The Strike is Over!

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!

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!

Letter to the Senators from the CAS

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

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.

Fiscal Mismanagement

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.

Academic Credits

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.

A "Fair and Responsible" Offer

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.

A Bit More Math

This is my (Anatoly's) own tinkering based upon the previous post.

Our part-time faculty gets 7.8 million from the administration for earning them 52 million.

They teach a third of the courses, so in total the university is getting 156 million (this is rounding down from tuition fees and government subsidies and excluding donations both big and small).

So 7.8/156 is five percent (5%) of the university's total income.

They're asking for a plan that will shift 1.5 million more to them - so the university will spend 9.3 million on the part-time faculty.

9.3/156 is 5.96 percent, let's round up to six. They're arguing over a percent?


And here's something more - higher pay does not correlate with higher tuition (per 0.5 arts credit):

Laurier (pays 6,001 per half credit course): 512.25
Western (pays 6,226 per half credit course): 452.10
Guelph (pays at least 6,356 per half credit course): 457.00
Waterloo (pays 6,708 per half credit course): 520.00
Toronto (pays at least 6,275 per half credit course): 522.60 -555.80
York (pays at least 7,195 per half credit course): 527.80
Queen's (pays at least 6,741 per half credit course): 457.90

The Strike Vote has Passed

From the WLUFA website:

The CAS Strike Authorization ballot was completed today.

89.4% voted in favour of authorizing the WLUFA executive to call a strike if necessary.

The teams will be in mediation on Monday March 17th and Tuesday March 18th. The Bargaining Unit will be in a legal position to strike as of 12:01 am on Wednesday March 19th.

Now, before anyone panics let it be emphasized - this does not mean there will be a strike. It only gives the executive power to call for one if mediation on the 17th and 18th fails. If anything, this vote says that a strike may be averted because it puts more pressure on the administration to settle. Also, look at that number and what it is saying - there are 365 CAS/part-time profs now at Laurier and 89.4% are fed up with the way they are being treated by the administration, so much so, that they are willing to do the most drastic labour action they can to fight for their livelihood. If all 365 of them voted, 326 of them are fed up with their working conditions to that point - that's a lot of our profs very, very upset.

It's paramount now that we stand behind them in this time of need and much still depends on us, the students, who have a big stake in these negotiations - we must pressure the administration to settle, the profs need our support. So, even if it's for a few minutes, show up to our demonstration on Monday 17th at noon - it will be leaving from the Dining Hall, concourse, and the Science Building atrium to gather in the quad outside of the Fred Nichols Campus Centre by about 12:15-12:30. We need more people there to show that Laurier stands united behind the part-timers!

Sue Horton on our Courses

So after being unresponsible, being irresponsible, being downright dishonest. We get one tiny bit on inkling from the administration of what might happen if our part-time faculty goes on strike. From this week's article in The Cord:

“I’ve been through strikes at other universities and there is inconvenience,” explains Horton.

“It’s annoying, it causes delays in things but ultimately the students are our paramount concern here. We do not want to have students losing their academic credits ... so we will work absolutely with your interests in mind.”

Her dismissive attitude toward human beings fighting for their livelihoods aside... you know, that minor little bit about the "inconvenience" of profs not having enough to afford the basic necessities for life and her typical promise of "best interests" when the administration has done nothing but stagnate these negotiations, refuse to compromise, oh and lie to us on several occasions right through their teeth (like about the implications of the conciliator coming in). Look at the bold emphasized phrase - students losing their academic credits.

This is the first bit of information she gave us on what will happen and there it is - we might lose our credits if they go on strike. We didn't say it - she did! Behold the wonders of this relic of the Rosehart regime, it's a wonderful thing that Dr. Max Blouw sacked her to the symbolic position of the grand old lame duck of the administration. I can see why our faculty hates her.

In better news, one of the awesomest supporters created a youtube video, it's worth a watch and a share with everyone:

Strike vote, Tuesday. Strike, March 19th?

Dear all,

I am writing a general letter again, and it is with great concern for all of us. When I say this, I mean not only us students, but also the CAS who will be poised to strike in the next week.

As the subject of this note indicates, due to the lack of progress in negotiation, the CAS will holding a strike vote next week, Tuesday. It is at this time that we must all remember that strike is not a pleasant choice. When workers go on strike, the first 3-4 days are unpaid before strike pay starts. Strike pay is only a percentage of a regular wage, and their regular wage is already a raw deal. The CAS members are our teachers, but we have to remember that they are people, home-owners, tenants, parents, spouses, people with real life worries. We stand to suffer in our education, but they are fighting for their livelihood.

Even with this vote, the administration is also in position to lockout the CAS. This is a nerve-wracking time for us, but it is a scary time for the CAS.

In light of this, WLUFA responded to our questions and concerns after every twist and turn. It was with great disappointment that they informed us about this vote. This is not the result that they have been hoping for, but it takes two parties to negotiate. There are clearly major issues outstanding.

WLUFA keeps its members informed by email and newsletters released to its website, which we have been checking to pass on this information to you. WLUFA has set up information tables, handed out brochures, created poster campaigns (some of us have approached our professors who wear the pin-badges), and has kept in touch with the Cord since the end of October. As we all sit in tense lectures, wondering whether or not we will even be attending in a couple of weeks, whether or not we will need to cross picket lines to get to classes, the administration has not released an ounce of information about how we will be compensated for our term. As we worry about the status of professional and grad school applications, as we worry about time spent and money lost, they have yet to give any information that sheds light on our situation.

It is at this point that I challenge the administration to inform us. I would like to see the administration shed some light on all of this too. I challenge them to create a website with the latest news, like wlufa.ca. I challenge them to talk to us about how they are going to change the situation for the CAS and improve their working conditions. I challenge them to come and talk to us in the Concourse and answer our questions, like WLUFA has, at our request. So far, the administration has sent out a canned email response, riddled with grammatical errors, telling us nothing relevant.

After all, the CAS's working conditions, are our learning conditions.

In solidarity,

Terre