July bargaining is in the books!
Highlights
► All Faculty non-monetary proposals have been presented and are available at collegefaculty.org.
► The employer’s proposals contain concessions, which erode working conditions, consolidate management control, and undermine academic freedom.
► The employer did not table any counter proposals to our proposals throughout bargaining.
► The Workload Taskforce Report translation is nearing completion.
► Training Ontario’s Future: Our work prepares students to lead meaningful lives in our communities and province.
► Next bargaining dates: September 9-10, 16-20, and 23-29, 2024; October 1, 2024.
Bargaining in July is complete. A visual summary outlines what happened at the table.
To date, the CEC has not provided any counter proposals. The employer did, however, table non-monetary proposals of their own. Unsurprisingly, the employer’s proposals contain several concessions, including some that would result in increasing precarity for partial-load faculty members and rolling back some of their hard-fought gains of the past two rounds. Our responses highlighting those concessions have been presented back to the employer. We bargain forwards, not backwards – and that means accepting no concessions. We will not erode our bargaining rights. You can find all proposals and responses here. This fight is about the work we do, day in and day out, preparing students for careers that meet the needs of our communities. Whether it’s in health care, trades, social services, business, hospitality and tourism, culinary, forestry, or aviation (to name a few), and whether it occurs in the classroom, in the library, or in experiential spaces, we play an important role in the futures of our communities, our province, and its economy. We are Training Ontario’s Future. This training encompasses classroom teaching, and the irreplaceable work of counsellors and librarians, to support and educate our students. As the workers tasked with this responsibility, it is critical that College Faculty are equipped with the necessary resources to complete our work – which has been eroded over decades of neglect by management. Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. If our members are struggling with workload or to keep pace with the rising cost of living, the Colleges are failing to deliver on their core mandate: not to drive profit, but to provide comprehensive stable education and training environments. The Colleges work because we do – as we have now reminded the CEC at the bargaining table with our members’ proposals. All bargaining documents are now posted on collegefaculty.org. You can see our demands reflected in the proposed language – from local demand set to final demand set, to proposals at the bargaining table. |
Stay Informed, Stay Engaged, Get Involved
You can stay up to date with the team and development at the table in several ways:
► Members should be encouraged to follow us on social media, where we are posting regular & timely updates:
- Instagram: @CAATFaculty
- X: @CAATFaculty
- Facebook: @OntarioCollegeFaculty
- Tiktok: @FacultyBargainingTeam
► 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
Solidarity,
Your CAAT-A bargaining team:
Ravi Ramkissoonsingh, Local 242, Chair (he/him)
Michelle Arbour, Local 125, Vice-Chair (she/her)
Chad Croteau, Local 110 (he/him)
Bob Delaney, Local 237 (he/him)
Martin Lee, Local 415 (he/him)
Sean Lougheed, Local 657 (he/him)
Rebecca Ward, Local 732 (she/her)