On August 5, the bargaining team for full-time and partial-load college faculty completed a scheduled three days of bargaining with the College Employer Council. During these days, the bargaining team presented all demands not related to issues of compensation.
This week, we met at the bargaining table for three days with the College Employer Council (CEC) bargaining team. The week prior, we had tabled extensive proposals in an attempt to incorporate into our collective agreement the demands presented by our members at local and final demand-setting meetings. Our proposals covered a broad range of issues including workload, staffing, co-ordinators, the treatment of contract faculty, academic quality, and employment and workplace equity.
Three-quarters of faculty teaching in our public colleges are precarious workers – disproportionately women and racialized workers. They lack job security and benefits. They earn less than full-time faculty for doing exactly the same work. Their class sizes are ballooning. This hurts them and it hurts students. We’re bargaining for better – for fairness for these faculty.
The Bargaining Team presented proposals on academic freedom, intellectual property rights, shared governance and staffing. Proposals on the class definitions of a professor and counsellor were tabled.
