Carleton University Academic Staff Association
The Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) has reached a four-year agreement with their university administration. CUASA achieved across-the-board salary and career development increases competitive with other faculty associations, along with a lump sum payment upon ratifying the agreement. A territorial acknowledgment will also be placed at the front of the new collective agreement, recognizing the Carleton campus’s location on the traditional land of the Algonquin people.
CUASA negotiated significant positive changes to the tenure and promotion process by making the dual-track process clearer and more transparent. Progress was made alleviating workload concerns by increasing research days for professional librarians, clarifying course credit values for instructors, expanding the definition of service, and formally recognizing the supervision of graduate and undergraduate students, directed studies, and tutorials as part of workload.
CUASA was also able to negotiate the constitution of committees to examine the use of teaching dossiers to determine teaching effectiveness, to examine and make recommendations on the Instructor rank, and to make recommendations on digitally-based courses. Further, an independent expert will be brought in to study the pay equity situation at Carleton and make a report to the university president in one year. From there, the president will have six months to provide the university’s plan to address any gender pay inequities that are found. CUASA will also be continuing their pension discussions with the Carleton administration.
Finally, CUASA negotiated improvements to its benefits plan in areas including dental care, vision care, orthotics benefits, and massage therapy, as well as achieving increases in compassionate leave days and changes to parental leave in line with current legislation.
Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa
The Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO) has reached a three-year agreement with their employer. The faculty association achieved across-the-board salary increases competitive with other faculty associations. The agreement also contains provisions for improving the Extended Health Plan by capping the annual out-of-pocket maximum payments for drugs covered under the plan.
APUO also improved equity language within the agreement, introduced changes to parental leave provisions in line with current legislation, and secured professional leave for Continuing Special Appointment Professors. Most importantly, the faculty association successfully protected minimum faculty complement numbers.
Northern Ontario School of Medicine Academic & Professional Staff Union
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine Academic & Professional Staff Union (Unit 1, OPSEU 677/NOSMFSA) has reached a four-year agreement with their employer. The faculty union achieved across-the-board salary increases competitive with other faculty unions and associations, salary parity adjustment provisions for years 3 and 4, as well as PTR improvements for faculty, librarians, and professional staff.
The agreement contains an anomaly fund to address salary gaps and benefits improvements for vision and dental coverage. The union also achieved increases to bereavement leave, improved harassment and equity language, and changes to pregnancy, parental, and compassionate leave in line with current legislation, along with other improvements.
St. Jerome’s University Academic Staff Association
Full-time members of the St. Jerome’s University Academic Staff Association (SJUASA) have reached a five-year agreement with their university administration. The faculty association achieved across-the-board salary increases competitive with other faculty associations, as well as an $850 increase to each member’s base salary to maintain parity with University of Waterloo faculty.
Among other achievements, the agreement counters the growing trend towards precarity within the academy by waiving the right of first refusal on overload courses, ensuring the increased availability of positions for contract faculty. Furthermore, good headway was made to improve conditions for Lecturers: The salary floor was raised, course load was reduced, and a Teaching Renewal Term was created wherein every six years Lecturers qualify for two consecutive terms free from teaching. The faculty association also successfully improved conditions for librarians by creating the ranks of Assistant Librarian, Associate Librarian, and Librarian, while identifying the qualifications necessary for promotion.