Weekly Update – November 13

November 13, 2020

Weekly Update – November 13

CBC COVID-19 Survey

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered our personal and professional lives, and the CUASA Collective Bargaining Committee (CBC) wishes to seek additional input from the membership. The CBC has launched a new survey to learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on CUASA members and to determine priorities for bargaining.

Thank you to those who have completed the survey thus far. The CBC has decided to extend the survey to Monday, November 30 to allow for additional responses.

Members can find the link to the survey in their email. Please note that this survey is meant only for CUASA bargaining unit members. We kindly ask that you please not share the link to the survey.

CUASA Anti-Racism and BIPOC Community Members’ Experience Survey

CUASA’s Anti-Racism Working Group has launched a survey to seek input from CUASA members about how we can promote specific changes to protect the rights of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) community members and other marginalized communities at Carleton. This is only one step in CUASA’s ongoing commitment to support and learn from grassroots movements to redress colonial oppression, anti-Black racism, and white supremacy in CUASA, Carleton and the wider community.

The survey will be open until Monday, December 14.

Members can find the link to the survey in their email. Please note this survey is meant only for CUASA bargaining unit members. We kindly ask that you please not share the link to the survey.

Upcoming Survey: Employee Wellbeing During Times of COVID-19

Carleton has agreed to participate in a survey on employee wellbeing during COVID-19. The results will help to better understand the work/life challenges faculty and staff are experiencing during the pandemic. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. All full-time, continuing employees will receive an email invitation to participate.

The survey is being conducted by Carleton faculty member, Dr Linda Duxbury in conjunction with Dr. Michael Halinski of Ryerson and the Conference Board of Canada. The survey has been reviewed and cleared by the Carleton University Research Ethics Board and the University Survey Committee. If CUASA members have any concerns about the survey, they can be sent to [email protected].

Reimbursement for COVID-19 Research-related Expenses

CUASA has been made aware that federal funds were made available to universities to offset unanticipated research costs as a result of COVID-19. The University allegedly has access to slightly more than 1.5 million dollars and allegedly a call for reimbursements to all faculty was sent out – information that was never shared with CUASA. It is our understanding that there has been “little uptake” and CUASA is concerned that this is due to our members not receiving this critical funding information either. Therefore, we are sharing the following link so our members may review to see if they qualify.

“Doing My Best”

On October 15 CUASA launched its “Doing My Best” campaign to share the challenges our members have been facing due to the increased workload caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are actively seeking CUASA members willing to share their stories. Please send videos, photos, or stories to Dawn by emailing [email protected].

Nominations for Steering Positions

We are still accepting nominations for the following Steering positions:

• Communications Officer
• Chair, Nominations and Elections
• Chair, Internal Affairs

Information on the nominations process can be found on our How to Volunteer page. The work of the Association continues, despite the current environment we find ourselves in. 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.

Call for Volunteers

CUASA is seeking one member to volunteer on the University’s Professional Achievement Awards Committee. If you are interested, please contact [email protected].

We are seeking one CUASA member to serve on the Joint Committee on Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JCEE). Details on the mandate of this important committee can be found here. If you are interested in serving on the JCEE, please email [email protected].

We are also seeking CUASA members to serve on the Association’s internal Equity Committee. Please send an email to [email protected] if you are interested.

Rights Action’s Hurricane Eta Emergency Fund

Hurricane Eta has brought devastating rainfall, mudslides and flooding rivers to Central America, particularly the Caribbean coasts of Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, further devastating the lives of the already impoverished and discriminated Indigenous and campesino communities. For more information and to donate, click here.

CAUT condemns threats to Colombian teachers and unions

CAUT has written to Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez to demand protections for executive members of the Federación Colombiana de Educadores (FECODE) teachers’ union. Death threats were made at the end of October through the delivery of a funeral wreath and individualized obituary notices. To continue reading, click here.