Bargaining Bulletin 8
Highlights:
- The employer continues to show a lack of serious engagement with Faculty proposals, instead choosing the path of delays.
- Our collective agreement expires in less than two weeks.
- The CEC has tabled concessions in their proposals that will negatively impact Faculty working conditions.
- In the spirit of our commitment to negotiating an on-time, renewal agreement, we are filing for conciliation and strike mandate vote to increase accountability to the process.
- You can read through our Conciliation & Strike Mandate Vote FAQs here.
- We call on the CEC and the Colleges to drop the delay tactics and bargain members’ demands fairly with our remaining scheduled dates.
As of today, we have completed fourteen (14) days of bargaining with the CEC and the Colleges.
While we have maintained our goal of negotiating an on-time, renewal collective agreement that meets members’ demands, the College Employer Council (CEC) and the Colleges continue to draw from a decades-old playbook of delay tactics.
With our collective agreement expiring at the end of the month, the employer is counting on the commotion of the fall semester starting up to distract members’ attention away from bargaining. We can see the employer responding slowly, making the inflated claim last week that our non-monetary proposals would cost $1 billion annually to the Colleges system-wide, without costing or useful data to back up the claim – a thinly-veiled attempt to divide workers and undermine support for faculty proposals at on table.
On the faculty side, we’re moving quite differently – we want to maximize member awareness and engagement during bargaining. For one, it builds power behind our proposals. This transparency also honours a key principle: democratizing the process. Bargaining is our democratic, Charter-protected right and our one opportunity every few years to collectively improve wages and working conditions.
Given the tasks before us – combatting employer delays and a general lack of accountability, democratizing the bargaining process, and leveraging our collective power to compel the CEC and Colleges to weigh our proposals seriously – we are moving forward with filing for Conciliation and a strike mandate vote.
You can read through our Conciliation & Strike Mandate Vote FAQ here.
Charting the path forward: why Conciliation?
“Conciliation” occurs when one or both Parties believe that they have reached an impasse and require assistance reaching an agreement from a government-appointed Conciliation Officer. At this point, we have not seen a willingness from the employer to take Faculty proposals seriously, and our collective agreement expires in less than two weeks.
A Conciliation Officer helps the parties try to work through the impasse and reach a settlement, but they cannot force the Parties to come to an agreement or make decisions about what proposals will form the Collective Agreement. The Parties are required to participate in Conciliation prior to either party triggering a strike or lockout.
Conciliation is a tool that can help move the parties forward – but to be successful in moving on our key priorities, we need to enter conciliation with a high-participation, strong strike mandate as a demonstration of member support. A Conciliation Officer will help the parties to work to a fair resolution, but they need to know – as does the employer – that the membership is behind their bargaining team.
Cutting through the noise: what to expect from the CEC?
Our proposals are based on your member demands. Not only are they reasonable, but they are grounded in data requested by the CEC and the Colleges, mandated by Arbitrator Kaplan to inform bargaining this round. Faculty proposals aim to improve the College system for all: for students first and foremost, for workers in this system, and for the communities our Colleges serve.
The CEC and the Colleges will likely communicate that our decision to file for Conciliation is an “escalation.” However, Conciliation is a normal step in negotiations. Particularly given where we are in the process, Conciliation and a strike mandate vote are appropriate and necessary steps.
At the bargaining table, both sides have made commitments to getting a deal done – yet the proposals we have received from the CEC so far contain several concessions that will make members’ working lives worse. To name three (3) glaring examples:
- eliminating five (5) consecutive days of professional development;
- attempting to circumvent the partial load registry with a probationary period;
- undermining academic freedom by removing faculty oversight from the work of instructors.
We are not bargaining for a strike, but neither do we bargain backwards. Concessions are unacceptable at the table – filing for conciliation and a strike mandate vote is how we hold the CEC to account and test the integrity of their commitment to these negotiations.
We are asking the CEC and the Colleges to drop the delay tactics, bargain members’ demands fairly with our remaining scheduled dates, and negotiate a collective agreement that makes material gains for members who are training Ontario’s future.
Stay Informed, Stay Engaged, Get Involved
You can stay up to date with the bargaining team and developments at the bargaining table in several ways:
- Update your contact information.
- Members are encouraged to follow us on social media, where we are posting regular & timely updates:
- Instagram: @CAATFaculty
- X: @CAATFaculty
- Facebook: @OntarioCollegeFaculty
- Tiktok: @FacultyBargainingTeam
- You can also stay informed in the following ways:
- College Faculty Website: collegefaculty.org
- Get involved in organizing efforts (listening, communicating, building relationships with other workers in your Local.)
- If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out directly: bargainingteam2024@gmail.com
In solidarity,
Your CAAT-A Bargaining Team:
Ravi Ramkissoonsingh, L242, Chair (he/him)
Michelle Arbour, L125, Vice-Chair (she/her)
Chad Croteau, L110 (he/him)
Bob Delaney, L237 (he/him)
Martin Lee, L415 (he/him)
Sean Lougheed, L657 (he/him)
Rebecca Ward, L732 (she/her)