As we continue to keep strict adherence to government guidelines with remote teaching and greatly reduced special on-campus classes the norm, please see a few Local updates below:
Successful Demand Setting Meeting & Next Steps
Last Thursday’s Demand Setting Meeting was a success. More than 100 members attended our online meeting and many took the virtual floor to speak to issues they would like to see improved or changed in our Collective Agreement.
If you have not seen a copy of the top ten issues, as voted on by Local 415 members, you can request a copy via opseu415office@locallines.org
Rest assured, every issue brought forward by members at last Thursday’s meeting was heard by our Bargaining Team who will advocate for all members at the negotiation table.
All 24 college locals are having similar demand setting meetings throughout February. The demands put forward by each of the 24 locals will be debated and discussed at our provincial demand set meeting, scheduled for April. The six delegates elected by stewards to represent Local 415 at that meeting are: Martin Lee, Judy Puritt, Ken Hill, Shawn Pentecost, as well as Tracy Henderson (as our Divisional Executive representative) and Annette Bouzi (as local president).
Spring/Summer Annual Leave
On Friday, the College released a memo regarding faculty annual leave for this Spring/Summer term. We view the college’s new approach as an improvement because of its commitment to prioritizing faculty preference, without the rigidity of requiring full-time faculty available across the entire term.
As seniority can play a significant role in the determination of the annual leave period, our advice is to verify the accuracy of your place on the seniority list posted on the college website. If you note any inaccuracies, communicate them to the college and copy COMMS@locallines.org as soon as possible.
Please communicate your preference of annual leave period to your manager for the Spring/Summer term, even if you have previously done so. If your request is denied, please contact the union office for advice.
Current Workload
As a reminder, faculty have the right to a revised SWF at any point in the semester, if the current SWF is no longer a reflection of your actual workload. For instance, reasons to ask your manager to re-issue a SWF could include increased class size than indicated on your SWF or complimentary functions taking more time than provided for on your SWF.
For questions about your workload at any time, please contact the Local at COMMS@locallines.org and a member of the Workload Monitoring Group will get back to you.
In solidarity,
OPSEU Local 415