College Faculty bargaining update: Conciliation ends, concessions remain

Bargaining Bulletin 13

Highlights:

  • Today, we concluded conciliation – our fourth and final date.
  • The CEC has responded to our offer of settlement, tabled on October 28. Their response maintains all but one (1) of previously tabled concessions.
  • The parties have agreed to non-binding mediation with William Kaplan from December 6-8.
  • If the CEC is serious about avoiding disruption, there is a reasonable path forward: drop your concessions, and bargain fairly.
  • After delivering a historic strike mandate, faculty are standing up for a fair contract that serves our communities.

Today, the parties met for a fourth and final conciliation date. To date, we have met with Ministry-appointed conciliators on October 8th, 15th, 28th, and November 5th. Since conciliation has concluded, we are able to share details about what has transpired.

On October 18th, members delivered a historic strike mandate in pursuit of a fair contract. Disappointingly, the CEC’s response was to break confidentiality and mischaracterize recent events, ignoring their fundamental duty to bargain.

On October 28th, we tabled a comprehensive offer of settlement in an effort to propel bargaining forward, and affirmed our offer to enter mediation. Our comprehensive offer of settlement was formulated in pursuit of a fair deal at the table in the best interests of all parties, including students. In total, we withdrew or modified 41 union positions. While demonstrating movement in good faith, we maintained an explicit focus on wages, workload, and employment stability to address the runaway precarity in the college system.

On October 30th, the parties agreed to meet for a final day of conciliation on November 5th. The parties also agreed to enter scheduled mediation – to be distinguished from binding arbitration – with William Kaplan from December 6th until 8th.

Today, the parties met for a final day of conciliation. The CEC tabled their response to our comprehensive offer of settlement, which includes all but one of the CEC’s original concessions and indicates little movement overall from the CEC.

Evaluating the CEC’s Response

In total, the CEC has withdrawn one (1) single proposal and one (1) concession in their formal response to our comprehensive offer of settlement. The CEC will no doubt message that they showed more movement, but most of what they withdrew were counterproposals to union positions.

For several months, we made every effort to reach an on-time, renewal agreement. Undermining those efforts, the CEC came to the table proposing real-time wage cuts and concessions that would worsen our working conditions. This remains the case.

We do not bargain concessions. Through the delivery of a historic strike mandate, members have communicated, in absolute terms, support for members’ proposals, and a rejection of employer concessions, which threaten to further erode our working conditions.

Of particular concern is the CEC’s adherence to their “modernized” academic year. The colleges already have the ability to run programs year round, and properly compensate members for their work. What the CEC is attempting to do will have far reaching implications for two tiering of workload, erosion of professional development and all non-teaching time, redundancy of the 11th month OT provisions, and risks to block vacations, particularly in the summer.

The CEC is also maintaining their modes of delivery definitions that aim to reduce time assigned for teaching asynchronous course hours, making room for LESS, not more, teaching time – including course preparation. This is particularly ironic, given the neutral recommendations of the Workload Task Force indicating global increases to time needed for teaching and course preparation.

Mediation, December 6th – 8th

The parties have formally agreed to enter non-binding mediation with William Kaplan from December 6th to 8th. Mediation does not sacrifice our ability to exercise our right to stand behind our demands – including taking labour action, if necessary, should the employer fail to negotiate a fair contract. We are now engaged in the process of preparing for mediation.

What’s next?

The CEC’s resolve to maximize profits is stronger than their resolve to deliver on their core mandate of teaching, learning, and student support. Our resolve to fight back needs to be even stronger. 

The CEC’s refusal to invest back into the college system – through investments in the frontline workers supporting students directly – is a choice by colleges to operate more like corporations than quality learning institutions.

Over the past decade, the system has added 50,000 students, 1500 administrators, and only 500 full time faculty. That’s three times as many managers as workers who train Ontario’s future. With accumulated surpluses in the billions, there is enough money to responsibly invest while navigating any uncertainty. Addressing financial instability should not be borne on the backs of workers and students.

We need a fair contract that serves our communities, not one that consolidates the CEC’s corporate turn towards prioritizing profits over quality education – and in delivering a historic strike mandate, members made clear that we’re willing to stand for it.

Members are encouraged to follow along with bargaining updates, stay connected with their Locals, and keep up-to-date with their colleagues. While we hope for a positive outcome, hope is not a plan – the CEC has not yet signaled any material turn from the concessions they are seeking. Unity and solidarity are now required to fight concessions and advance our proposals.

If the CEC is serious about achieving resolution without disruption, there is a reasonable path forward. But it will not happen so long as the CEC continues to misrepresent their concessions as “breakthrough improvements.”

In solidarity,

Your CAAT-A Bargaining Team:

Ravi Ramkissoonsingh, L242, Chair (he/him)
Michelle Arbour, L125, Vice-Chair (she/her)
Chad Croteau, L110 (he/him)
Bob Delaney, L237 (he/him)
Martin Lee, L415 (he/him)
Sean Lougheed, L657 (he/him)
Rebecca Ward, L732 (she/her)

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