to Carleton University’s latest policy regarding vaccinations, I can say that I am not pleased that such an important decision that directly impacts the health and safety of our members (indeed, the university community) was made without prior consultation or fair disclosure regarding the documentation submitted to our local public health authorities. CUASA is not naïve – such decisions are never made overnight and so there was plenty of time for consultations: consultations that could have helped alleviate the stress of our members trying to plan for in-person classes in an uncertain workplace environment; consultations that could have relieved members of the fear that their presence on campus may, even though they were vaccinated, be subject to possibly acquiring and then transmitting an infection to others there and at home (we are including here some of the littlest and/or most vulnerable family members some of whom may still be unvaccinated). I can go on, but you all know what I am getting at.

I am convinced that the present university policy of not mandating campus-wide vaccinations but only requiring self-declaration for some campus activities will nevertheless result in unvaccinated individuals infecting other such with the possibility of more variants than the present one. What then? Our campus can never, and should never, become an unsafe workplace. We must be more cautious! We are talking about thousands and thousands of students in possibly close quarters (classrooms, cafeterias, washrooms, pubs, etc.) all gathered within a confined total space of about one-fifth of a square mile! Really!

In closing, only you, yourself, can make the decision on whether vaccination is the right choice, but as your union president – as a colleague – as a father – and as an indefatigable proponent for your union rights and safety, I ask that you (and yours to the extent possible) get vaccinated as soon as is convenient. If you think of it, getting vaccinated not only protects you, but it also protects those around you. This is what a union does: it cares about the collective welfare of its members whether bound by familial relations or not.

The world needs its academics to help us forge a new path to the future and our academics need maximum protection which, at the moment, is in the form of vaccinations for emergency use to help them carry on with their work with minimal preoccupation for their health and safety.

If you believe that you qualify for an exemption under the Ontario Human Rights Code, please seek immediate advice from our CUASA Director and Senior Grievance and Arbitration Officer, Christal Côté, at [email protected]. Note that the university will require you to make an application for such an exemption via their human resources office.

Please stay tuned for more updates. Our next steps include finding a balance between the rights of workers and their right to safe work. Stay safe and care for each other; we will defeat this!

In solidarity,
Angelo

Angelo Mingarelli
CUASA President