Update on the College’s Block Hiring Practice
Some of you may remember that the General Assembly mandated the VCTA Executive to work with the College in order to have it revise its policy of insisting that teachers of DEC courses in Continuing Education accept “blocks” of workload as opposed to individual courses. As the legal advice that we have received from FNEEQ is that the collective agreement does not prevent the College from proceeding in this manner, the VCTA Executive has been trying to work with Human Resources to try to get them to change this practice.
Despite the efforts of the VCTA Executive to meet with the College last semester, the College showed little interest in working with us on this issue. More recently, however, the Human Resources Director has indicated that, although he has no intention of modifying the practice of block hiring for the moment, he is not closed to the idea of doing so in the future. As he has evoked the possibility of addressing this issue for the winter, 2021 semester, faculty members of CRT (Labour Relations Committee) will make clear to him at our September 24th meeting that we want this hiring practice to end before Cont Ed hiring begins for the winter semester.
It has been brought to the attention of the VCTA Executive that some teachers have signed an open letter to our administration with regard to block hiring. As we already have a General Assembly motion, we do not feel that such a letter is appropriate as we try to negotiate an agreement with the College to end block hiring for teachers of Cont Ed DEC courses. As the General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the VCTA, and a G.A. mandate represents the collective will of all members, a letter, even if it is signed by a large number of members, does not strengthen our G.A. mandate, and it implies that teachers are organizing outside of our union structures which may weaken our position in negotiating with the College on this issue and others.
If you wish to support faculty members of CRT, and your VCTA Executive, as we try to convince the College to put an end to this hiring practice, we invite you to come to the next meeting of CRT to be prepared to tell the College why you support the General Assembly motion and why you want the College to take action before the beginning of next semester. After faculty members of CRT have presented our position, we will ask the College to allow as many teachers as possible to speak, giving priority to those teaching in Cont Ed who have been directly affected by block hiring. Teachers who wish to show their support in this way should respond to the VCTA email in which the meeting is announced.
Meeting with senior admin
As we did last semester, the VCTA Executive will be asking for a meeting with senior administration to plan for the winter semester. We have found our meetings with them useful in stating our priorities as teachers still struggle to adapt to the exceptional situation in which we find ourselves. We would like you to send us feedback, before October 19th, regarding problems or challenges that you feel may not have been sufficiently addressed so that we can bring them to the administration as they plan for next semester. In the meantime, we advise you to bring to your faculty dean any concerns you have that require immediate attention.
Covid-19 Resources
The government has recently made available resources for colleges in order that they may address additional expenses related to measures made necessary by the pandemic. Member unions of FNEEQ have agreed to send letters to the Minister of Higher Education (see attached) to deplore the fact that these resources are not clearly earmarked for front-line teaching. Whether college teachers are doing face-to-face teaching or teaching remotely, we believe that resources should be put into the classroom to reduce teachers’ workloads.
Faculty members of CRT will be bringing this issue to our next meeting of CRT to ask how Vanier College intends to use these resources. We will also be discussing this with other members of the senior administration. Come support us at CRT and stay tuned for further information.
Negotiations
Although the current health crisis creates some obstacles to our mobilization in the current collective agreement negotiations, the struggle continues. For those of you who would be willing to be physically present at demonstrations that will be taking place this autumn, either at Vanier or elsewhere in the city, please contact us at this address: vctamobilization2020@gmail.com
We would prefer that you use a non-Vanier address. Our mobilization committee sometimes chooses to use the element of surprise in their organization of mobilization activities. As such, on some occasions, we would not be able to give you more than 24 or 48 hours notice.
We have also been supplied with electronic mobilization material. You will find information on how to use them at the following link:
Belenios: the secret ballot solution
One of the challenges of virtual meetings involves the issue of holding a secret ballot vote. Some of you may be familiar with other options, but we have been advised by FNEEQ to use a tool called Belenios in our union meetings. We will likely use this tool for the upcoming VCTA elections.
In order to allow teachers to become familiar with this tool before the elections, we have prepared a simple test. We will send you details about this exercise in a separate communication soon. In the mean time, the curious will find information about Belenios here:
GOS and the implications of refusing workload
When you submit your General Offer of Service (GOS) in April, you are essentially saying that you are available for any work, up to a full-time workload, that the College might offer you in the following academic year. If you should turn down work, the College will consider that you have nullified your GOS. However, this does not mean that you are disqualified for work that comes up in the remainder of the year. It only means that you must apply to work that is posted within the prescribed time (If you need more information about applying to postings, you should contact HR). You lose none of your other rights.
It is important that teachers know that they do not lose their hiring priority until they have not taught at the College for three years. Therefore, new hires should be encouraged to submit their GOS every year, even if they are offered very little work or are obliged to refuse work. There is always the possibility that they will eventually be offered, and be able to accept, the workload that suits them.
Warning About Social Media
Along with distance teaching, people use electronic communication tools, including social media, more and more to communicate and share experiences and advice. These tools can be very useful for teachers to exchange feedback and tips, and generally to keep in touch with colleagues.
We would like to remind everyone that social media posts, on Facebook for example, are public, and can easily be recorded and shared. Be mindful of what you post and how you interact with others on social media. This is especially true of spaces that are associated with Vanier College or its faculty and staff. These spaces can be considered extensions of the College, and College Policies can apply to interactions that happen online in these spaces.
Upcoming Meetings
CRT — 24 September, 14h00 (Teams)
Association Council — 1 October, 13h00 (Zoom)
General Assembly (Insurance) — TDB
CRT — 15 October
Academic Council — 23 October