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Laurentian professor honoured with Lorimer Award for outstanding work advancing faculty rights

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TORONTO – The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is pleased to announce that Linda St. Pierre is the recipient of the 2017 Lorimer Award. This honour recognizes individuals who have worked to protect and promote the interests of Ontario’s academic staff through collective bargaining.

“Linda has played a pivotal role in advancing faculty rights at Laurentian,” said Rahul Sapra, Vice-President of OCUFA. “She has spent countless hours fighting for fairness, equity, and better working conditions for both full-time and contract faculty. Her years of experience and keen strategic instincts have made her an extraordinarily effective advocate for her members.”

The Lorimer Award was established in honour of Doug and Joyce Lorimer, who were instrumental in advancing faculty association collective bargaining in Ontario. Winners of the award all share the Lorimers’ commitment to advancing Ontario’s university system through strong faculty associations and fair collective agreements.

In her time as Chief Steward and Chief Grievance Office for the Laurentian University Faculty Association, Linda has negotiated seven collective agreements and made major gains in academic freedom, workload reduction, collegial governance, compensation, and privacy protections.

“OCUFA is extremely proud to recognize the exceptional individuals whose commitment to the bargaining process is improving the working conditions of professors and academic librarians,” said Gyllian Phillips, President of OCUFA. “High-quality education and vibrant campus communities are built on the foundations established by these collective agreements. Through the Lorimer Award, we recognize the outstanding contributions and leadership of those who work tirelessly to ensure faculty have the protections and resources they need to thrive.”

Linda St. Pierre will receive her award at a ceremony hosted by OCUFA in Toronto on February 3, 2018.

Founded in 1964, OCUFA represents 17,000 faculty and academic librarians in 28 faculty associations across Ontario. For more information, please visit the OCUFA website at www.ocufa.on.ca.

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For more information, contact:
Ben Lewis, Communications Lead at 416-979-2117 x232 or communications@ocufa.on.ca
OR Mark Rosenfeld, Executive Director at 416-979-2117 x229 or mrosenfeld@ocufa.on.ca

OCUFA makes recommendations for 2018 Ontario Budget

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Government commitment to robust public funding for postsecondary education is essential to support high-quality accessible education for Ontario students, continued strength in research, and fairness for contract faculty. With this in mind, OCUFA’s recommendations for the 2018 Ontario Budget seek to preserve the quality of university education in Ontario through increased public investment and government leadership on key issues impacting faculty working conditions.

As part of the consultation process, OCUFA President Gyllian Phillips presented the priorities of Ontario’s faculty and academic librarians to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs on January 16 in Sudbury. On January 22, OCUFA Vice-President Rahul Sapra made a second presentation to the Minister of Finance in Toronto.

OCUFA is recommending that the Government of Ontario:

  1. Increase per-student public investment in Ontario’s universities to support a return to 2008-09 funding levels by 2020-21.
    Since 2008, per student funding in Ontario has been declining and trailing the rest of Canada. It is time to break from years of stagnated funding and meaningfully invest in postsecondary education. A sensible plan should begin with investments to return Ontario to 2008 university funding levels, coupled with long-term investments to close the gap with other provinces.
  2. Ensure that the renewed funding model does not link performance metrics to funding. Instead, available data should be used to develop policies that will support university educational quality and research outputs.
    The government’s planned shift to allocate a portion of university funding based on performance is counterproductive as it will, by design, create inequities in the system. Funding allocation mechanisms should not be structured in a way that harms the student learning experience. Rather than employing such unnecessarily risky and destabilizing methods, available data should be leveraged to improve policymaking decisions and outcomes.
  3. Make meaningful consultation with faculty a requirement in the Strategic Mandate Agreement negotiation process.
    The Strategic Mandate Agreements (SMAs) that the government negotiates with universities should include input from university communities. As a substantive mechanism for implementing the new funding model, it is vital that faculty have meaningful input in the upcoming SMA negotiations. While it is the responsibility of individual university administrations to undertake local consultations, the Ministry must take a leadership role and set standards for the negotiation process. This will ensure the SMAs reflect the views and priorities of the entire campus community – not just administrators.
  4. Take leadership to facilitate the implementation of updated labour law and identify remaining gaps in coverage in the postsecondary education sector, particularly for contract faculty.
    The government should confidently set a standard of fairness for contract faculty across the postsecondary sector. As the recent changes to labour and employment legislation are rolled out, attention to gaps in coverage will be crucial. The government should take leadership to identify outstanding issues and commit to providing public funding where necessary for fairness for contract faculty to be achieved.
  5. Launch a faculty renewal strategy for Ontario universities that achieves the dual goals of supporting new full-time tenure-track hiring and creating pathways to full-time secure positions for contract faculty.
    Every student’s learning experience and every university’s capacity to produce research relies on the faculty members who teach, research, and engage in their communities; but the growing gap between enrolment and faculty hiring is putting strain on the system. This year’s budget is an opportunity to launch a faculty renewal strategy that supports new faculty hiring and provides pathways for contract faculty to secure full-time positions. Multi-year investments in faculty renewal will improve student-faculty ratios and support quality educational and research outcomes.

Universities are vital institutions within our communities, delivering education to thousands of students, producing thought-provoking and ground-breaking research, and providing good jobs that support local economies. Government commitment to robust public funding for postsecondary education is essential for sustaining the capacity needed to ensure these transformational contributions continue.

You can read OCUFA’s full pre-budget submission on our website.

This article originally appeared in OCUFA Report. To receive stories like this every week, please subscribe.

New issue of Academic Matters examines use of metrics in postsecondary education

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Performance data and metrics are increasingly being used to make decisions in postsecondary education. The new issue of Academic Matters – now available online – examines the significance of these developments and how they impact universities, faculty, research, and students.

Does a focus on metrics in higher education serve to optimize postsecondary education systems and make them more accountable? Do metrics distract from other considerations, undermining the integrity of the system? Do metrics compound systemic biases within institutions or help reveal them so they can be addressed?

For this issue of Academic Matters, we have assembled a group of experts to thoughtfully consider these questions, and contemplate the implications of making decisions based on metrics:

All of the above articles are free to read online, and previous issues of Academic Matters are always available at academicmatters.ca in addition to web exclusives, blog posts, and more.

Nominations open for 2018 Henry Mandelbaum Graduate Fellowship

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The Henry Mandelbaum Graduate Fellowship for Excellence in Social Sciences, Humanities, or Arts was established by OCUFA to honour the organization’s former Executive Director. The fellowship is awarded to two full-time graduate students (one master’s, one doctoral) at publicly funded Ontario universities who have demonstrated academic excellence, provided significant community service, and who show exceptional academic promise in their university careers. The successful doctoral candidate is expected to make a short presentation to the OCUFA Board within one year of receiving the award on a topic related to their thesis or dissertation research.

The application guidelines are available on the OCUFA website.

Applications should be completed using OCUFA’s online awards submission website.

This article originally appeared in OCUFA Report. To receive stories like this every week, please subscribe.

UOIT Teaching Faculty avoid strike and win major gains at table

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It came down to the wire, but after months of bargaining and organizing, the teaching faculty members of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Faculty Association (UOITFA) have reached a new (and only their second) three year collective agreement with their employer.

The settlement will mean gains across the board. Previously, UOIT’s teaching stream instructors had the highest workloads for teaching-intensive faculty in Ontario and no agreed upon definition for what constituted a “course”. Now, the faculty will have their workload reduced to the maximum of the equivalent of seven courses per year, with a standard definition of what that entails, and a revised distribution of effort (70% teaching, 20% service, 10% research/other). The faculty association also achieved stronger academic freedom provisions, competitive salary increases, and a further harmonization of their working and compensation conditions with those of their tenured and tenure-stream colleagues.

The agreement represents a major victory for the faculty association. Inspired by OCUFA’s Countdown to Strong bargaining program, the UOITFA developed and followed a strategic timetable that supported their bargaining team in negotiations and ensured they would be prepared to strike, if necessary.

As bargaining came down to the wire, faculty association executives, staff, and volunteers set up tables and talked to members about the priorities for this round of bargaining. The UOITFA set up an online letter-writing campaign, which faculty and community allies used to send over 1,200 emails to senior administrators at the university. Through all of this work, which made the organizing efforts of the faculty association visible to the administration, the UOITFA put pressure on their employer to reach a fair deal at the table.

By mobilizing their membership early on, and showing the university administration that the members strongly supported the bargaining team, the faculty association was able to win a strong collective agreement that was unanimously approved by the membership.

This article originally appeared in OCUFA Report. To receive stories like this every week, please subscribe.

OCUFA workshop encourages staff to meet colleagues and share skills

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On November 17, faculty association staff from across Ontario gathered in Toronto for a day of networking and skills sharing at the bi-annual OCUFA Faculty Association Staff Workshop.

The morning featured panels on membership engagement as well as the challenges and opportunities of working for a member-driven organization. Discussion covered many facets of the day-to-day work of faculty association staff, who enthusiastically shared their tips for effectively communicating and engaging with members.

In the afternoon, staff participated in a skills sharing roundtable, where they talked about the different ways they support the work of their associations, and shared the many different and useful skills they have learned, whether supporting the bargaining team, helping with grievances, making materials, or organizing events.

Participants then broke out into groups based on their areas of occupation to have more detailed discussions about their work. These groups allowed staff to discuss areas of interest in far greater depth, and develop professional relationships so they can continue to leverage the experience of their colleagues.

This article originally appeared in OCUFA Report. To receive stories like this every week, please subscribe.

Understanding and communicating pension details the focus of University Finance Workshop

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On Friday, November 3rd, the annual OCUFA University Finance Workshop brought together faculty association members and staff from across Ontario who regularly review university financial statements. The day’s focus was on understanding and communicating the details of pension and retirement benefits, areas of financial complexity that many faculty members stretch to comprehend.

The morning featured a panel discussing different perspectives on pensions, including an overview of the current provincial context for university pension plans and presentations on how these plans are valued by actuaries and reported in university financial statements. Participants were given pointers on reading pension information in financial documents and assessing the health of a pension plan. Following this panel, participants broke-out into working groups to review actual financial statements and apply the methods they learned.

After lunch, another panel focused on identifying the numbers in financial statements that are important to communicate and developing effective messaging to communicate to members about the impact these numbers could have on their futures. Groups were then assigned scenarios and roles as the university administration or faculty association and tasked with clearly articulating a response that would resonate with faculty members.

Although the theme of the day was pensions, the aspiration is for all participants to have left with skills they can apply to analyzing financial statements and communicating their conclusions more generally.

This article originally appeared in OCUFA Report. To receive stories like this every week, please subscribe.

Bill 148 passes, bolsters efforts to address precarious work on campus

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Faculty across Ontario are pleased that legislation was passed today that will bring more fairness to workplaces. Ontario’s university faculty have long been advocating for improvements to provincial labour laws that would deliver fairness for contract faculty who face job insecurity, low pay, and lack access to benefits.

New rules in Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act aiming to ensure equal pay for contract, part-time, and temporary workers are encouraging for the growing number of professors working on short-term contracts. Throughout the process, OCUFA has been raising concerns about loopholes in the language that could be used by employers to avoid paying their contract workers fairly. Amendments addressed some of these issues, including eliminating a problematic definition of seniority and clarifying that workers do not have to do identical work to access equal pay protections. However, broad exemptions were left unaddressed, raising questions about how effective the equal pay provision will be when it comes into force on April 1, 2018 (or for unionized workers, the earlier of their collective agreement expiration or January 1, 2020).

Measures in Bill 148 governing the consolidation of bargaining units present new options for faculty associations with fragmented bargaining units. Newly organized faculty will now have the option of submitting a request to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) to be merged with an existing unit, which will help avoid further fragmentation going forward. Another provision allows for a review of the structure of existing units in the same union, but requires agreement from the union and employer to be initiated, which may limit its usefulness.

Other welcome advances in the legislation include a $15 minimum wage by 2019, expanded paid emergency leave, improved rules for organizing unions in some sectors, and modest fair scheduling rules. Faculty have been working in partnership with the Fight for $15 & Fairness and Ontario Federation of Labour to advocate for these broader changes and are proud to see decent work reforms move forward.

The next task at hand is ensuring these newly won rights are implemented effectively in workplaces across the province. When it comes to universities, the majority of Ontarians expect them to be model employers. Now that the government has put their commitment to equal pay on the table, there is more pressure on universities to provide fair pay to contract faculty.

It is disappointing that the abuse of fixed-term contracts is not addressed in Bill 148, because it is a central issue for professors working contract to contract. Even long-serving contract faculty, some who have been working at their institutions for 10 to 20 years, have to re-apply for their jobs every semester.

The recent college faculty strike brought the need for job security, equal pay, and respect for contract faculty into sharp focus. Just-in-time scheduling, job insecurity, and balancing multiple contracts do not set the higher education system up for success. Full-time faculty hiring needs to be brought back in line with enrolment growth, and contract faculty need to be better supported to deliver the high-quality education students deserve.

There is a growing sense of urgency in the postsecondary sector about addressing precarious work. With added confidence after the passage of Bill 148, students, faculty and staff across Ontario will continue to work together to protect quality education and ensure decent work for all.

OCUFA’s 153rd Board of Directors meeting

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On Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22, OCUFA held its first Board of Directors meeting of the 2017-18 academic year, and the first with Gyllian Phillips as OCUFA President. The weekend oriented new board members to OCUFA and allowed members to discuss developments in Ontario postsecondary education system and the organization’s revised priorities for the academic year: Good jobs/vibrant universities, university funding, and capacity building. During a special lunchtime reception on the Saturday, board members and colleagues celebrated the winners of the OCUFA Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards.

Priorities

In the lead-up to the 2018 Ontario provincial election, it was agreed that the year’s priorities should be strategically aligned to focus OCUFA’s energies on issues most likely to gain traction with the public and political parties. In addition to good jobs/vibrant universities and university funding, capacity building was identified as an important means through which OCUFA can support the work of local faculty associations. Although not listed as priorities for the year, all members agreed that university governance and equity remain important issues and should continue to permeate OCUFA’s work.

Priority: Good jobs/vibrant universities

One of OCUFA’s established long-term goals is a postsecondary education system where every academic job is a good job with fair compensation, reasonable workloads, access to benefits, and job security. The good jobs priority makes the connection between the importance of good jobs and their essential role in fostering vibrant and dynamic universities. This year, OCUFA will focus on three opportunities for improving the terms and conditions of employment at Ontario’s universities: fairness for contract faculty, faculty renewal, and pensions.

Fairness for contract faculty

In recent years, substantial progress has been made raising awareness about the challenges faced by contract faculty at Ontario universities. Through the ongoing legislative process for Bill 148, OCUFA has kept fairness for contract faculty on the agenda, advocating for amendments to the legislation to improve conditions for academic workers in precarious jobs. Faculty voices have been prominent in the debate and OCUFA will continue to support member associations through the Contract Faculty and Faculty Complement Committee and special contract faculty focused issues of OCUFA Report. OCUFA is also continuing to work closely with solidarity partners, including the Fight for $15 & Fairness, who hosted a provincial campus assembly in September, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers, who hosted the Contract Academic Staff Conference in October, and with whom OCUFA helps organize the annual Fair Employment Week each fall.

Faculty renewal

Full‐time faculty hiring has fallen dramatically behind growth in student enrolment in the past decade. This means fewer faculty are available to carry out the core research and teaching functions of the university. Recently, the Ontario government has shown an interest in this issue and OCUFA will work hard to keep the need for faculty renewal on the agenda, both provincially and on individual university campuses.

Pensions

OCUFA has worked with sector stakeholders for several years on an initiative to build a new voluntary jointly sponsored pension plan (JSPP) in the university sector. This initiative is intended to provide a secure and sustainable pension option for interested university faculty associations and staff unions in the province. As the pension environment shifts, OCUFA will continue to organize workshops and meetings to help all member associations reach their pension-related goals and expand their capacity to communicate pension issues at the local level.

Priority: University funding

OCUFA has held a long-standing goal of increasing public funding for universities to support high quality postsecondary education in Ontario. Over the past several years, the provincial government has been leading a process to update and streamline the university funding formula. Of concern is the government’s intent to tie university funding to performance according to a series of metrics that have still not been sufficiently defined. It is expected that these will be negotiated in the next round of Strategic Mandate Agreements (SMAs). With no additional funding for universities in the last provincial budget, securing increased public funding for Ontario’s universities will be a key focus of OCUFA’s work in the coming months, particularly with the provincial election on the horizon.

As the new funding model is implemented along with the third round of SMAs (negotiated between MAESD and Ontario’s universities) it is vital that faculty input is meaningfully incorporated into these agreements. It is unacceptable that faculty voices were largely ignored in previous SMA negotiations. Through advocacy efforts, OCUFA will work to persuade MAESD to put in place a development process for the next round of SMAs that requires faculty input and clearer timelines for negotiations.

Priority: Capacity building

Ontario’s university faculty face serious challenges in their workplaces, including too few faculty to do the work, and too many precarious jobs at underfunded universities. Many changes to Ontario’s higher education sector have shifted the collegial dynamic between faculty and their employers. In the coming year, OCUFA will focus on supporting member associations in building stronger unions and a university labour movement able to more effectively tackle these problems. This will include the continued strengthening of local bargaining through OCUFA’s Countdown to Strong program, the development of capacity building tools that can be leveraged by member associations, and more training for local leaders.

2018 provincial election

During the board meeting, board members had a chance to discuss OCUFA’s preparation for the 2018 provincial election. OCUFA’s three priority areas for the 2017-18 year will be key in efforts to put good jobs and public university funding on the agenda during the election. Additionally, the report generated by OCUFA’s 2017 Policy Exchange will help inform a comprehensive set of proposals the organization will lobby for as provincial parties develop their platforms.

Guest speakers

The board meeting featured several guest speakers. Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, Greg Orensak spoke about the Ministry’s upcoming priorities. Greg Lyle, President of Innovative Research Group Inc., provided an overview of the political landscape in Ontario and discussed the different scenarios that should be expected in the lead-up to the next provincial election. Finally, JP Hornick, Chair of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union’s (OPSEU’s) faculty bargaining team, updated board members on the state of negotiations between college faculty and the College Employer Council. College faculty have been bargaining for more full-time positions, fairness for contract faculty, faculty input in academic decision-making, and academic freedom. Following Hornick’s address, the OCUFA Board passed a motion in support of OPSEU’s efforts to improve working conditions for their members.

Awards celebration

Finally, a special luncheon gala celebrated the recipients of this year’s Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards. Since 1973, these awards have recognized the exceptional contributions made by professors and librarians to the quality of higher education in Ontario.

The 2016-2017 Teaching Award recipients are:

  • Dora Cavallo-Medved, a permanent lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Windsor
  • Kimberley Dej, Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Science at McMaster University
  • Milena Head, Professor of Information Systems at McMaster University
  • Quazi Mehbubar Rahman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western University
  • Mira Sucharov, Associate Professor of Political Science at Carleton University

The 2016-2017 Academic Librarianship Award recipients are:

  • Karen Pillon, Head of Access Services at the Leddy Library at the University of Windsor
  • Mindy Thuna, Head of the Engineering and Computer Science Library at the University of Toronto

The luncheon featured a keynote address from Paul Kennedy, host of CBC’s Ideas, who shared thoughtful and touching stories about the importance of teaching, and the role faculty had in changing the course of his life. Attendees were also shown the premiere of a new video profiling former Teaching Award winner Shafique Virani.

The next OCUFA Board of Directors meeting will be held in February.

CAUT hosts national conference on fairness for contract academic staff

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The Canadian Association of University Teachers hosted a conference on achieving fairness for contract academic staff to kickoff Fair Employment Week on October 20 and 21. Participants developed a wide range of strategies and tactics to organize fellow faculty members and confront their administrations about the growing use of contract faculty at Canadian universities and colleges.

Faculty associations discussed key ways of addressing precarious work, including bargaining, grievances, and mobilization. In hands-on exercises, conference participants practiced creating collective agreement language, writing grievances, preparing materials like flyers, buttons and posters, producing videos, and writing press releases.

Conference attendees donated their lunch hour to visiting an OPSEU college faculty picket line to express their support.

It’s time to fix equal pay in Bill 148

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The review of Ontario’s labour laws has brought new momentum to addressing unpredictable scheduling, the lack of equal pay for work of equal value, and the fact that many contract faculty do not have access to benefits.

As part of the Ontario Federation of Labour’s Make It Fair campaign, they produced a video profile of Wilfrid Laurier University contract professor Kimberly Ellis Hale. In the video, Kimberly tells her story and makes the case for fixing Bill 148. Join Kimberly, and send a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne today encouraging the government to fix and pass Bill 148.

Through advocacy around Bill 148, university faculty are working with new allies. The Decent Work and Health Network recognizes the negative impact on personal health and community wellbeing of precarious work. And students, staff and faculty on campus are working through cross campus alliances to achieve wins for campus workers, like a $15 starting wage for food service employees.

Ontario professors take action for Fair Employment Week

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Toronto – Across Ontario, university professors are taking action to educate campus community members about the growing numbers of contract faculty at Ontario universities. A national campaign organized by the Canadian Association of University Teachers, Fair Employment Week builds awareness and promotes fairness for contract faculty.

“Most students are unaware if their professor is on a short-term contract,” said OCUFA President Gyllian Phillips. “Despite being committed to their students and teaching, contract faculty still have to re-apply for their jobs every four months. It is simply unfair.”

In Ontario, the number of courses taught by contract faculty has doubled since 2000. These professors teaching on short-term contracts lack job security, benefits, and fair pay. OCUFA is advocating for fairness for contract faculty because universities should be model employers, providing good jobs in their communities.

With Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act working its way towards law, the provincial government has acknowledged that too many Ontarians do not have decent jobs. OCUFA supports Bill 148, but it is imperative the legislation is strengthened to address equal pay for work of equal value and to prevent the abuse of short-term contracts.

“Hiring faculty on discontinuous four-month contracts – even after decades of employment – are not labour practices to be proud of,” said Frankie Cachon, Chair of OCUFA’s Contract Faculty Committee. “They’re not good for faculty, not good for students, and do not advance the mission statements of our universities.”

Ontario’s faculty are committed to addressing the widespread growth of precarious employment in the province because they know secure and stable employment is essential for providing high-quality education.

After weeklong strike Laurentian faculty win fair collective agreement

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Members of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) faced huge challenges in this round of bargaining. The university administration was demanding serious concessions on many issues, including pensions, workload, and core faculty rights. The administration’s inability to provide essential data, delays in bargaining, and the employer’s initial refusal to agree to mediation dates layered procedural obstacles on top of the administration’s unprecedented bargaining demands.

Undeterred from the start, in early summer LUFA began to prepare its members to protect their existing rights and push forward with their own set of priorities.

LUFA members’ primary demands were that Laurentian:

  • re-invest in research and the classroom, including a fair faculty workload;
  • increase the openness and transparency with which the university operates; and
  • protect and promote a positive, enriching learning environment for the students.

Despite the best efforts of the LUFA bargaining team and four days of mediation, the employer declared an impasse on the evening of September 28th, giving faculty little choice but to strike.

During the eight-day strike, faculty members marched picket lines, encouraged by incredibly strong support from colleagues on campus, members of the Sudbury community, and faculty nationwide. An online campaign organized by OCUFA garnered letters from over 1,000 individuals. The staff union at Laurentian (LUSU) was the first local union to organize a solidarity picket on day two. Laurentian’s students were unwavering, walking the line with their professors every day, bringing food and art projects, and organizing a solidarity rally.

Under the terms of the settlement, LUFA has strengthened collegial governance with a clarified role in the process and selection of senior administrators. Academic freedom will be enhanced with the recognition of faculty expertise, and a commitment to openness and transparency from the university administration. An increased number of sessional faculty will now have seniority recognized in the per course rate they receive, and master lecturers will experience a workload improvement and, if they have a PhD, a new salary model. Finally, LUFA members will receive annual salary increases inline with what faculty receive at other, comparable universities.

LUFA members voted 98% in favour of the agreement, and the Laurentian Board of Governors unanimously ratified the deal.

OCUFA extends its congratulations to the members of LUFA for staying strong and protecting a quality education for your students.

OCUFA stands in solidarity with Ontario’s college faculty

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On Monday, over 12,000 faculty at Ontario’s 24 public colleges went on strike. For over three months, they have been working hard at the bargaining table, pushing for a better plan for Ontario’s colleges, including fairness for contract faculty, collegial governance that includes faculty in academic decision-making, and academic freedom.

Unfortunately, the College Employer Council rejected a last-minute faculty proposal aimed at averting a strike. The colleges even refused to agree to no-cost items, such as longer contracts for contract faculty and academic freedom. This left college faculty with no choice but to withdraw their services until the College Employer Council is ready to come back to the table and put forward a fair offer.

Ontario’s university faculty and academic librarians stand in solidarity with our college colleagues, members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). The issues they are fighting for are vital ones that are foundational for the delivery of high-quality postsecondary education for Ontario’s students.

On September 28, OCUFA President Gyllian Phillips sent a letter to the Chairs of OPSEU’s Ontario College Faculty Division and Bargaining Team. In it she argues that it is unacceptable that over 70 per cent of faculty at Ontario colleges are working on contract, and expresses support for college faculty as they work to enhance the academic integrity and governance of Ontario’s colleges.

Now is the time for college administrators to show leadership, return to the table, and invest in good jobs that will provide a strong educational foundation for college students for years to come.

Here are some of the many ways you can show your support for college faculty today:

Send a message to Ontario’s 24 college Presidents, Premier Kathleen Wynne, and Deputy Premier Deb Matthews telling them faculty deserve a fair collective agreement.

Call your local MPP.

Connect with a college faculty representative at your local campus and join the picket line.

Write a letter to your local newspaper.

Share your messages of support on Twitter and Facebook. Make sure to use the hashtags #abetterplan or #standwithfaculty.