Student Solidarity Group - WLU

The Strike is Over!

2008-04-07T19:26:00.002-04:00

Yes. It's over. The CAS members and the Board of Governors both ratified the agreement and they're going back to work. While some are disappointed about the agreement they have made several important steps on the road to properly recognize the CAS profs for the contributions they provide to the Laurier community.

I'll ask about the details of the plan but I think we can all take a deep sigh of relief that what began seven months ago, is finally come to an end.

As many of you know from the WLU website, extra class time has been schedules for us and I recommend everyone to visit to see the class schedules for their CAS profs and make sure you attend. There's one for the Waterloo campus and one for the Brantford campus.

Tentative Agreement Reached!

2008-04-04T08:55:00.004-04:00

Around 5:00 am this morning the bargaining teams of the university and the CAS have found a tentative agreement!

What does this mean? Well, it could possibly mean settlement. I've asked Dr. Judy Bates, president of WLUFA, about the details of the agreement and if the CAS got some of the things they were asking for - she hasn't gotten word yet because Doug Lorimer, WLUFA's chief negotiator, collapsed in exhaustion.

Picketing will continue through the morning but instead of a rally today at noon in the St. Mike's parking lot, there will be a celebration instead - come out and celebrate! WLUFA's executive will meet while Doug Lorimer and James Butler (administration's chief negotiator) will work out a "back to work protocol" deciding how things will work out now after being upset by the strike.

The CAS bargaining unit will vote on the agreement through the weekend and, if successfully passed, that will be the end of the strike and the labour negotiations.

Following that, on Monday at the Senate meeting, extra class time will be added on Tuesday and Wednesday to have profs get in touch with their students. As for specific cases in classes, that, I believe, would be for the profs to work out.

Besides that - This is really great news!

Quiet Sit-In

2008-04-02T22:10:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow negotiations resume and to show student discontent at how we were treated through this procedure the Student Solidarity Group is having a quiet sit-in outside the administration offices. No signs or fliers this time, this is a neutral sit-in at a symbolic place of power of an institution that has treated us poorly in the past two weeks.

If you are discontent about how both sides have been unresponsive - come by and sit around and study on the second floor of the Peters' Building outside the administration offices* between 10:00 and 4:00 on Thursday.

* We'd call for a sit-in outside of the CAS Strike Office in accordance to having this a neutral event, but it's private property and we'd get in trouble for loitering. If you have other places you can do sit-ins without getting in trouble, feel free to do so.

We need lots of students visibly, peacefully protesting on that day!

Letter to the Senators from the CAS

2008-04-01T19:52:00.003-04:00

Dear Senators,

We welcome the opportunity to have our voices heard at this extraordinary Senate meeting. Our collective voice has spoken through our picket lines and our rallies. In that voice we have been expressing our determination to ensure an ongoing commitment to overall academic integrity at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Many individual CAS members desired to share their observations and insights with you. What will be read to you today is only a portion of the abridged versions of what was prepared for Senators to consider. (A longer document has been prepared and circulated to you.)

Let us now attend to their observations and insights.

One member asks: What does Dr. Blouw really believe?

In an interview published in the Cord Weekly, soon after he arrived on campus in Fall 2007, President Blouw stated: "Here I hope to create environments where people can excel - its faculty members, students and staff members. Because if you can create an environment where the greatest human potential can be realized, then you're really serving society well." We could not agree more: the hundreds of Laurier classrooms now sitting empty confirm the cost of ignoring Dr. Blouw's own advice.

Another member wants to reflect on how the administration hiring of Ph.D.s for CAS work, brings WLU credit in the Maclean's annual survey, but then the administration publicly dismisses the research work of these Ph.D.s. This tension calls into question how exactly the administration views the contribution of CAS members to the academic strength of Wilfrid Laurier's programs.

Regarding the difficulty of maintaining high academic standards in teaching when academic staff are under-resourced, one member remarks that:

The lack of proper office space and other facilities shows the administration's disregard for our well being. Having a 'space' ensures that one can carry out one's academic work to the best of one's ability. The general perception is that we are transient workers who move on to other jobs. In fact, some of us have been part of the Laurier community for years. Our poor salaries and work conditions are a reflection of the administration's perception of who they think we are, and what our contribution to academic quality really is.

Another member speaks of the unpaid work that so many CAS members do, so as to develop strong and effective courses, through syllabus preparation and external research saying:

What I want to say here is that my work as a 'part-time' faculty member is in fact very demanding. Before my contract even begins I design the courses I am going to teach and produce a course syllabus for each while making sure that I've got the course web page designed. Oh yes, I will also review and decide on textbooks for the course and order them.

I also think about my next research project. Will it be a comparative study of various forms of 'de-linking' currently being practiced in Latin America? I might have to travel to the region to collect data although I doubt the $100.00 expense account the university provides me will get me beyond Toronto, so I will ahve to apply for a research grant.

Still another member echoes this last thought about the amount of unpaid work we undertake in our commitment to the quality of education at Wilfrid Laurier University, pointing out that:

Like any competent professor, full- or part-time, I spend months preparing to teach a course and creating, honing, and refining my course outline. Months before a course starts, I'm doing data base searches and reading the most up-to-date literature. I examine myriad textbooks to determine which one will best suit the learning objectives of the course and the needs of students. I create relevant and informative course packages which can take many months even years to perfect.

And yet I cannot call myself a professor. According to my university, I am an instructor and what I do is absolutely and easily replicable. Apparently, in the eyes of the institution, I am credited with doing little more than standing at the front of the room reading from a textbook.

A member from Music offers a unique perspective for your attention saying:

Most CAS studio instructors in the Faculty of Music are nationally and internationally renowned orchestral and solo performers, composers, and music therapists. We are professionals at the top of our respective fields, with extensive training at the highest level. Our students rely on our years of training and experience to help them achieve the highest level of performance.

In that respect, it is extremely distressing to see our students face the possibility of having to perform their final juries, graduation reciatals, chamber concerts, and major ensemble performances without the benefit of the coaching they deserve as students of Wilfrid Laurier University. For the University to be proceeding with these events sends a clear signal to us as CAS instructors that they do not value the skills we bring to their students, and believe that the students are capable of completing the requirements of these courses on their own. It calls into question the Musical integrity of our students' work - and thsu the academic integrity of their program.

Our final speaker for today reflects a vision of WLU that remains committed to the highest quality educational experience.

We have heard about President Blouw's plea for a vision for Laurier. The vision of CAS members and of the students and full-time faculty that support our strike, embraces not intellectual division, but intellectual unity. Our vision seeks a university that provides a forum in which all scholars, full-time and part-time, are treated equally to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. Our vision includes a full acknowledgment of our value to the Laurier community. Good academic work, excellence in teaching, commitment to the advancement of knowledge, is not the monopoly of a particular group of instructors.

We thanks you for listening to just a few individual voices of the CAS. We hope you keep them in mind as you deliberate today, and as you continue to contribute to the life of this academic community - to which we are all so deeply committed.

Contract Academic Staff, Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association
For more contributions from the CAS to Senate, please
check our website at: http://www.wlufa.ca

This letter was passed around before the Senate meeting and, while not read, was referenced in a comment made by Dr. Judy Bates. The meeting itself was enjoyable, many voices both from students and full-time faculty were raised in concern for the senior administrators by passing the power of the Senate in allowing students to drop their courses (taught both by part- and full=time faculty).

An Open Letter to Wilfrid Laurier University and the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association

2008-04-01T19:09:00.002-04:00

Just in case you missed it, here is the Open Letter to Wilfrid Laurier University and the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association:

We, the undersigned, issue this letter as the official student representatives to the Senate and Board of Governors of Wilfrid Laurier University.

The recent labour dispute between Contract Academic Staff and the University has caused immense disruption, stress, and potentially negative long-term consequences for students in classes taught, assisted, or otherwise facilitated by these staff. These problems have been magnified by a consistent lack of communication, clarity, or transparency from either side with regards to the impact that this dispute will have and what plans there are to mitigate it. This is unacceptable.

Furthermore, the rhetoric issued by both sides has given students the distinct impression that they are being used as a bargaining chip and has consistently misrepresented the realities of the situation. This is disingenuous and insulting and must stop.

As student representatives, we take no side in the labour dispute; the student body is the third side, the side that has been consistently neglected throughout this entire process. Thus we demand a course of action that minimizes any further negative impact on students. We recognize that academic integrity has already been seriously compromised, and ask that any solution err on the side of the students. Pursuant to this, we have a number of demands:

1. Every student enrolled in a course with any element provided by Contract Academic Staff should be automatically granted a passing credit (not affecting their average) with a 25 percent refund commensurate to the 25 percent of classes missed
a. Students should also have the option to drop these courses with a 100 percent refund if they so wish.
b. Any student who has already dropped a course should be able to petition for either of these options.

2. Both the Wilfrid Laurier University Administration and the Faculty Association should immediately issue letters of apology for the stress and anxiety caused to students by the rhetoric and lack of communication during the past two weeks.

3. Whatever the University decides to do, the negotiation of that decision should be done in the open, in consultation with the students elected to represent students at that relevant governing body.

4. Furthermore, in light of the poor communication that has so far been in evidence, we expect communication of the final decision to be made in all of these ways.
a. The WLU Email ListServe
b. Press releases on the WLU Website
c. Advertisements in the Cord Weekly
d. Posters placed around campus
e. WebCT announcements.

5. Students should not be expected to hand in assignments due during the strike period or write exams in any class with elements provided by Contract Academic Staff, for the following reasons:

a. Students require class time and professor feedback in order to complete assignments and prepare for exams. It is unacceptable to expect otherwise.
b. In absence of a clearly defined and publicized course of action for students, it is perfectly reasonable to expect that they may not have completed the work.
c. There are students who do not want to cross picket lines. This is their right and must be explicitly respected.
d. Students have had absolutely no say in the decisions to collect course work as assigned.

6. Any course of action should minimize the number of students who are compelled to pursue petitions. Furthermore:
a. All petition fees in these cases should be waived.
b. Senate or Senate Executive must also approve any extraordinary petitions procedure.

7. No academic decisions should ever be announced to the community or made formal without the explicit input from and discussion by students.

If the above necessary actions are not taken, it will be taken as a clear indication that neither party in this dispute is sufficiently concerned with the interest of students at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Sincerely,

Josh Smyth, Senator
Bryn Ossington, Senator
Rachael Baker, Senator
Mark Ciesluk, Senator
Saad Aslam, Senator-Elect
Janice Lee, Senator-Elect
Paul Laanemets, Senator-Elect
Colin LeFevre, Senator
Culum Canally, Governor
Keren Gottfried, Governor
Matt Park, Governor
Jon Champagne, Governor-elect

Well spoken, I think every student will approve.

Laurier Milton

2008-04-01T11:57:00.003-04:00

Apparently the university is looking to expand to new land donated to the university by the town of Milton. Ok... so the land is free. But a few simple questions:

Who will pay for the buildings? The professors? The administrators? The staff? The office equipment?

Why is the university looking to expand still when its this over expansion hurt it so badly in the past?

Is the university really having financial problems or can Max Blouw really shit gold?

Either way - why can't they just pay their CAS profs?

Three Words

2008-03-30T10:04:00.004-04:00

It's about time!

The Student Union is amusing but not surprising. Back in the day of trying to prevent a strike - holding booths, attending dozens of classes, gathering the most successful petition in history (and then having it spit at by the administration), holding rallies, quiet sit in, and etc. The Student Union pretended that we are not here and that there is no problem. One of us was declined an audience with the Board of Directors before she was not "unbiased," and our warnings that have come true - the strike and the unfortunate results for all of our educations went ignored.

I guess things don't often disappear when you ignore them, huh?

Of course then, for over a week of canceled classes and picket lines the best the Student Union could say is "Play nice kids." Only afterward, when the strike prolonged from being uncomfortable to being scary, that they decided to actually do something... Only a month too late.

Of course, we support them all the way on this venture (though find it questionable as to their "neutral-activism"), better late than never I guess. Oh, but how typical is this of [student] politicians.

Back to Brantford on Monday

2008-03-30T09:59:00.002-04:00

WLUFA is hosting a rally at Brantford on Monday at 1:30. Facebook-wise, there seems to be a big group attending, and a gang from Waterloo is going to be there. We've got three cars now and if you need a ride there, message me (Anatoly Venovcev) on Facebook or e-mail me at tolyv@hotmail.com. It would be good to have a good presence at their rally to show support, once again, for the Brantford people and organize a sister solidarity group there.

Excellent new video

2008-03-28T23:45:00.000-04:00

Administration Invites WLUFA Back to the Table!

2008-03-28T19:06:00.002-04:00

The administration's chief negotiator (Jim Butler) contacted WLUFA's chief negotiator (Doug Lorimer) and the talks are to resume on April 3rd!

It's a step in the right direction, but let me remind everyone that this isn't the end - only the beginning of the end. Picketing will continue until an agreement is reached and continued support is needed. If the line breaks, the administration will call off the negotiations. So hang strong, show support, stand in picket lines, inform, e-mail the administration - we must press on.

Remarkable Initiative

2008-03-28T18:55:00.003-04:00

Another CAS support group formed on Facebook by individual initiative of two wonderful ladies calling for an end to the strike with a fair deal for the CAS. They have created a remarkable website that provides especially useful tools where you can simply input your name, press a button, and send an e-mail to the administration. You can find one for parents, students, alumni, and citizens to fill out and click away.

Send the administration your concern!

The Brantford Connection

2008-03-27T20:48:00.003-04:00

Today, a small gang from the Student Solidarity Group went down to Brantford to inform the Brantford students who have been left extremely in the dark on the occasion. The Cord picked up a little bit on this action with a mention in todays update on the strike. I have got to say the experience was a very positive one and all three of us really enjoyed both the Brantford CAS and the Brantford students. All of us, on both campuses, students and CAS alike, share many of the same concerns with each other and it was great to hear some ideas and thoughts exchanged between the groups. Catherine, the creator of the "Students Trying to Piece Together the CAS Strike," was especially great in terms of her openness about the topic. I have nothing but high esteem for them down there.

We picked up some copies of their "The Sputnik" and brought it up to the strike office in Waterloo. An anonymous Brantford instructor wrote in a remarkable letter that summarizes some of our passion at the Student Solidarity Group. I'll quote it in full below:

"There has been some confusion around what students can do to interfere in the current labour negotiation process, the Sputnik should produce a special issue informing and educating students of what they can do.

You can do A LOT, but first you have to understand your stakeholder position, articulate your own interests clearly, and ruthlessly exercise the leverage your position gives you. Because it gives you A LOT of leverage.

If you paid your tuition, you contracted the university to provide you with a complete suite of educational resources: these include library privileges, computer access, AND INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES. The university then is expected to provide those services. If the computers went down, you would hold the university accountable. If the library went down, you would hold the university accountable. You have no contractual relationship with your instructors. Instructors only have a contractual obligation to you through the contract they signed with the university, and the university has allowed that instructional contract to expire. It does not exist anymore and should a strike or lockout occur, even the ghost of that old contract is done away with.

If they cannot provide you with the services you have paid for, your response should be: "Don't tell me your problems, and don't give me excuses: just as you demand that I fulfill my contractual obligations by paying you and not committing academic fraud (or else you will kick me out) I demand that you fulfill your obligations to me and get your damn house in order, and if you can't I demand my money back on a pro rata basis and we collectively will potentially hold you liable against damages: i.e. lost income caused by having a start summer work late."

The fact that they are contractually obligated to provide you with instruction, but they have been so incompetent as to be unable to do so is not your fault, and you should not have to suffer for their incompetence.

YOU HAVE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR YOUR INSTRUCTION. THE UNIVERSITY IS NOT PROVIDING YOU WITH WHAT YOU CONTRACTED IT TO PROVIDE. YOU SHOULD DEMAND, LOUD, LONG AND INSISTENTLY IN EVERY LOCAL MEDIA FORUM AVAILABLE THAT IT MET IT LEGAL OBLIGATIONS TO YOU, AND DEAL WITH ITS INTERNAL BUSINESS WITHOUT ALLOWING ITS INCOMPETENCE TO DO SO TO HARM YOU, ITS CLIENTS.

Before you publish anything like this, you will of course do due diligence and check these facts with the union and the administration, but I think if you can cut through the university's bullshit (it has a huge interest in you NOT educating your fellow students, paradoxically enough) I trust that you will find that they are absolutely correct.

Signed,

An instructor, who cannot reveal his or her name for fear of retribution."

Reaction from the picket

2008-03-27T08:28:00.009-04:00

I was sent a reaction from the picket line. One of our CAS member took time to send in a email describing CAS sentiment about what is happening:

"I spent seven hours on the picket line yesterday, and I feel that I must share with you a few things about this whole strike situation:

1) None of us out there likes the idea of freezing on the roadside.

2) Spending time as street walkers isn't what we dreamt of the night after we defended our PhDs. We all feel displaced and would much rather be in our classrooms.

3) We teach because we want to share our passion with you, not because it is lucrative. If we wanted to be rich, we would have chosen a different career.

4) Also, the nature of our work is such that it never ends. Even though we are paid part-time, we spend most of our waking time thinking about our classes. No class is like another; no lecture is identical to the one last term. One of my colleagues told me it takes him at least six hours to prepare one fifty-minute lecture, and this is normal.

5) Quite apart from the lecture preparation, we also spend a lot of time just getting to Laurier every time we have a class. As part-timers, we don't know if we would be re-hired next term, so it doesn't make much sense to uproot our families and move to Waterloo. As well, many of us have other jobs at other locations in Ontario. I commute from Toronto three times a week; I take Greyhound because it is cheaper than driving and it also allows me to mark papers or prepare classes while getting there; on my teaching days, I spend six hours just traveling to and from Laurier. I meet a number of my colleagues on the coach: to be there, we all get up at 5 am after only 3 to 4 hours of sleep. I assure you: this does take some commitment. And no, Laurier doesn't pay for our commute or even for the GRT.

6) You ever wondered how your part-time profs earn money during the summer? Better not ask: PhDs serving tables at Wendy's is by far not the worst scenario.

7) Lastly, don't think that strike only impacts students. We lose our April salary, all of it. We also jeopardize our chances of being re-hired next year.

As far as I am concerned, strike pay is not even going to cover my daycare expenses, which is why I can only afford to picket once a week, doing two shifts back to back. Which brings me back to point one. I do not like being cold. I do not like being called a full-time whiner. I do not strike because I don't feel like teaching. I did count on the April money, especially so because I will have no income over the summer. But I do support the strike because, regardless of whether I am re-hired next term or not, my colleagues are wonderfully warm, knowledgeable, hard-working people who deserve to be treated as professionals rather than casual workers and who depend on their wages to feed their children, so job security is probably as important for them as fair wages. "Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise."

Why do I write all this? Because I had a chance yesterday to see that many, if not most of you, understand and support us, even if you do not know all the details. Yes, there were some students who turned away from us, or even muttered insults, but they were only few. I cannot start telling you how heart-warming it was when you honked, or shoved hot coffee into our stiff hands, or dropped off steaming pizzas, tomato soup, or home-made cookies. Or simply walked the line with us for half an hour. This means a lot to us, and for all this I want to tell you my sincere, heartfelt THANK YOU!"

Thank You From the SSG

2008-03-26T20:32:00.003-04:00

I would like to thank the residents of the Bricker apartments for putting "We *heart* CAS" on their window so that it is visible from one of the picketing locations. It's great to see other students taking personal initiative in creative ways to aid in this crisis.

I'd like to urge everyone - from any year, to put similar messages of support in their residences, apartments, homes or other places of residence. If you wish, WLUFA fliers for such purposes are available at the Strike Office at 255 King St. Unit 6.

Fiscal Mismanagement

2008-03-26T08:32:00.003-04:00

WLUFA news release:

Laurier’s “Large Deficit” Show Hides Declining Cost of Salaries

Dr. Max Blouw, the new President of Wilfrid Laurier University, in a number of public statements, has expressed concern about Laurier’s financial deficit. He has indicated that he intends to address this deficit through economies in salaries paid to Laurier employees.

The present impasse with the Contract Academic Staff which has led to a strike is just the first round in President Blouw’s plan.

At the request of Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association, Dr. Bill Salatka, Professor of Accounting in Laurier’s School of Business and Economics, has undertaken an analysis of the University’s published financial statements for 2002 - 2006.

“There are at least two important aspects to what the published financial statements show,” Dr. Salatka says.

“By transferring money out of the General (or Operating) Fund into capital and other funds, the University Administration has “created” a large deficit for 2006 in the General Fund. The University was not overall in a net deficit position in 2006 (the last year for which there are published financial statements available).”

Dr. Salatka says, “This deficit of $62 million in 2006 is the result of cumulative transfers out of the General Fund amounting to $39 million since 2002.”

This is a deficit created by the Administration.

A second significant aspect that undercuts the Administration’s claims relates to the total salary bill for all employees (administrators and managers, full-time faculty, contract academic staff, librarians, non-academic staff, et al.), which is a major cost for universities. At Laurier, however, the total salary cost has been declining in relation to total revenues.

“Total salaries, as a percentage of student fees, have dropped approximately 9% since 2002,” Dr. Salatka says.

Also if you compare total salaries as the cost of total revenues, total salaries have actually declined from nearly 53% in 2002 to just under 47% in 2006.

The Administration claims that the deficit means it cannot move to resolve the dispute over CAS seniority and compensation. Yet the analysis of the financial statements indicates that salaries have been a declining portion of University revenues. The deficit arises from past administrative decisions leading to transfers out of the Operating Fund.

This spring the collective agreements for two other major employee groups are coming up for renewal – the WLUFA full-time faculty and librarian collective agreement and the WLUSA agreement for non-academic staff.

“Creative accounting” is being used as a smokescreen to hide the Administration’s real agenda,” says Dr. Judy Bates, President of WLUFA.

Woops... You can't win when you don't have math skills on your side.

Support Rally, Friday March 28th.

2008-03-25T23:22:00.002-04:00

There will be another rally on Friday, March 28th, starting at noon from St. Michael's parking lot. Once again, there will be CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers) representatives from across Canada.

Come in great numbers to support our professors!

What We Can Do

2008-03-24T12:02:00.003-04:00

If you have been following up in the blog and the news media - you know that what's at stake here isn't a few hundred dollars, a question on who will teach what course, and a few credits. This fight is about the respect and dignity of 365 people on their right to be academics, it is about Laurier being competitive in terms of education and research, and it is about what it really is really to be a university professor. In essence, it is a fight against the larger trend that's been happening the west; a fight to keep university a university and not a glorified and costlier version of High School. Everyone can have a part to play this, students especially when it is we who are the largest and most influential body at this university. Here's what students can do to help the CAS profs:

Say a kind word or honk to the picketers.
Wear a pin, if you don't have one, ask the picketers.*
Grab an information pamphlet from the picketers and read it, get informed, then inform somebody else.*
E-mail or call the administration saying that you're not happy with this strike (all the e-mails are to the right of this text).
Send them an automated e-mail.
Hang a WLUFA poster on your door and/or window.*
Bring coffee, donuts, Tim bits, or water to the picketers.
Write letters to the editor of The Cord and The Record.
When you're studying, sit down in the hallway leading to the administration offices while clearly displaying a pin or a poster in solidarity and just study.
Attend rallies and demonstrations.
Grab a picket sign and join the picketers.*
Pass the link to this page to someone else to read.

* Pins, posters, pamphlets, and picket signs can all be found at the CAS Strike Office at 255 King St. N. Unit 6, the "Gemini Jetpacks" building right by "Get Stuffed."

With continued student support and pressure put on the administration we will show the part-timers have our backing and the administration is all alone in this fight. Then, they would have no other alternative than to agree to what WLUFA has asked and end this strike.

Fiscal responsibility

2008-03-23T12:11:00.002-04:00

The difference between the two sides would roughly be the same as one year of the president's salary.

The latest WLUFA update indicates that the administration won't move despite there is so little. They are still not willing to compromise. They are jeopardising academic careers of both the students and the CAS.

Jim Butler and Sue Horton have awarded themselves $40,000 wage increases in the past, and are quibbling over a few hundred for equally qualified people. If there really is a debt incurred by the university, shouldn't it be payed by the people who made it? The CAS didn't, but the administration is spending more and more on capital and themselves, and forces the CAS and students to pay by lack of services.

Hearing rumours of cost overruns from buildings in Brantford of 7 million dollars, where are they getting the money? Shouldn't those who do this pay for it? Should I make my friends pay for my VISA bill?

Some Really Tough Profs

2008-03-22T17:02:00.003-04:00

After two days where I clocked in about six hours total standing on the picket line, I've got to say - Laurier has some really tough profs! I stood on the picket line four times in anywhere between one and two hour shifts and then had to scurry back for organizational and planning duties. But our profs - they had to be out there in the cold for four hour shifts and some of them are old enough to be my grandparents. That takes endurance and that they have a lot of.

They're doing it for the right thing too. By now you've seen what the administration has proposed and what they asked to be competitive, and you should know that the Faculty Association told the administration where they can reach a compromise. Of course the administration refused to budge even when the proposed pay increase would cost them half of the combined wages of the people sitting on their negotiating team (less than a million dollars in a university whose revenue is 159 million) and on the seniority which is free and sensible. In fact, since this whole thing began the administration moved on their original offer by a grand total of 30 dollars... talk about inability comprise.

Now, through sheer pigheadedness the administration leaves students and profs hurting while they barricade themselves deeper inside their offices in the Peters Building. We managed to storm that bastion on Thursday, though we got nothing but Sue Horton's "fair and responsible" talk that, if you check the administration's website, seems to become more and more their mantra their chanting up there. Apparently, fair and responsible does not mean - realistic or competitive. After six months of this backtalk and mediation that took place from Monday morning to Wednesday at 6:00 am, it's no wonder that our part-time faculty is out on strike - they had no choice, as one of my profs eloquently explains in the video.

You've already heard how fair, productive, and respectful labour negotiations are human rights, however, there's a simpler issue at play here - the dignity of Laurier as a competitive institution and its ability to attract a competitive workforce. With the petty sum offered on the table Laurier is still lacking in many regards (among the biggest is job security and salary grid) to other universities, this will not attract new professors to come here. In fact, they will leave, which will devalue the quality of education provided here and worth of the degrees students are working hard to achieve. Already, since last year, I know of four profs that worked here and left since then. One of them works at UW, others in Toronto and other places. What kind of value does the "Canadian Experience" provides when it can't even keep profs from going to other institutions after they accumulated the experience needed to get a job there? In this scheme of things Laurier is missing out and not being competitive.

There really is no fairness in the current system they are trying to change - not in the salaries compared to other universities, not in salaries compared to full-time faculty (the most junior ones make almost twice what they do), not in salaries compared to the time they taught at Laurier, not in benefits they receive from the ones they deserve. The system is unfair, period. It treats academics - who do research, community service, and teaching, like chattel. It gives them a false title of "part-time," as a misnomer for doing much, much more. It then refuses to budge over peanuts.

As a long term goal, both for the quality of education Laurier provides and the future of the academia, the professors are fully justified in their actions - they have every right to withdraw their services from the people who do not wish to fully compensate for them. Now, they brave the winter weather to stand in picket lines for what they support and I am proud to be with them, walking the picket line, showing that the student body cares, and I urge everyone - even for ten minutes, to join the picket lines and help fight the human injustice inflicted upon the CAS.

Academic Credits

2008-03-21T14:29:00.002-04:00

For all those who haven't checked, the university posted information to might what happen with our terms.

Now why didn't they have this up two weeks ago?

No, it's not negotiating in bad faith about speculating about the repercussions of a strike.

The CAS Final Request

2008-03-20T19:03:00.003-04:00

The rally was great! Lots of amazing student support.

I also talked to a few of the CAS negotiators in the picket lines today and asked them, to the concern of many students, what was the CAS final request and if I could share it. I got this information from Jonathan Haxell (Anthropology and Archaeology department) and with permission of Judy Bates, the president of WLUFA, I can share it with all of you.

Basically, the CAS, on Tuesday, held a meeting and decided that they will ask for three things:

1) An increase in pay somewhere between 6,400 and 6,600. Which would put them above the minimal CAS wage of Western, Guelph, and Toronto (not UW).
2) Graduated income system - so people starting out in teaching a course would get less than people who have been doing it for many years.
3) Better seniority system that's not just applicable to a particular course, but spills over a little bit into the department in which they teach.

They agreed that a win on one of those points and a partial win on another would have them agree with the administrations offer. The administrations offer gave them none of that. No graduated income, no better seniority system, and the wage increase to only 6,211 (the 3% improvements are there as a regular thing of collective agreements to counter inflation/cost of living). How very, very disappointing.

Also, in our conversation, Jonathan Haxell said that the administration did move at the bargaining table on their final offer. Do you know much they moved? 30 dollars. Yep. From 180 to 210 in six months. Also, very, very disappointing.

Oh well, I'll see you all on the picket line.

Rally Tomorrow

2008-03-19T20:58:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow (March 20th) if you have time, come by the Strike Office (255 King St. N. Unit 6, right by Get Stuffed), at 11. We, the students, will walk through the campus and gather as much student support as possible. Then, we'll go to St. Michael's parking lot by 12:00 and till 2:00 there will be a rally from all sorts of supporters, both part-time faculty, full-time faculty, staff, students, and supporters from other universities.

Come out and support, they need our help!

A "Fair and Responsible" Offer

2008-03-19T20:34:00.005-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen - Max Blouw's own words:

I believe Laurier’s final offer is fair and responsible and takes into consideration both the short- and the long-term well-being of our students, staff, full-time faculty and contract academic staff. The university’s final offer recognizes the need for Laurier to be competitive with respect to the compensation of its CAS members. It also focuses on ensuring academic quality and the ongoing viability of Laurier by acknowledging the budgetary and other challenges we face.

Key words are bolded.

So what was their final grand offer. That was obviously very competitive and recognized the value part-timers gave to Laurier. Well it was... 3.5%... oh and no increase in job security. Do the math now - 6,001 x 1.035 = 6,211. Compare that with other universities. That's after six months of negotiating, twice as long as it should, and nearly non-stop negotiations on Monday and Tuesday until 6:00 am in the morning today.

That's not an offer - that's a slap in the face! It is the opposite of keeping Laurier competitive or providing academic quality or, for that matter, caring about the concerns of the students! It says just how poorly they think of our part-time faculty and they have every right to be on strike.

As for the "challenges we face" - I heard of those, and those are very valid challenges. However, that's no excuse on dumping the brunt of those challenges on already the most overworked and underpaid individuals on our campus. It's neither fair nor responsible.

Ladies and Gentlemen - my own words:

Hypocrites.

Key words are bolded.

Strike!

2008-03-19T06:45:00.003-04:00

As of 6:00 am this morning our part-time faculty hit the picket lines.

So Max Blouw, within his first seven months in office got a labour action his hands... sad. Information on the legal obligations of students is posted on the Laurier website.

You're under no barriers to continue your classes with your full-time profs. The representatives of the CAS would also like to say that any student that wishes to join them on the picket line, can. I'll be there. But whether or not you choose to, is up to you. Their new office is at 255 King St. N. unit 6.

Tuesday

2008-03-18T07:58:00.001-04:00

Whatever this day will bring - we'll keep on fighting till the end.

Quiet sit-in in the hallway leading to the administration offices today between 10:00 and 4:00 - feel free to come and leave at any time.