The Communiqué: Volume 46, No. 11 – Feb. 16, 2024 – Carleton University Academic Staff Association

The Communiqué: Volume 46, No. 11 – Feb. 16, 2024

In this Issue:

CUASA Office: Family Day Closure and Reduced Reading Week Hours
CUASA Council adopts 2024 Collective Bargaining mandate
Stay connected: Find CUASA on Social Media
Congratulations to CUASA members awarded tenure
ICYMI: News on Bill 124
Nominations Open: 2024 Steering Committee Elections
Get involved: Other Volunteer Opportunities at CUASA, Large and Small
Updates from OCUFA and CAUT

CUASA Office: Family Day Closure and Reduced Reading Week Hours

The virtual CUASA Office will be closed on Monday, February 19, for Family Day. The office will reopen on Tuesday, February 20, at 9:00AM.

Further, during the Reading Week break, the virtual office will close at 12:00PM daily from Tuesday, February 20, to Friday, February 23.

CUASA Council adopts 2024 Collective Bargaining Mandate

Yesterday, at its monthly meeting, CUASA Council passed a motion presented by our Chief Negotiator, Pierre Cloutier de Repentigny, to adopt the 2024 Collective Bargaining mandate.

With the mandate now approved by Council, the Collective Bargaining Committee will continue its work to prepare for the upcoming round of negotiations, including starting to draft proposal language based on the priorities identified in the approved mandate.

We will share the mandate with the full membership in the near future.

Stay connected: Find CUASA on Social Media

As we get closer to the 2024 round of collective bargaining, we encourage members to stay connected with CUASA by following our social media accounts:

As always, you can also find the latest CUASA news on our website!

Congratulations to CUASA members awarded tenure

Yesterday, over 45 CUASA faculty members were notified that they will be awarded tenure effective July 1, 2024. On behalf of CUASA’s leadership and staff, we congratulate those members on this momentous achievement!

ICYMI: News on Bill 124

In case you missed it, this week the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the provincial government’s appealof the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, commonly referred to as Bill 124.

A two-to-one majority of the Court decided the ruling, determining that Bill 124, which capped salary increases for public sector workers to one per cent a year for three years, substantially interfered with workers’ collective bargaining rights.

The province later confirmed that it will not seek permission to bring its fight against Ontario workers’ collective bargaining rights to the Supreme Court of Canada, and will instead be taking steps to repeal Bill 124 in its entirety in the coming weeks.

CUASA will soon be providing official notice to the University of its intent to begin negotiations on retroactive increases for May 1, 2021, to April 30, 2024, which was the three-year period capped by the bill.

As always, we will share further information with members as it becomes available.

Nominations Open: 2024 Steering Committee Elections

We are now accepting nominations for the Steering Committee for terms beginning on July 1, 2024. The Steering Committee helps to set direction for the union, and administers Association policies. This committee meets once a month during the academic year, typically on Thursday afternoons, and roles on this Committee typically include teaching releases in exchange for your service.

New this year: As nominations are received, we will be updating the Get Involved webpage to list which positions have received nominations, and who the nominated members are, so that you can get to know a little about them.

Nominations are now open for the following positions whose term of two years has expired (click on the position title to view the description):

Nominations for President must be submitted to the CUASA Office by Thursday, March 28. Nominations for other positions must be submitted by Friday, April 26. Please send completed nomination forms to [email protected].

We are also still looking for a volunteer to serve as CUASA’s Vice President, for the term ending June 30, 2025. This is an essential role, and we would greatly appreciate having someone volunteer and help support the work of the President.

All nominations must be made using the form found here. All nomination forms must include the signatures of the nominee and two Association members as nominators.

If you have any questions about the positions or the process, please contact CUASA’s Chair, Nominations and Elections, Wasiu Raji, at [email protected].

Get involved: Other Volunteer Opportunities at CUASA, Large and Small

The Association is as strong as its membership, so we count on the time, ideas and commitment of members to achieve and update CUASA’s goals. If you’d like to contribute to CUASA’s work and positions, here are some ways you can help:

… help us prepare for the 2024 round by joining the Collective Bargaining Committee

The collective agreement will expire on April 30, 2024, and our Collective Bargaining Committee is hard at work preparing for the 2024 round of negotiations. We’re looking for some new members to help us prepare. The committee usually meets once a month, but may have additional meetings as we get closer to the spring.

… serve as a member of Anti-Racism Working Group

This Working Group is open to any CUASA member interested in addressing the issue of racism at Carleton. It usually meets once a month during the academic year.

… join one of our Caucus Groups

CUASA’s 2SLBGTQIA+ Pride Caucus and Disability Caucus are now meeting regularly, and we are happy to welcome new members. These caucus groups are intended to be a way for people from equity-seeking groups to find community connections, socialize, organize, support one another, and share ideas with each other and with CUASA. These groups usually meet once a month.

For more information, or to volunteer for any of these positions, please contact the CUASA’s Chair, Nominations and Elections, Wasiu Raji, at [email protected]. If you are interested in participating in a caucus group, please contact our Research Officer (Equity), Max López, at [email protected] for more details.

Updates from OCUFA and CAUT

OCUFA: Appeal Court ruling on Bill 124 a win for public sector workers

OCUFA calls the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision to dismiss the province’s appeal of the controversial and unconstitutional Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act—formerly Bill 124— a win for workers.

“This is a clear victory for Ontario’s public sector workers that comes after years of fighting for our Charter rights to free and fair collective bargaining,” said Nigmendra Narain, OCUFA President. “We are pleased that the Court of Appeal recognized the constitutionality of collective bargaining rights and look forward to continuing to redress the wrongs brought on by this harmful legislation.”

Read the full statement from OCUFA.

Mount Saint Vincent University Faculty Association on strike

After months of negotiations, academic staff represented by the Mount Saint Vincent University Faculty Association (MSVUFA) have taken to the picket lines to achieve a fair and equitable contract.

The MSVUFA is seeking parity with other Nova Scotian and regional universities and to advance decolonization, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility efforts. Last December, 99% of the members in the bargaining unit voted in a secret ballot with 97% of the membership supporting a strike.

CUASA has sent a message of solidarity and a donation to the colleagues on strike.