Dear Colleagues,

As 2020 draws to a close, I wanted to acknowledge this historic year – we’ve all been tested in ways that would have been hard to imagine before March. Thank you to our hardworking members for all you have done to maintain quality education and compassion during these trying months. As ever, Local 415 has remained hard at work, challenging the college to do better, supporting individual faculty members through a range of issues, and continuing to be active at the provincial level.

The year end also gives us time to reflect. You’ll be pleased to know that we have accomplished a lot as a local union in 2020 – from enhanced rights for our partial-load members, gains through dispute resolution processes outside of grievances, and ensuring adherence to our Collective Agreement rights. We will build on that momentum for 2021 – a bargaining year.

Finally, rest assured that your Local remains in regular contact with the College on all matters, including the recently announced provincial lockdown. You will receive updates as appropriate. 

Wishing you the peace of the season and a most restful winter break.

In solidarity,

Annette Bouzi (she/her)
President, OPSEU Local 415

Jordan Berard, Editor of the Local Lines newsletter, invites you to review the final 2020 issue.

Please see the attached message from our 2021 Bargaining Team.

English bulletin – December 2020

French bulletin – December 2020

In solidarity,
OPSEU Local 415

On behalf of the Bargaining Team, the Divisional Executive (DivEx) is inviting Partial-Load members to submit applications for a position on the Bargaining Advisory Committee (BAC). We are looking to fill 8 Partial-Load member positions on the committee. These individuals will sit alongside 24 local delegates (1 delegate from each local) to collectively form the BAC.

You can find a PDF here that summarizes the role, expectations, and general structure of the BAC in relation to bargaining. Please review this PDF prior to submitting an application. If you have other questions relating to the committee or role of its participants, please contact the DivEx at divexcaata@gmail.com.

Application Details:

1. Application documents:
   1. Completed questionnaire (see file here)
   2. CV (.docx or .pdf)
   3. A statement of interest expressing why you want to be a part of the BAC and what skills or attributes you would bring to the group (300 words max) – you may submit it as a video, audio, or written statement (.docx or .pdf). Please send completed applications to divexcaata@gmail.com.

2. Deadline for application: Friday December 11, 2020.
3. Selection Process: The DivEx will review all submissions and select members with consideration towards equity, background, diversity, experience, college size, and regional representation. Successful candidates will be notified by early January, 2021.  

Please share widely with your Partial-Load members.

In solidarity,

RM, Martin, Tracy, JP, Pearline
CAAT-A Divisional Executive

If you are teaching a traditional semester, SWFs are due this Friday, by end of day on November 20.

Please note that although the College continues to use its SWF adaptation formula to provide time for “COVID-19 Adaptation and Planning”, the Local has never endorsed this approach. In discussions with your manager about your workload, we encourage you to identify and request the number of hours you deem appropriate to complete the continuing adaptation of your courses under Complimentary Functions. The College has stated that there is no “one size fits all” approach. Therefore, if the hours presented by your Chair do not appear adequate, we encourage you to raise this point. Even if you have already returned your SWF, you can raise this point and ask that it be revised.

Remember, if you have SWF questions, send them to COMMS@localllines.org and a steward will respond promptly. We are here to answer workload questions and support you in your understanding.

In solidarity,

Your Local 415 Workload Monitoring Group
Judy Puritt
Annette Bouzi
Enrico DeFrancesco
Scott Fewer

Please remember that the Partial-Load Registry closes today. If you have not already done so, please register your interest on the registry immediately. In order to be eligible for priority hiring in the 2021 calendar year, you must be registered. You can find the link here.

Also, our Local’s Partial-Load Hardship Fund still has monies available for those members in need. The application form is here.

If you have questions about your rights as a Partial-Load member please reach out. We remain available for virtual meetings or phone consultations at COMMS@locallines.org or (613) 727-4723 ext. 7716.

In solidarity,

Martin Lee (he/him)
Local 415 Steward | Partial-Load Liaison

This message is just a quick reminder about the 2017 strike settlement that October 1 marked the date that the negotiated 2% pay increases came into effect for Full-Time and Partial-Load Faculty. As a note, this is the final automatic increase before we enter negotiations in 2021.

We encourage you to check Workday to ensure you are being paid correctly. To check about your correct level of compensation in Workday, follow these steps:

1. Log into Workday
2. Select Personal Information in the Applications window
3. Scroll down and select About Me in the View window (your name and employment status should now appear)
4. Select Compensation, which will show your Total Base Pay, your Step Level, and the date you were hired
5. Review your total Base Pay to ensure it matches the Salary/Hourly Rate schedule applicable to your Step Level in the Collective Agreement (CA).

To find your appropriate Salary/Hourly Rate in our Collective Agreement, please review the list below:

• Salary Schedules for Full-Time Professors, Counsellors and Librarians
  • Art 14.03 A 1 (a), page (27)
• Salary Schedules for Full-Time Instructors
  • 14.03 A 2 (c), page (29)
• Post-Secondary Partial-Load Professor Hourly Rate
  • Art 26.04, page (51)
• Non-Post-Secondary Partial-Load Professor Hourly Rate
  • Art 26.04, page (52)
• Post-Secondary Partial-Load Instructors
  • Art 26.04, page (53)
• Non-Post-Secondary Partial-Load Instructors
  • Art 26.04, page (53)

If you are not receiving the correct pay, please contact the local for assistance at comms@locallines.org

In solidarity,

Annette Bouzi, President
David Haley, First Vice-President
Enrico DeFrancesco, Second Vice-President
Shawn Pentecost, Treasurer
Judy Puritt, Secretary

New editor Jordan Berard invites you to review the October 2020 issue of Local Lines.

Hopefully you have had a good start to the semester, and you have settled into a routine balancing Algonquin with your home life. You will have seen a few messages that have been sent to all of our OPSEU 415 faculty members in recent weeks; however, this message is specifically directed to you as contract faculty.

Reminder – Registry Closes on October 30

One of the significant gains that our union achieved in the last round of bargaining is the Partial-Load Registry. In order to be eligible for priority hiring in the 2021 calendar year, you must register your interest before the October 30, 2020 deadline. Even if you have filled in the Partial-Load Registry on a previous year, you must complete it again for this year. You can find the link here.

Partial-Load Hardship Fund

We recognize that the start of the semester can be challenging – even more so with the current COVID-19 climate. The stewards of our local voted in favour of establishing a hardship fund to provide interim support to our contract faculty colleagues in need. If you are a contract faculty member, who was Partial-Load in the Fall 2019, Winter 2020 or Spring 2020 terms, but have not been assigned Partial-Load status Fall 2020 or have seen a decrease in your expected teaching hours, you may be entitled to receive a grant of $250 from the Local’s Partial-Load Hardship Fund. The fund has $8,800 earmarked for this term. Claims will be processed in the order they are received, until monies run out. The application form is here.

As ever, if you have questions about your rights as a Partial-Load member please feel free to reach out to the local. We are available to members online (by email or virtual meetings) or over the phone. If you have any questions, please send them by email to COMMS@locallines.org or call (613) 727-4723 ext. 7716.

In solidarity,

Martin Lee (he/him)
Local 415 Steward | Partial-Load Liaison

Dear Colleagues,

Following President Brulé’s communique regarding a COVID-19 case, please be reminded that the COVID-19 Training and FAQs are both posted on the college Coronavirus Information site. As stated in the communique, “the College is working directly with Ottawa Public Health to assist them in contact tracing. Any members of the College community who may be directly impacted by this will be contacted accordingly.”

Ottawa Public Health guidelines are being followed and we have received an update from Risk Management that anyone from the academic area who may have been exposed has already been contacted.

Documentation is essential for anything related to health and safety. Therefore, it is important that when notifying your Chair about any illness/injury concerns, that you do so in writing and keep copies of all communications. We also encourage you to fill out this OPSEU questionnaire if you believe or know that you have been exposed to COVID-19 (whether working on-campus or remotely), in addition to reporting to the college.

If you have any questions or concerns about health and safety or regarding information you are receiving within the department, please contact us at wymanl@algonquincollege.com and lamarcj1@algonquincollege.com. Messages submitted through COMMS@locallines.org will also be forwarded to us.

Stay safe,

Leslie Wyman & JP Lamarche
JOHSC Representatives (Woodroffe Campus)