The Communiqué: Volume 46, No. 13 – Mar. 15, 2024 – Carleton University Academic Staff Association

The Communiqué: Volume 46, No. 13 – Mar. 15, 2024

In this Issue:

Upcoming CUASA Office Closure on March 29 & April 1
CUASA Requests to Renegotiate Post-Bill 124
Save the Date & Register: CUASA’s April General Meeting on April 24
Nominations Open: 2024 Steering Committee Elections
Get involved: Other Volunteer Opportunities at CUASA, Large and Small
Reminder: Dedicated Line for Canada Life

Upcoming CUASA Office Closure

Please note the virtual CUASA Office will be closed on Friday, March 29, and Monday, April 1. The office will reopen on Tuesday, April 2, at 9:00am.

Because of the March 29 closure, the next Communiqué will be issued on Friday, April 5.

CUASA Requests to Renegotiate Post-Bill 124

Earlier this week, CUASA officially requested to the Employer to renegotiate salary increases for the period of May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2024, that was previously capped to a maximum 1% because of the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, commonly referred to as Bill 124.

As we previously announced, the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the provincial government’s appeal of Bill 124 in February. Soon after, the province announced it would not seek to appeal further to the Supreme Court and announced its intention to repeal Bill 124 in its entirety, which was completed on February 23.

We are currently working to schedule a first meeting with the Employer on renegotiations. Please continue to watch to further updates.

Save the Date & Register: CUASA’s April General Meeting

Please save the date for our upcoming April General Meeting (AGM), to be held on Wednesday, April 24, from 1:30-3:30pm. The agenda and meeting materials will be released closer to the date.

The AGM will be held on Zoom. Members can find the registration link in their emails (please contact [email protected] if you can’t find the link).

Note: Only Association members, meaning those who have returned a completed membership form, may participate in the internal administration of CUASA. Staff will be checking AGM registrations against the membership list and will contact any registrants who have not completed a membership form to ask them to do so before their registration will be approved. If you have any questions or wish to verify your membership status, please contact [email protected].

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 already received nominations, and who the nominated members are – click on their names 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:

… serve as a CUASA Representative on the University Pension Committee

We are looking for a new CUASA representative for the University Pension Committee. The Pension Committee was established for the purpose of administration of the Carleton University Retirement Plan. For more information on the role, please see the terms of reference for the Association’s representatives on the committee, which you can review here.

… 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.

Reminder: Dedicated Line for Canada Life

We wanted to remind CUASA members that there is a dedicated phone line just for Carleton employees to help ensure you can receive prompt and accurate service from Canada Life.

Carleton employees can call 1-888-381-4401 for questions or concerns about Health and Dental coverage. This line is available on weekdays from 8am to 8pm EST.

You may also access your Canada Life account online here.

The Communiqué is published by the Carleton University Academic Staff Association. Past issues are archived on our website at CUASA.ca.
The Communiqué publishes CUASA-related news and information for our members.

We want to hear from you! Get in touch, by email, social media, phone, or by scheduling a meeting.
We read everything you send, and thank all of those who have contributed suggestions.