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Spooky How Time Flies...
Nothing goes faster than the second half of a semester. There tends to be a lot of things happening this time of year, both inside and outside of the classroom. Students are settling in (or moving on), new accommodations/needs are being identified, and they are beginning to feel the stress of the post-secondary workload. Faculty are starting to look ahead to winter semester and should be negotiating SWFs and contracts over the coming weeks. Not to mention open houses, applicant inquiries, and, and, and...

This week's Friday Digest continues to address winter SWF/contract considerations with a focus on 'extras'. It also includes a brief survey regarding student accommodations, information on classroom observations, a message from our Bargaining Team, and more. 

So grab what's left of the Halloween candy you bought in advance (you know you'll need to get more before Monday anyway), a glass of wine that pairs well (see chart below), and enjoy this edition of your Friday Digest.
 
Classroom Observations
Some managers have announced plans to begin classroom observations as part of an ongoing process of supporting faculty in their development. These are not intended to be punitive, and are happening across multiple schools/programs. 

Understandably, this may make some faculty feel uncomfortable.  A single class is just a snapshot of a much larger picture of what we do. This can be particularly concerning if one feels their manager doesn't understand the broader program content or feels they may be negatively targeted. The LEC will request clarification and voice member concerns at the next UCC meeting.

In the meantime, keep in mind these are observations not evaluations. If, however, you feel that you are being targeted or penalized prior to or following your observation, please reach out to your Union Steward. 

Do you have specific concerns? Let the LEC know.
A Message from our Bargaining Team

Dear Members,
On September 30 and October 3, the bargaining team had the opportunity to meet with over 1,600 college faculty provincewide, during Zoom Town Halls.  During those meetings, we discussed the Kaplan award that will form our new Collective Agreement.  We also had the chance to answer many questions from participants, although there were more questions than we had time to answer during the meetings.

Attached to this e-mail, we are sharing an FAQ about our new Collective Agreement, based on your questions at the Town Halls.  It was an amazing opportunity to join our engaged membership yet again, as we acknowledge our collective accomplishments in this round of bargaining, which we achieved by insisting on changes that we, our colleagues, and our students need -- all in the face of an employer who sought to extract concessions and weaken the rights and workload protections in our Collective Agreement.

We invite you to read this and also the Bargaining Bulletin at https://opseu.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-CAAT-A-bulletin_eng-a.pdf .  If you have any further questions, we invite you to reach out to your Local President.

Yours in solidarity,
The CAAT-A Bargaining Team
You may be thinking, "I still don't understand how the Kaplan Award relates to our old collective agreement". The collective bargaining process does not typically seek to re-write the entirety of a collective agreement. Rather, the items brought forward, and that are subsequently negotiated, are amendments or additions to an existing collective agreement. The Kaplan Award represents and outlines the changes made to our previous collective agreement. All areas not addressed by the Kaplan Award remain unchanged and in effect.
Tipping the Scales:
Student Accommodations Vs Reasonable Workload
It perhaps goes without saying that the people who advocate most for students are their faculty. In recent years there has seemingly been a steady increase in the number of student accommodations each semester. Faculty want students to succeed and one or two accommodation requests are manageable on a typical SWF. Universal design can assist with managing the additional workload that common student accommodations create to some extent, but what about programs that seem to have disproportionately high numbers of accommodations? What does the workload for this look like for faculty teaching across multiple years in these programs? 

One such faculty kept track, and the numbers might shock you.

The faculty reported that 38% of all students across their 3 year program presented some form of accommodation, having received a total of 40 accommodation letters in one semester. The numbers broke down as follows:
 
1st year students 42% 
2nd year students 37%
3rd year students 32% 
 
Apart from the obvious time required to review and familiarize oneself to 40 accommodations, the faculty provided a review of each accommodation type. These will be familiar to many of you.

No two tests on same day: This means providing 4 or 5 alternate versions of the same test  to allow for students to write on alternate days. (1 hour x 9 tests = 9 hours)

Adjusting times and dates in Blackboard:  Providing alternate tests and testing times means a lot of time spent on the backend of Blackboard. (10 minutes x 15 students x 9 tests = 22.5 hours) 

Being available for alternate test dates/times: Signing into Blackboard on these alternate test days (if possible) to be online in case students have questions during the test when they are writing on different days than assigned test is scheduled. (1.5 hours x 15 students x 9 tests = 13.5 hours)
 
Marking multiple tests: Tests on different days means marking cannot be completed at once or as easily (since the tests are different).  As an example, the faculty reported having 15 students who cannot write on the assigned test days as they conflict with a test in another class (and they have accommodation for a limited number of tests in a day).

Recording lectures: For this faculty, recording requires signing into Teams and granting access to those who have recording accommodations after every class (15 minutes x 26 students = 6.5 hours)
 
Retroactive accommodation that includes recording access: Requires the faculty go back to each of the previous recordings and provide access from lectures students missed before provided a recording accommodation (15 minutes x 10 students = 2.5 hours)
 
Test Centre: Assigning and sending documents to invigilation for students who have need for this accommodation for a scribe, test-centre, alternate test format etc. (15 minutes x 6 students x 9 tests = 13.5 hours)
 
Extensions: Re-assigning assignment deadlines for those who have extension accommodations (15 minutes x 15 students x 6 assignments = 22.5 hours)
 
Marking: As with tests, staggered deadlines for assignments creates additional marking in time periods the additional marking may not be allotted for. 

Conferring with other college professionals: This is required to ensure students know what their accommodations are and how to use them. (5 minutes x 26 students = 2 hours)
 
Connecting with Students: Reaching out to students to ensure that their accommodations are being met, for example, making alternative test arrangements. (10 minutes x 15 students x 9 tests = 16 hours) 

Beacon Alerts: This faculty noted using Beacon Alerts at minimum twice a month. This has involved calculating the grade for each student at risk in each class, calculating the remaining marks, calculating at risk or failure or non-failure at certain point, collection and compiling this data into the Beacon Alert system to provide SSC with the information needed to contact students.  (30 minutes x 20 students = 10 hours x 2 Beacon Alerts per month (at least) = 20 hours per month x 4 moths per semester = 80 hours)
 
Considering the above, this faculty calculated their total time spent on accommodations per semester to be 166 hours. Dividing that total by a 15 week semester, the faculty easily spends an additional 11 hours on average per week on tasks related to accommodations. 

These 11 hours are not accounted for on the faculty's SWF. 

Accommodations are necessary and as faculty we are legally obligated to meet the expectations of these accommodations as outlined for each student. The issue lies with the college acknowledging the change to workload accommodations create and reflecting the additional time on contracts and SWFs. 

If your manager refuses to negotiate time for accommodations, or you feel your contract or SWF does not accurately reflect the assigned workload, DO NOT SIGN YOUR SWF. Refer your matter to the Workload Monitoring Group (WMG). The recent Kaplan Award clearly outlines that the WMG "shall in its consideration have regard to such variables affecting [teaching] assignments as students requiring accommodation" (Article 11.02 C2, x ). 

As always, any questions or concerns can be directed to your Union Stewards.

The LEC is seeking YOUR input regarding student accommodations. Please take a moment to complete the very brief survey found HERE. 

The information gathered will be used to guide the support and advocacy we provide our members.
Stop Working for Free!
Winter SWFs and Contracts (Part 3)
If we learned anything from work-to-rule, it's how much we are expected to do outside of our job descriptions. You aren't here to volunteer. All expected tasks and responsibilities should be accurately reflected on our SWFs and contracts. 

Committees and Extras
Many people share their skills and knowledge on committees and special projects for the college. Engagement in this way can help us feel connected and as though we are positively contributing to our work culture. These activities are tremendously valuable and as such, should be accounted for on your SWF/contract.

There are situations in which you may wish to volunteer your time, but consistently completing a value-added task without requesting it be reflected on your SWF/contract impacts everyone. 

Open Houses and Weekend Events
We all want to support our programs. Afterall, who better to speak about a program than the people who teach in it. Be aware that participation in college open houses and weekend events are completely optional. If your manager assigns you this task, you are eligible to be compensated time-and-a-half in lieu of the hours you work on a weekend as outlined in Article 11.01 L 3 of the Collective Agreement. " A teacher shall not normally be assigned work on calendar Saturdays or Sundays. Where a teacher is assigned to work on a Saturday or Sunday, the teacher shall be credited with one and one-half times the credit hours normally given for hours so assigned and attributed". For example, if you work a 3 hour event on a Saturday, you should receive 4.5 hours time in lieu (contract faculty may be paid in addition to their regular contract dependent on the manager).

If you have been contacted by your manager to participate in a weekend event (e.g. open house) it is reasonable to respond with one of the following:

Full-Time Faculty/Counsellors:
"Thank you for considering me for this opportunity. I will not be available to participate at this time, however, I am happy to answer potential student questions during regular working hours."

"Thank you for your email regarding this special event. I am happy to participate. Please confirm that this is an assigned task and I will be granted lieu time at a rate of 1.5 hours as outlined in the Collective Agreement."


Partial Load:
"Thank you for considering me for this opportunity. I will not be available to participate at this time, however, I am happy to answer potential student questions during my contracted hours."

"Thank you for your email regarding this special event. I am happy to participate. Please confirm that this is an assigned task and I am approved to submit a time sheet for this event at a rate of 1.5 hours as outlined in the Collective Agreement."
Demystifying the Partial Load Workload Calculation
During collective bargaining, for the first time in recent memory, the College Employer Council (CEC) released a breakdown of how partial-load hours are calculated. This provided a clear model for work expectations as we progressed through our successful work-to-rule (WTR) campaign.
 
Though we are no longer in a WTR scenario, it is important for all members to remember that tasks above and beyond our job descriptions are voluntary. It is therefore particularly important for contract faculty to understand employer expectations and requirements so that they can make informed decisions about what additional tasks and responsibilities they accept and negotiate for appropriate compensation where applicable.
 

The college expects that each teaching contract hour (TCH) is actually equivalent to 2.17 hours of work- accounting for prep and marking. As an example, a partial-load faculty contracted for a total of 9 TCH (3 courses) is actually expected to work 19.53 hours. 

*All totals include in-class teaching hours
 

Editor's Weekend Registration Now Open
OPSEU/SEFPO’s InSolidarity Committee will be holding their biennial Editor’s Weekend Conference on Friday November 18 – Sunday November 20, 2022 at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre.

Editors’ Weekend is a conference and educational for OPSEU/SEFPO members interested in improving their union communications skillset. Join us from noon Friday to noon Sunday for workshops and speakers, as well as an awards dinner to recognize locals’ communications excellence.

Do you contribute to a local newsletter, a website, a strike bulletin or other OPSEU/SEFPO communication? Then, this conference is designed for you – you can apply now here!

Education Workers Rally Outside PC Convention

Nearly 200 education workers gathered on Saturday outside of the PC convention in Toronto. The rally comes days after contract talks broke down between the Ford government and CUPE, the union representing workers such as educational assistants, custodians and librarians. The parties are set to resume bargaining on November 1st, with a legal strike date of November 3rd looming.

Learn More

Impact of Unions Felt Beyond the Workplace

A report out of the United States released by the Economic Policy Institute examined the impact of unionization beyond the workplace. The report claims, as indicated by its title, that "unions are not only good for workers, they’re good for communities and for democracy". The authors categorized states by union density and then compared a variety of factors related to economic, personal, and democratic well-being.  

"We know that unions promote economic equality and build worker power, helping workers to win increases in pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions. But that’s not all unions do. Unions also have powerful effects on workers’ lives outside of work."

The report was released December 15, 2021, and was co-authored by Asha Banerjee, Margaret Poydock, Celine McNicholas, Ihna Mangundayao, and Ali Sait

Read the full report:Unions are not only good for workers- EPI.pdf
This message has been shared on slcfaculty.ca, the SLC Faculty Local 417 Facebook public page and private group, Twitter, and via the SLC Faculty Local 417 email list.
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