OCAD Faculty Association - News & Events

Communication from Charles Reeve, President, OCAD Faculty Association

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

1) OCADFA � You're Already a Member! If you're getting this email, you're an OCADFA member. This means that we�re here to protect your rights and improve your working conditions. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions about your workplace, please contact our office by emailing Connie Reid (conniereid@ocadu.ca) or me (creeve@faculty.ocadu.ca).

2) Spring meeting, Thursday, April 25th 1-3 p.m., in room 1525 at 113 McCaul Street. We are surveying interest in free childcare during the April 25 OCADFA General Meeting and Faculty Appreciation event. If you're interested in childcare for either or both of these events, please contact Claudette Lauzon (clauzon@faculty.ocadu.ca).

3) Negotiations � You will have seen Bill Leeming's email, and he'll report further next week but, to recap, last week we served the administration with a request for "Negotiations Mediation and Arbitration" per the MOA�'s Article 12.1.1.

4) Performance Reviews � Many of you are getting notices to make appointments to sign off on your performance reviews. This is fine if you are satisfied with your review. **However** if you do not feel your review reflects your accomplishments, you can request a meeting with the Chair of the Faculty Performance Review Committee. If that meeting isn't satisfactory, you have 15 days more to make a written appeal to your dean. We've seen announcements stating that this process must be completed by April 22, so it's important to note that this deadline is subject to you being satisfied with your review. 5) Re-Imagining the Quality of Education at OCAD, Part 5

Ideally, a university's administration should support the goals of the faculty and students. Yet, increasingly, it's the reverse: students and faculty support the goals of the administration. Why?

Those of you who attended our event about post-secondary education on earlier this month heard some talk about the "new managerialism." This phenomenon has been in play in universities for over a decade, characterized by four factors: burgeoning upper management; a dramatic up-turn in the percentage of university budgets being spent on administration; distancing between upper management and the university's day-to-day activities (for instance, fewer and fewer of them do any teaching); and more and more teaching being done by contractually limited appointments. (See Rosemary Deem's "Unravelling the Fabric of Academe" in Universities at Risk�a book I've referenced before and highly recommend.)

This phenomenon is particularly pronounced at OCAD. For example, we've mentioned previously that, in the last 6 years, our student population has increased by about 26.5%. During the same period, OCAD's vice-presidential complement grew by 300% � from two vice-presidents and no associate vice-presidents, to three vice-presidents and three associate vice-presidents. We now have one vice-president or associate vice-president to every 670 students. By contrast, the University of Toronto has just under 90,000 students, and thirteen vice-presidents and vice-provosts�or about one vice-president/vice-provost to every 6,700 students. So, student-by-student, OCAD's vice-presidential complement is ten times that of the University of Toronto (even though we're a specialized institution). Here's another comparison: not one of the top seven people of OCAD University �president, vice-presidents, associate vice-presidents � have taught here. By contrast, U of T's out-going president, David Naylor, and in-coming president, Meric Gertler, rose through the ranks at that university.

This is why we say that new managerialism, while hardly unique to OCAD University, is especially egregious here�and why our administration expects the faculty and students to support their goals, rather than the reverse.

OCADFA Reminder: Austerity and the University

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Charles Reeve, President, OCADFA

Two upcoming events addressing the effects of austerity policies on universities:

1) Next Wednesday, OCAFU presents "Austerity and Ontario's Universities: Finding a way forward." This is a joint Town Hall Meeting for University of Toronto, York, Ryerson and OCADU faculty, students and staff.

Wednesday March 27, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. University of Toronto: OISE Auditorium (252 Bloor St. West, Toronto) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/485754828154901

2) To complement this event, The OCAD Faculty Association and OPSEU Local 576 present a forum on current financial and administrative pressures affecting post-secondary education, to be held Tuesday, April 2, 2013, from 5-7 pm.

Titled "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" (after a famous painting by Paul Gauguin), this forum features talks by Paul Hamel (University of Toronto School of Medicine) and David Robinson (Canadian Association of University Teachers).

Starting with the University of Toronto's injunction that academic freedoms must include the right to challenge the cherished beliefs "of the university itself," Paul Hamel's explorations of the contemporary university show how these fundamental rights are under attack as funders demand short-term return on investment and universities bring such corporate pieties into their administration.

Building on this theme of the corporatization of universities, David Robinson shows how management practices intended to protect the public interest in quality post-secondary education do the reverse: how the growing emphasis on performance indicators, for example, undercuts educational quality by eating up resources, replacing innovative thinking with standardized testing and justifying Draconian funding cuts.

"Politicians and educational administrators of all stripes increasingly assume that the legacy of Margaret Thatcher provides the only way forward," says Charles Reeve, president of the OCAD Faculty Association. "But it's far from proven that post-secondary education is a pointless luxury. We must re-examine this Thatcherite return before it causes irreparable harm."

Or it it too late? Join us for this timely, stimulating look at how these key pressure points in current post-secondary policy and administration affect you.

What: "Where Do We Come From? What Are We?
Where Are We Going?: A Forum on Post-Secondary Education"
Who: Featuring talks by Paul Hamel and David Robinson, and moderated by Charles Reeve (OCAD University Associate Professor and OCADFA President).
When: Tuesday, April 2, 2013, from 5-7 pm.
Where: OCAD University Central Hall, 100 McCaul Street.

This event is free and open to the public. A limited number of on-site child-care spaces are available�RSVP to Claudette Lauzon (clauzon@faculty.ocadu.ca) to reserve a spot for your child. Presented with support from the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

Charles Reeve

Taxes; Events; More on Re-Imagining OCAD University.

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members:

1) Tax Time!

Don't forget that your ocadfa dues are tax-deductible, and that you also may be able to deduct the cost of maintaining a home office if you do a lot of work there. Ask your dean for a T2200. We've been told that they will provide them if requested.

Also, don't forget that all Continuing, Probationary and Tenured faculty are eligible for up to $500 in Professional Development Funding. This can go towards books, periodicals, travel etc. Forms and more info here.

2) Coming Events

Wednesday, March 27, 7-9pm, OISE Auditorium: OCUFA town hall on austerity and Ontario's universities. If you're on facebook, there's more info here.

Tuesday April 2, 4-6 pm, Central Hall. OCADFA and OPSEU Local 576 present "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" Exploring the impact on everyone in the post-secondary sector of recent shifts in funding and management strategies, this event features talks by Paul Hamel (University of Toronto School of Medicine) and David Robinson (Canadian Association of University Teachers). A limited number of child-care spaces are available on site. RSVP to Claudette Lauzon (clauzon@faculty.ocadu.ca) to reserve a spot for your child.

3) More on Re-Imagining the Quality of Education at OCAD University

Groundwork by previous ocadfa boards and ocadfa presidents has paved the way for a more public discussion and strategy regarding various issues affecting ocadfa�s members. One example of this is our emails about OCAD University's treatment of sessionals, which prompted quite a response and highlighted confusion about the enforcement of the five-year cap.

Following from those responses, here are a few key points that you should know.

First, in late February, we emailed the deans, associate deans and chairs in the Faculties of Art and Liberal Arts and Sciences to reiterate that OCADFA will waive the five-year cap for any sessional on receipt of a request from their dean. This message follows on the administration�s refusal to agree to remove the cap in last year�s negotiations; and underscores are willingness to waive the caps whenever deans request it.

Second, this action likely won't change things short term, since the administration has been inflexible on this issue for several years. But it will clarify where responsibility lies (which will help in negotiations). If anyone tells you that we refuse to budge on this issue, please inform us immediately.

Finally, we can't over-emphasize that the sessional issue affects everyone. This enforced turnover destabilizes the sessionals, increases the service burden of permanent faculty, and compounds the chairs' workload (among other things). Given the stress and cost associated with this policy, will continue to highlight this issue in our interactions with the administration.

Best regards,
Charles

Save the date: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Please save this date: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 � 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

What: OCADFA and OPSEU Local 576 invite you to a discussion of the impact of recent shifts in funding and management strategies on everyone in the post-secondary sector. Featuring talks by Paul Hamel (University of Toronto School of Medicine) and David Robinson (Canadian Association of University Teachers).

Where: OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, Central Hall (room 230).

Who: This event is free and open to the public. This venue is accessible and AODA compliant.

A limited number of child-minding spaces are available on site. RSVP to Claudette Lauzon (clauzon@faculty.ocadu.ca) to reserve a spot for your child.

Supported by OCADFA and the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

Charles Reeve

Perks for OCADFA Members through Edvantage

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Hello OCADFA Members:

OCUFA (Ontario College of University Faculty Associations) offer us a free rewards program created especially for the members of Ontario�s education community. Receive discounts and savings for yourself and family. Whether you are looking to travel, be entertained, buy insurance, become a gym member, or more � you�ll be able to find exclusive savings with Edvantage! Go to the ocufa website � www.ocufa.on.ca and click on the Edvantage button � bottom of page � right hand side. Fill out the form � and remember you are an OCADFA member when you fill out the form.

One of our members recently took her kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls and received 20% off the hotel room which was $l00 savings a night during the Christmas season.

Connie

Call for submissions for the 40th OCUFA annual Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Greetings,

OCUFA (The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations) is now calling for nominations for the 40th Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards. Please find attached two packages for Both Teaching and Librarianship Awards in English. Due to attachment size limitations, Frech version to follow in another email. Please help to distribute as widely as possible.

***************************************************************************************

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
40th ANNUAL
OCUFA TEACHING AWARDS
OCUFA ACADEMIC LIBRARIANSHIP AWARD FOR 2012-2013

Deadline for receipt of nominations: May 21, 2013

PROGRAM

Each year OCUFA recognizes outstanding teachers and academic librarians in Ontario universities through its Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards. Since 1973 OCUFA has presented 376 awards. The recipients are selected by the OCUFA Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards Committee. Approximately 7 awards are presented.

CATEGORIES

Teaching, in the context of the OCUFA awards, embraces virtually all levels of instruction � graduate and undergraduate teaching, continuing education and faculty development. Similarly, proficiency in teaching may extend well beyond the classroom, the laboratory or the faculty member�s office. Activities such as course design, curriculum development, organization of teaching programs and other significant forms of leadership are often important contributions to the instructional process. Those who excel in any of these are eligible for the OCUFA Teaching Awards.

Academic librarianship, in the context of the OCUFA Awards, embraces all aspects of librarianship that contribute to the scholarly achievement of all members of the university community. Activities such as development and delivery of services, provision of educational materials, collection development and management and other contributions to academic librarianship are important to the intellectual functioning of the university. Those who excel in any of these are eligible for an OCUFA Academic Librarianship Award.

NOMINATIONS

Nominations are invited from individuals, informal groups of faculty or students, or both, and such organizations as local faculty associations, faculty or college councils, university committees concerned with teaching and learning, librarians, local student councils, departments, alumni, etc. Guidelines to assist in organizing a nomination should be consulted by prospective nominators and are available on request from your Faculty Association Office, the Provincial Office of OCUFA, or the OCUFA website (www.ocufa.on.ca). Nominations should include a covering nomination form (appended to Guidelines for OCUFA Teaching Award Nominations and Guidelines for OCUFA Academic Librarianship Award Nominations), a nominator�s brief, and sufficient evidence, from as many sources as possible, to make it clear that outstanding work deserving of recognition has been done.

PROCEDURE

Deadline for receipt of nominations: May 21, 2013. The original and five copies of the submission should be sent to:

OCUFA Teaching and Academic
Librarianship Awards Committee
83 Yonge Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1S8

Inquiries to: 416-979-2117

Re: imagining the Quality of Education at OCAD University

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Our email about increasing ratios of students to tenured/tenure-track faculty prompted queries about similar figures regarding sessional faculty. While we don't have the numbers on sessionals from 2005/06, we do have those numbers from 06/07 on, and they tell an interesting story. Here's the breakdown of numbers of sessionals since 06/07:

06/07: 225
07/08: 205
08/09: 231
09/10: 215
10/11: 236
11/12: 279
12/13: 292

Alongside this growth of nearly 30%, Continuing has gone from 24 to 33 (38% increase); and CLTAs have gone from 13 to 32 (146% increase-with a trend to 1-year CLTAs, marking a further casualization of labour). As we noted previously, this is against an increase in enrolment of 26.5% over the last 6 six years, and a 4.9% decline of tenure and tenure-track faculty.

Since all the growth in teaching staff has been in these areas, they're the ones who have enabled the school to keep up with climbing enrolment. And the relatively high sessional complement exposes our students to a healthy mix of career practitioners and career academics. As well, this arrangement suits many sessionals with active practices.

But sessionals now do about 37% of the teaching, even though the Memorandum of Agreement limits this number to 30%. So we're pressing this issue, and have prioritized it for negotiations. Why? How does this affect our quality of education?

As the use of sessionals grows, more and more of them burn out on a treadmill of temporary employment. As their teaching income becomes increasingly precarious, sesssionals must cobble things together at multiple schools, which gets exhausting quickly. (For some excellent context on this, see James Turk "Restructuring Academic Work" in Universities at Risk [2008].)

And more sessionals means fewer faculty for committees - so sessionals have less time for teaching because they're juggling campuses, full-time faculty have less time for teaching because they're juggling meetings, and creativity and scholarship suffers everywhere. (A situation worsened by the fact that, increasingly, sessionals feel pressured to do service, thus effectively working for free). So, it's in everyone's interest for sessionals to have a better deal, and for administration to make good on its commitment to create more full-time, permanent jobs.

Note: the MoA lets OCADFA waive the five-year cap for sessionals on a case-by-case basis, and we have told deans that OCADFA will grant any waiver they request. So, anyone who says you can't be re-hired because you've reached your five-year cap is wrong. We've got work to do on job security for sessionals, but OCADFA's not to blame for their precarious status.

Reimagining the Quality of Education at OCAD University

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Charles Reeve, President, OCADFA

Hello everyone:

At the end of last semester, we sent around some information about how OCAD University compares to the other art and design schools in Canada in terms of student/faculty ratio and class size (in brief, not well).

Over the coming months, we will be sending you further information about the state of affairs here, as well as about institutional processes (such as performance reviews) that you need to understand.

The numbers below provide a snapshot of the growing pressure that we all feel -- an increase in workload, and a decrease in resources. So, to begin with, there's been a steady growth in student numbers over the last several years: 2005-06: 3467 heads; 2011-12: 4355 heads (4202 undergraduate, 153 graduate).

Meanwhile, there's been a slight decline in the number of faculty: 124 Tenured and Tenure Track Faculty in 2005/2006; 118 Tenured and Tenure Track Faculty in 2012/2013.

So, while the number of students has increased by 25.6% over the last 6 years, the number of tenured and tenure track faculty has decreased by 4.9% during the same period, leading to a dramatic upturn in student/faculty ratio: Student to tenured and tenure track faculty ration in 2005/2006 = 28:1; Student to tenured and tenure track faculty ration in 2011/2012 = 37:1.

Of course, it's very difficult to draw direct cause-and-effect connections between various phenomena. However, the recent auditor's report on post-secondary education in Ontario emphasizes that there's often a close correlation between student satisfaction and student/teacher ratios: the former goes up as the latter goes down, and vice versa.

Best,
Charles

Student Award for Graduate Studies Students

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Hello Faculty:

OCUFA (Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations) is awarding $5,000 to a full time Graduate Studies Student who has demonstrated academic excellence, shows exceptional academic promise, and has provided significant community service in his/her university career.

If you would like to recommend a student please refer to the attachment. The student is expected to produce and deliver a paper within one year of receiving the award to the OCUFA Board on a topic related to his/her graduate research.

The deadline is April 1, 2013. Information and inquiries can be sent to kwheeler@ocufa.on.ca

Message from the OCADFA President, Charles Reeve

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Hello everyone -

I hope everyone had a restful holiday break, and that you all are looking forward to 2013 being rewarding personally and professionally. (I'm tempted to make a joke about it being a tough year for triskaidekaphobes, but jokes never work in emails, so I'll refrain.)

Some important things are on the horizon for OCADFA members � two of the most obvious being negotiations, and the Innovation, Productivity and Sustainability Task Force. We'll be providing information and discussion opportunities about these and other key topics over the coming months and, to kick off this process for the new year, here's an article from the Globe (which of course some of you will have seen) with some important context. (Thanks to Bill Leeming for the tip.)

If this sort of thing interests you � and I'd encourage everyone to follow the political and economic climate that governs what we do � then consider subscribing to the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Academe Today" daily e-newsletter. It's focused on the US context but, given that what becomes policy here often begins as policy there, forewarned is forearmed.

Again, best wishes for the new year, and I look forward to seeing all of you, freshly reinvigorated from your break, around the campus in the coming days.

- Charles

OCUFA's Academic Matters Reader Survey -- Please respond -- Final Notice

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Colleagues:

OCUFA's

Academic Matters is now entering its 7th year of publication and has changed significantly over this period. The views of our readership -- 17,000 professors and academic librarians at Ontario's universities and elsewhere -- are important in guiding the future development of the magazine. We are asking readers to take a few moments to complete the reader survey. We want to know how readers feel about the editorial content, look, and layout of Academic Matters, and whether they find the magazine enjoyable and relevant.

We are also asking readers about their academic and personal interests. This will allow us to approach companies and organizations that may want to advertise products and services in Academic Matters in which readers may have an interest -- and which helps cover the cost of publishing Academic Matters.

All individual survey responses will be kept strictly confidential and used only to develop a general reader profile and will not be shared with any third party.

Those participating in the survey can also enter a draw to win a Google Nexus 7 tablet.

The survey link can be found here: http://www.academicmatters.ca/reader-survey/

If you are interested, could you please complete the survey before January 11, 2013, when the survey closes.

Could you also please forward this note to those in your association who might also be interested in responding to the Academic Matters reader survey.

Thank you for your help, and all the best for 2013.

Mark Rosenfeld, Ph.D
Executive Director
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations

A googlegroup (FacultyTalks) has been created for OCADFA members

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members:

Greetings!

A googlegroup (FacultyTalks) has been created for OCADFA members. If you are a faculty member and would like to join, here are some easy steps to follow. Once you have joined, you will have full access to this group in addition to posting to the group e-mail. This also includes inviting other faculty members (you can see who has joined, whose invitations are pending etc in the \"manage section\" of the group online). I encourage you to navigate and familiarize yourself with the options and capabilities of the group. It is fairly east to navigate. To join group:

1. Assure that you have a \"google account\" if you don\'t already have one. This will give you access not only to the FacultyTalks google group but also to all google interfaces (i.e. calendars, shared documents, spread sheets etc.). If you belong to other \"google groups\" you already have a \"google account\".

2. Send me a message: mordonez@faculty.ocadu.ca and in the subject heading please write: FacultyTalks Invite. In the body of the message clearly indicate which e-mail you would like me to send the invitation to (it should match the one you set up with your google account).

https://accounts.google.com/NewAccount

3. Once you send me this e-mail, I will send you an invitation and you need to follow the instructions to join. You need to accept the invitation. Once you are a member, you can invite others. If you don\'t accept the invitation or forget about it, your invitation expires.

4. In order to maintain this discussion list for faculty only, it is set up so that only those invited can join. In other words, if someone outside OCADFA tried to join the group through google groups, they would find that it is closed to them. The only criteria (once you are a member) for inviting others is that invitations be sent to OCADFA members only.

I hope this clarifies the process and inspires discussion, exchange and the sharing of information.

Best wishes,

Maria-Belen Ordonez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Science and School of Interdisciplinary Studies
Ontario College of Art and Design University
100 McCaul Street
Rm 371a
Toronto, ON
M5T 1W1
tel: 416 977-6000
e-mail: mordonez@faculty.ocadu.ca

Message from OCADFA President, Sandra Altwerger

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Hello fellow OCADFA members:

I'm humbled and proud to be writing to you in my capacity as newly-elected President of OCADFA: humbled because, having worked with Sandra Altwerger on the OCADFA board and knowing many of the other people who preceded me in this position, I realize I've got some tough acts to follow; proud, because your board combines new voices, historical memory and an emphasis on communication. A lot can be gained from regular information-sharing amongst OCADFA members, and with our numerous friends and allies in other sectors of OCAD University's community.

To kick off this conversational focus, over the coming months we'll be sending out wallet-sized bits of information to contextualize some issues that we, together, will address in the near future. Keep these facts with you�we hope to provide them in a convenient format soon�and raise them at meetings (from Senate and Board of Governors all the way down) when they're germane. And if you have suggestions about other information that you would find useful, please let us know.

Fact Number 1: Why do faculty, staff and students find class sizes overwhelming? Because they are. Data from the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) for 2010/2011show the ratio of undergraduate students to faculty is 17.2:1. For purposes of comparison:�

School	Student/Faculty	Estimated average class
ACAD	13.4:1	22
Emily Carr	10.7:1	18
NSCAD	10.7:1	18
OCAD	17.2:1	29

When it comes to declining employee morale and declining student satisfaction, the cascade starts here.

Also regarding communication: Maria-Bel�n Ord��ezhas launched an OCADFA Google group to give us an easy way to talk to each other. All OCADFA members are encouraged to join, and only OCADFA members can join. It's a forum for discussing not only labour-related issues, but also anything where reaching your colleagues could be helpful. If you've already joined, help us expand the network by inviting others to join as well. Here is the link:

https://accounts.google.com/NewAccount?continue=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Fmyforums&hl=en&service=groups2� You may have to open a google account.� For more information, you can reach Maria-Bel�n at mordonez@faculty.ocadu.ca.

We'll be in touch with more information soon. And thank you again for the opportunity to serve.

OCADFA Election Results - Board of Directors - Negotiations Committee

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Archie Graham and David Chavel, OCADFA Nominations Committee

Dear OCADFA Members:

We are pleased to announce the election results which took place at our Annual General Meeting today.

OCADFA Board of Directors

President: Charles Reeve, 2 years remaining on term
Vice-President: Frederick Burbach, 3 year term
Secretary/Treasurer: Chris Bennell, 3 year term
Director: Paul Epp, 3 year term
Director: Claudette Lauzon, 2 year term
Director: Camille Isaacs, 2 year term

Grievance

Chair: Tony Kerr,1 year remaining on term
OCADFA Negotiations Committee: 3 year term
Faculty of Design: Tony Kerr
Faculty of Art: Janis Cole
Academic Staff � Technician: John Kuisma

Academic Staff

Counselor, T.A.: Lisa Allen
Sessional Faculty: David Griffin
Liberal Studies - Position Open

OCADFA Annual General Meeting - Attachments to Review

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Please review the attachments prior to our Annual General Meeting which takes place on Monday, November 26, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Room 230.

Hard copies will be available at the meeting. Please note the Proxy Registration Deadline � Thursday, November 22nd at noon.

President's Report:
President's Report AGM 2012

Minutes and Agendas:
Revised AGM Agenda Nov 26, 20l2
GM Minutes May 22, 20l2
Proxy Nov 26, 2012
OCADFA Candidate Slate

Message from Sandra Altwerger, President, OCADFA

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members,

Our affiliate, Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has prepared material for you regarding Fair Employment Week, October 22-26. This takes on heightened importance as federal and provincial governments are attacking labour rights, the very rights that are the foundation for improvements in the situation of contract academic staff. The situation of contract academic staff seeking job security, better wages and benefits and improved working conditions and the preservation of the integrity of post secondary education.

The passage of the federal government�s omnibus bill C-38 this past June includes changes to the Employment Insurance Act that will further compromise access for academic staff to Employment Insurance by penalizing repeat users and broadening the definition of what constitutes suitable employment that, when offered, must be accepted. For many academic staff on contract, this means that their situation has become even more precarious as a result of these changes. Various provincial governments have implemented wage freezes or are in the process of doing so, while others are proposing anti-labour bills that undermine the right to collective bargaining.

Unionization and the right to collective bargaining has meant significant gains for contract academic staff across the country over the past decade, such as better wages, benefits, access to research stipends, remuneration for service, and the right of first refusal by course or course load. These gains, as important as they are, need to continue as we work together towards greater equality.

It is in this context of a broad-based assault on our post-secondary education system that Fair Employment Week takes on even greater significance than it has before.

You will find the new Fair Employment Week materials on CAUT�s website: http://www.caut.ca/pages.asp?page=572

Sandra Altwerger, AOCA, MFA, B.Ed.
Associate Professor, Faculty of Art,
President, OCADFA

Special offers from Edvantage!

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

OCADFA membership affords the following perks:

Edvantage is a rewards program created especially for the members of Ontario�s education community offered through OCUFA (Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations) . Their partners offer elite discounts and savings for the education community and their families throughout the entire province. Whether you are looking to travel, be entertained, buy insurance, become a gym member or more � you�ll be able to find exclusive savings with Edvantage!

Go to the ocufa website ocufa.on.ca � hit the Edvantage button (bottom right of page)� and register � you will be sent a membership card within a couple of weeks.

Good luck!
Connie Reid

OCADFA Negotiations Mandate Meeting details

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA members:

Please note that the Negotiations Mandate Meeting takes place Monday, October 29th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in room 230

Thanks
Connie

Message from Bill Leeming

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members,

As you know, there is a great deal of buzz in the media about the misnamed "Respecting Collective Bargaining Act (Public Sector), 2012," i.e., wage restraints. You, no doubt, are wondering how all this affects OCADFA members � and how this will affect the upcoming round of negotiations.

OCADFA is therefore holding an Information Meeting to review and discuss the contents and current situation surrounding the legislation. The meeting will be held:

Tuesday, October 2 in Rm. 190 (auditorium, 100 McCaul) from 6:00 pm � 7:00 pm (after the Presidential Forum with Faculty and Staff on �the Strategic Plan�)

Please note that the meeting is only open to OCADFA Members.

Please also note that details concerning OCADFA�s Negotiations Mandate in the upcoming round of OCADU/OCADFA bargaining will NOT be discussed at this meeting. A separate meeting is being planned for such a discussion later in the month.

Please rsvp your attendance with Connie so that adequate light refreshments are provided.

Bill Leeming,
OCADFA Chair of Negotiations

Message from OCADFA President, Sandra Altwerger

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Hello OCADFA Members:

Please review the attachment from Sandra Altwerger, OCADFA President.

Connie

OCADFA Spring General Meeting Package

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Please find the downloadable files as follows:

Agenda - Download
Proxy - Download
AGM Minutes (December 5, 2011) - Download

Edvantage Spring Savings!

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members �

Please see savings (below) through Edvantage through OCUFA. All OCADFA members are eligible for their card at no cost.

To register for an OCUFA card � go to the ocufa link www.ocufa.on.ca and hit the Edvantage button to register.

Right hand corner at the bottom.

Have a good week

Connie Reid
OCADFA Executive Assistant
Ontario College of Art & Design Faculty Association
4l6-977-6000 - Ext. 336
conniereid@ocad.ca
www.ocadfa.ca

OCADU/OCADFA Arbitration Update

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Bill Leeming, OCADFA Negotiations Chair

OCADFA and the University have submitted their arbitration briefs and been heard by Mr. William Kaplan. The hearing was conducted throughout the day on Sunday, February 26. Our expectation is that Mr. Kaplan will pass down his Award within the next two weeks. The Award will be legally binding on both parties with no recourse to appeal.

Once I have it, I will send on the Award to you along with an executive summary of its rulings. I will then ask Sandra Altwerger, OCADFA President, to call a meeting of the Membership to review the Award and discuss implications for our next round of bargaining.

At this time, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the Members of the Negotiations Committee who have all worked extremely hard to represent their constituents in what have been 17 months of intensely \\\\\\\"hard\\\\\\\" bargaining in very tough financial times: Hugh Alcock, Lisa Allen, Frederick Burbach, Derek Mullin, Natalie Waldburger, Ron Wood, and Sandra Altwerger (ex officio). I also want thank our legal counsel, Cathy Lace, and our financial analyst and economist, Hugh Mckenzie, for their brilliant work for us. Finally, I want to thank Connie Reid for all the archival work that she assisted the team with.

With best regards,
Bill Leeming,
OCADFA Negotiations Chair

OCADFA February 6th Meeting Agenda and Attachment

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Please review the agenda and �Information about OCADFA� attachment.

Hard copies will be available at the meeting.

Agenda
Information about OCADFA

Call for Nomination: the OCUFA 2011-2012 Teaching Awards and Good Life Fitness, etc.

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members:

Please review the attachment and review the link in the attachment below. Also, if you are interested in joining Good Life Fitness please go to the Edvantage link on the ocufa website � www.ocufa.on.ca

Once you receive your Edvantage card you are eligible for other discounts such as house paint, tickets to events, etc.

If you have trouble accessing the information please contact the OCUFA office � contact information below.

Download the Teaching Award Package 2012

Connie Reid
OCADFA Executive Assistant
Ontario College of Art & Design Faculty Association
4l6-977-6000 - Ext. 336
conniereid@ocad.ca
www.ocadfa.ca

OCADFA Election Results - Dec. 5, 2011

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from the OCADFA Nominations Committee: Archie Graham and David Chavel

Dear Members:

Please note the election results for the three positions on the OCADFA Board of Directors:

President � 3 year term � Sandra Altwerger, Acclaimed
Director � 3 year term � Tony Kerr, Acclaimed
Director � 3 year term � Hugh Alcock, Acclaimed

Many thanks to all candidates and members who voted.

OCADFA Annual Report - 2011

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members:

Please review the attached Annual Report document prior to our Annual General Meeting. Hard copies will be available at the meeting. Please note that the Financial Statements will be distributed hard copy only at the December 5th AGM.

OCADFA Annual Report 2011

Slate of Nominees OCADFA elections 2011

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Please review the attachment from our Nominations Committee Members David Chavel and Archie Graham with regard to candidates running for positions on the OCADFA Board of Directors.

Slate of Nominees

OCADFA Annual General Meeting Package

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Please review the attachments prior to our December 5, 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM). Hard copies will be available at the meeting.

AGM Agenda
General Meeting Minutes
Proxy Form

Message from OCADFA Nominations Committee re: Election at December 5, 20ll AGM

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members: Please review the following two attachments from OCADFA�s Nominations Committee.

Message from OCADFA Nominations Committee
OCADFA Nominations Form

The Nomination deadline is Friday, November 25th. Elections will take place on Monday, December 5th (2:30 to 4:30 p.m.) at the OCADFA AGM.

Equity Survey Extension

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Sandra Altwerger, OCADFA President

Dear Members:

I hope the academic term has been going well. This message is a follow-up to Jane Ngobia’s email below. As the OCAD Faculty Association representative on the Employment Equity Sub-Committee I am encouraging all OCADFA members to take a few minutes to complete the OCAD University Employment Equity Workforce Survey (http://employee.ocad.ca/). This survey has been created in response to the requirements of the Federal Contractors Program (FCP) and there is an 80% compliance requirement. At the moment approximately 60-65% of OCAD U employees have completed the survey. We cannot move forward under the FCP if we don’t meet the 80% compliance rate.

By completing this survey, the Employment Equity Sub-Committee will have critical information to help us guide OCAD University’s employment equity policies and programs.

If you have any questions, please contact Jane Ngobia or Bahrat Saini. OCAD University is committed to equity and diversity and we sincerely thank you for your time. Take care.

Best Regards,

Sandra

Graduate Supervision Policy

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA members,

The Graduate Student Supervision Policy was identified as another area of mutual interest for both the University and OCADFA during OCADU/OCADFA bargaining. At Monday's mediation-arbitration meeting, an agreement was reached on a revised policy for graduate supervision. Please find attached the Memorandum of Understanding on the new policy.

Executive Summary:

The new policy applies to all faculty members and new graduate supervisions commencing July 1, 2011. Those who have accumulated GSCs under previous policies, may cash them in for $3,500 per GSC OR use earned course releases as per past policies OR some combination of both. Credits for Grad work done in 2010-2011 will be credited in accordance with the 2009-2010 policy. Liberal Studies faculty will be credited for ALL supervisory and committee work.

The new stipend takes the following compensatory forms:
1. $3,500 for Principal Advisor of a student completing a Master's thesis; 2. $2,000 for Principal Advisor of a student completing a Major Research Paper (MRP); 3. $500 for serving as a committee member; 4. $600 for teachng a O.5 Graduate Independent Studies course.

The stipend shall be paid according to the following schedule:
a. 34% upon appointment as supervisor
b. 66% upon conferral of degree

Committee members will be paid when the Committee has completed its work.

Teaching a Graduate Independent Studies course will be paid upon submission of final grade.

Bill Leeming
OCADFA Chair of Negotiations

OCADFA Negotiations Update

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members,

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that we have negotiated a better incentive deal for people wishing to retire whose age and years of service total 80 years. This is due to the low take-up of the original VRIP (\"Voluntary Retirement Incentive Plan\") among our members. The new deal will apply to all those who already took the deal. Sandra Altwerger and Sarah McKinnon will be sending you the details of the new VRIP options early next week.

The bad news is that we have made very little progress with our administration towards settling the many negotiations issues that remain on the negotiations table. We will therefore be going to William Kaplan, the Arbitrator, with a very large mediation/arbitration brief tomorrow (June 3). Please note that under the rules of binding arbitration, a media black-out will be in effect for the duration of the proceedings. I will neither be able to report to you the contents nor the progress of the proceedings. If Mr. Kaplan is able to mediate a settlement between the two parties, the OCADFA Negotiations Committee will bring the settlement back to you for ratification. If mediation is unsuccessful, Mr. Kaplan will move to arbitration. Under binding arbitration, his decision is final. We will have to live with it - good or bad - and there will be no ratification meeting. You will, nonetheless, receive a copy of his decision and OCADFA will hold a meeting where I will give you the breakdown and the implications of the ruling.

With best regards,

Bill Leeming
OCADFA Negotiations Chair

Notice of OCADFA Spring General Meeting - Monday, May 9th

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Please mark your calendars with regards to OCADFA’s Spring General Meeting which will take place on Monday, May 9th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in room 1525 at 113 McCaul Street (Library Building).

Agenda and other attachments to follow next week.

Negotiations update

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Bill Leeming, Chair, OCADFA Negotiations

Dear OCADFA Members,

The OCADFA Negotiations Committee has served notice to the University exercising its right to "Negotiations Mediation and Arbitration" as per Article 12.1.1 and as set out in Article l2.2 of the OCAD/OCADFA Memorandum Of Agreement.

As stated in the notice, the OCADFA Negotiations Committee has lost confidence that there will be a timely resolution to the many issues that remain on the bargaining table without the assistance of a Negotiations Arbitrator. To date, there have been a total of 111 proposals tabled (31 University, 80 OCADFA). Of these, 85 proposals remain under discussion.

I will provide you with a Negotiations Report on these matters at the OCADFA Spring General Meeting on Monday, May 9th, 11:30 - 1:30 p.m. in room 1525, 113 McCaul Street.

Sincerely yours,

Bill Leeming,
Chair, OCADFA Negotiations Committee

Worldviews international conference on media and higher education June 16-18, 2011 in Toronto

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Worldviews international conference on media and higher education June 16-18, 2011 in Toronto - early registration discount ends March 18 -- for distribution

Worldviews international conference on media and higher education in the 21 st century

Worldviews – an innovative international conference examining the complex relationship between media and higher education – will be held June 16 to 18, 2011 in Toronto. The conference is being organized by the Ontario Confederation of University of Faculty Associations, OISE/University of Toronto, the Washington-based Inside Higher Ed, the London and South-Africa-based University World News.

Speakers from North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania will encourage an interactive dialogue with participants. As well as debates, panels and workshops, there will be small café discussions and salons, film screenings, interviews with leading thinkers, and the opportunity for audience members to become speakers and debaters.

The 2011 inaugural conference will consider a range of important themes, including:

How media coverage of higher education has changed over the past two decades and where it is headed
Research and science journalism\
The impact of social media and how it is changing what is covered and how higher education is understood
The role the media play in influencing public policy debates on higher education
How higher education engages with the media to inform public opinion
The different realities of the developing and developed worlds

Specific sessions will consider issues such as:

Understanding the media world and its impact on higher education coverage\
"Educating Hollywood": Images of higher education in film, television, and cyberspace
Media depictions of academic staff concerns: current realities, future directions
Science journalism and research: The battle between the uncertainty of science and the certainty of "news"
Public opinion surveys, public perceptions of higher education, and the media: Who is shaping whom?
Creating dialogue and understanding between journalists and academia

Speakers include Ivan Semeniuk (Nature), Phil Baty (Times Higher Education), Scott Jaschik, (Inside Higher Ed), Jeff Selingo (Chronicle of Higher Education), Karen MacGregor (University World News), Valeria Roman ( Clarín, Argentina), Paul Lewis (Discovery Channel), Daniel deVise (Washington Post), Shari Graydon (Informed Opinions), Jean-Marc Fleury (World Federation of Science Journalists), Sidneyeve Matrix (Queen's University), Penny Park (Science Media Centre of Canada), Bob McDonald (CBC), Adam Habib (University of Johannesburg), Mark Kingwell (University of Toronto) Ying Cheng (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Dzulkifli Abdul Razak (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Lisa Lapin (Stanford University) , Bill Ayers (University of Illinois-Chicago), among many others.

* Early registration discount ends March 18, 2011: http://guestlistapp.com/events/43005

* For more information, please go to: http://worldviewsconference.com

Ratification - OCADFA University Policy on Intellectual Property Rights

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

I am pleased to announce that the OCADFA University Policy on Intellectual Property Rights document has been ratified by the OCADFA membership.

The document is posted on the OCADFA website.

As it has already been ratified by the OCADU Board of Governors it is now officially policy and will be appended to the Memorandum of Agreement.

Bill Leeming,
OCADFA Negotiations Chair

Intellectual Property Rights Agreement Ratification

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Bill Leeming, OCADFA Negotiations Chair

Dear Members:

Please find the attached pdf’s for the Memorandum of Understanding and Intellectual Property Rights Policy between OCADU and OCADFA.

There will be a meeting to discuss these documents for purposes of ratification on February, l4, 2011 in room 284 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Legal counsel will be present.

Please note that proxy voting is not permitted at ratification meetings in accordance the Ontario Corporations Act.

Please rsvp your attendance with Connie asap.

Bill Leeming
OCADFA Negotiations Chair/OCADFA Joint Committee I.P. Chair

OCADFA/OCADU Intellectual Property Rights Update - Message from Bill Leeming

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Bill Leeming, OCADFA Chair of Negotiations

Dear Members,

I am pleased to announce that OCADFA and OCAD University have arrived at a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Intellectual Property Rights.

Sandra Altwerger, OCADFA President, and I appeared with legal counsel before William Kaplan for mediation/arbitration proceedings on December 10, 2010. We returned to mediation on January 5. Mediation was successful and the MOS was signed at 4:00 pm. PLEASE NOTE, THE MEDIATION/ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS FOR IP RIGHTS IS INDEPENDENT AND SEPARATE FROM THE CURRENT ROUND OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) NEGOTIATIONS PRESENTLY UNDERWAY AND ONGOING. THE MEDIATION/ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS FOR IP RIGHTS IS A RESIDUAL LEFTOVER FROM THE ARBITRATION AWARD ATTACHED TO THE LAST ROUND OF MOA NEGOTIATIONS.

Sandra and I, subject to the approval of the OCADFA Board of Directors, are recommending that the MOU and Intellectual Property Rights document be brought to the Membership for ratification. PLEASE NOTE, RATIFICATION OF THE MOS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS DOCUMENT IS INDEPENDENT AND SEPARATE FROM THE CURRENT ROUND OF MOA NEGOTIATIONS PRESENTLY UNDERWAY AND ONGOING.

The MOU and Intellectual Property Rights document will follow.

With best wishes for a prosperous new year,

Bill Leeming
OCADFA Chair of Negotiations

Bill Leeming, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Studies OCAD University 100 McCaul St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1W1
email: bleeming@faculty.ocad.ca

Message from Sandra Altwerger, President OCADFA

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members,

I would like to welcome Bharat Saini as the OCADFA representative to the Employment Equity Sub Committee.

Bharat is a Learning Strategist/Adaptive Technologist at the Centre For Students With Disabilities.
He will be serving a two year term on the EESC.

I am grateful to the many faculty who have come forward to participate in the many committees of the university.

I know that it takes time and commitment, but the contributions of our members keeps the OCADFA voice alive within the university.

Sincerely,
Sandra Altwerger, President, OCADFA
www.sandraaltwerger.com

Message from OCADFA Nominations Committee Members

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from OCADFA Nominations Committee Members David Chavel and Ted Hunter re Election of Officers and Directors to the OCADFA Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting to be held on Monday, November 29, 2010 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Room 230 – 100 McCaul Street:
_______________________________________________________________________

The following nominations have been received by the OCADFA office for the upcoming elections.

Nominations for the following positions:

Grievance Chair, 3 year term: Marie-Josee Therrien
Negotiations Chair, 3 year term: Bill Leeming

Director position on the OCADFA Board of Directors
3 year term: John Kuisma

Director position on the OCADFA Board of Directors
1 year remaining on a three year term: Natalie Waldburger

Nominations may also come from the floor at the AGM.

All forms, including proxy forms are linked to our website (ocadfa.ca). Proxy forms are also available from the OCADFA Office – Room 248. Signed and designated proxy forms may be faxed 4l6-595-0269 scanned at sent to the office conniereid@ocad.ca – all details are outlined on the proxy form. The deadline to submit a proxy form is Friday, November 26th – noon. Proxies must be registered.

If you have any queries, please contact the office – Connie Reid – Ext. 336 or conniereid@ocadfa.ca

Message from OCADFA Nominations Committee Members

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members:

Nominations are now open for the upcoming election of OCADFA Officers and Directors as well the Negotiations Chair and Grievance Chair which will take place at the OCADFA Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, November 29, 2010 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in room 230.

Completed Nominations Forms (attached here) should be submitted to the OCADFA office (1:00 McCaul Street - Room 248) by noon on November 22nd. All nominations received will be forwarded to the membership one week prior to the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Nominations can also be made from the floor during the AGM.

Voting will commence before the 1:30 p.m. adjournment.

All positions will typically be for a three-year term, as stipulated in the Bylaws.

The following positions are open for election:

Grievance Chair - 3 year term- open
Negotiations Chair - 3 year term - open
Director Position - 3 year term - open

Please note that there is one year remaining on a three year Director’s term vacated June 2010 by Lewis Nicholson. Natalie Waldburger, filled the position temporarily until the November 29th General Members meeting. According to the OCADFA By-laws there is one year left on the term that has to be filled by nomination from the membership.

Director Position - 1 year term - open

Please note that the following Directors/Officers remain in their positions for the following terms:

Sandra Altwerger - President - 1 year left to term (ends 2011)
Tony Kerr - Director - 1 year left to term (ends 2011)
Charles Reeve - Director - 2 years left to term (ends 2012)
Frederick Burbach - Vice President - 2 years left to term (ends 2012))
Christopher Bennell - Secretary/Treasurer - 2 years left to term (ends 2012)

Call for Member - Employment Equity Sub Committee

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members,

A volunteer is needed to be the OCADFA representative on the Employment Equity Sub Committee. As stated in the description below, a participant is needed very soon. There is more information in this attachment.

At its meeting of October 6, 2010, the Educational and Employment Equity Committee (EEEC) approved the creation of an Employment Equity Sub-Committee mandated to ensure OCADU’s compliance with the Federal Contractor’s Program and to honour its commitment to employment equity. Per the Terms of Reference for the Employment Equity Sub-Committee, attached to this message for your information, OCADFA is to appoint a member to serve on this group. In identifying a representative, OCADFA is encouraging members of the four designated groups, specifically women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities as well as LGBTQ. It may also be helpful to consider appointing to this Sub-Committee the OCADFA representative that serves on the EEEC as the work of this Sub-Committee will inform the work of the EEEC.

As this group will meet in late November, I hope OCADFA can confirm the name of a member who will serve on the Employment Equity Sub-Committee as soon as possible.

Please contact the OCADFA office as soon as possible if you are able to participate on this important committee.

Sincerely,
Sandra Altwerger,
President OCADFA

Mark your Calendars - Monday, November 29th

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Hello Members:

Please remember to mark your calendar for our Annual General Meeting which takes place on Monday, November 29th from 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. in Room 230. Agenda and other attachments to follow at a later date.

Connie Reid
OCADFA Executive Assistant
Ontario College of Art & Design Faculty Association
4l6-977-6000 - Ext. 336
conniereid@ocad.ca
www.ocadfa.ca

Fair Employment Week

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members,

Re: October 25 to 29 is "Fair Employment Week."

The overuse and exploitation of contract academic staff, especially sessionals, is one of the biggest challenges facing the academic profession. That's why the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), which OCADFA is a member of, has joined with a coalition of organizations, unions and activists across the US, Canada and Mexico to organize Fair Employment Week. The goals of the Week are:

to raise contingent academic labour issues nationally and locally in media and policy circles,
to stimulate organizing and support local collective bargaining initiatives.

Please show support for the OCADFA Sessional Subcommittee and the work of the OCADFA Negotiations Committee in their efforts to achieve fair remuneration and working conditions for our contract academic staff.

Thank you,
Bill Leeming
Negotiations Chair, OCADFA
Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Studies OCAD University 100 McCaul St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1W1

email: bleeming@faculty.ocad.ca

OCADFA Negotiations Update - August 23, 2010

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Bill Leeming, OCADFA Negotiations Chair

Dear Members:

As I noted in my July 23 “Negotiations Update,” there has been a good deal discussion in the media about a two year wage freeze for Ontario public sector workers, including university academic and general staff. The commencement of sectoral “consultations” on how to meet the Government’s policy objectives has thus far mostly resulted in public sector unions walking away from table.

Last Friday afternoon, I met with other members of the OCUFA Bargaining Committee to discuss the provincial government consultations with public sector unions which began August 9. The “consultation” process has turned out to be an attempt on the part of the government to set up a kind of provincial collective bargaining.

With specific regard to government plans for universities, representatives from COU (including Sarah McKinnon) and OCUFA reviewed the following key elements with the representatives from the Ministry of Finance:

Faculty Associations and employers would agree that the next collective agreement will not include any net increase in compensation for at least two years, compensation including all forms of payments or benefits including discretionary payments.
Government, faculty associations and employers would recognize that accommodating new growth in domestic enrolment over the next 5 years will require new and increased resources to achieve high quality education, that there was a need to meet the “cost of continuance” past years 1 and 2 of the compensation freeze at each institution, and that there must be accountability for the use of university operating grants so as to invest new growth funding in a manner which “enhances the quality of the student experience.” (Therefore, the government would agree to provide additional multi-year enrolment growth funding, conditional upon enrolment plans approved by government to support growth over the next five years.)
Government would agree to provide new funding for two years after the freeze to meet the “cost of continuance” associated with full time faculty and librarian compensation. The cost of continuance would be based on:
- the share of full time faculty and librarian compensation out of operating revenues for each employer;
- an envelope of up to 1.9% of full time compensation costs for each employer;
- each employer’s share of the envelope would be based on formulaic distribution.
Faculty associations and the employer would review the feasibility of a university sector wide benefit plan. Government would provide employers with $250,000 to fund this review.
Government would agree to provide a one-time allocation of money to the employer to fund full-time retirements calculated on the basis of the number of retiring faculty and librarians multiplied by 100 per cent of the annual base salary; those eligible based on the terms of their respective pension plans would have to retire before a date to be determined, and make an irrevocable commitment to retire, and in return, would receive one year’s base salary. There would be one-time allocation to employers to fund the development of pension sustainability plans in the amount of $250,000
The framework would be subject to contract ratification.
Dispute resolution to the Ontario Labour Relations Board, except for disputes over the government’s commitments in 2, 3, 4 or 5 above, which would be referred to the Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities for resolution.

The OCUFA delegates left the meeting abruptly after the government representative finished reviewing the “elements” of the Government’s framework, communicating only that the delegates would review this with the OCUFA principals (i.e., faculty association president and negotiations chairs). OCUFA has scheduled an emergency meeting on September 1 for this purpose. Sandra Altwerger, our President, will be attending this meeting.

As an aside, it is important to understand that the university sector is the only sector in this provincial public sector in which union locals or faculty associations bargain locally. All other sectors are centrally coordinated in their bargaining. So, for example, our colleagues in OPSEU have their own local, but contract negotiations are subject to the collective policies and objectives of OPSEU as a collective. When OPSEU goes to the consultations with the government, they go as OPSEU representing not only educational workers, but also other OPSEU public sector workers. By contrast, OCUFA does not bargain for us – they are a confederation made up by university locals with independent local interests. This will make it very difficult for the government to try to collectively impose its “elements” on us without imposing legislation to do so.

We will continue to keep you updated as the situation unfolds.

Bill Leeming
OCADFA Chair of Negotiations

Message from Bill Leeming, OCADFA Neg. Chair - Re: Sept. l3th Meeting

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members,

On August 18, notice was sent to the Membership of a meeting to review the issues to be taken to the bargaining table as well as developments since the Spring General Meeting including the status of provincial governmental policies that may affect bargaining.

Concerns have since been raised about the matter of voting (with proxies) concerning a "finalized list" of items that make up the mandate of the Negotiations Committee. To date, no further items have been raised for the list. However, given that some members are insisting on voting on the list - with proxies - voting for members present and proxy voting will take place.

Please review the list (below) and bring any further items to the attention of the membership at the September 13th meeting.

Article 2 (2.1.3) - Recognition of Teaching Faculty positions Article 6 (additional) - Intellectual Property and Creator's Rights for Teaching Faculty and Academic Staff Article 8.1 – No Discrimination (amendments as per Bill 168) Article 16.1 (multiple clauses) - Sessional appointments Article 16.3 (multiple clauses) - Continuing appointments Article 17.2 (multiple clauses) - Lecturer appointments Article 18.1.1 – Inconsistency of language with Article 16.3.4.2 Article 19 (multiple clauses) - Teaching Faculty compensation, including a schedule of benefits for retirees Article 19 (additional) - Salary Grid Placement for New Employees Article 19 (additional) - Anomalies Rectification Funding (new) Article 21.4 – Professional Development Funding, excluding Sabbaticals Article 21.6 - Sabbatical Funding Article 24.3 (multiple clauses) - Teaching Faculty Performance Review, including Teaching Faculty Merit Progress Article 24.4 – Tenure preparation provisions (new) Article 26 (multiple clauses) – Faculty course load, including course load scheduling and transition note on classes size (pp. 37-38) Article 31 (multiple clauses) - Academic Staff Compensation, including a schedule of benefits for retirees (new) Article 31 (additional) - Anomalies Rectification Funding (new) Article 32 (multiple clauses) – Academic Staff Professional Development Article 34 (additional) - Salary Grid Placement for New Employees Article 35 - Academic Staff Performance & Peer Review Article 35 (35.5) - Academic Staff Merit Progress

New(Additional)

Flexible retirement
Graduate Teaching and Graduate Supervision Credit
Workload and terms of appointment for Chairs, Florence Chair, and Graduate Program Directors

Bill Leeming,
OCADFA Chair of Negotiations

Message from Sandra Altwerger, President OCADFA, September 2010

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

I’d like to wish a warm welcome to all new faculty, Academic Staff and Academic Counselors joining us this year and extend a warm welcome back to all OCADFA members who are returning this year.

We are now known as OCAD University, but the faculty association will still be known as OCADFA, the OCAD Faculty Association.

As faculty, Academic staff and Academic counselors, you are all members of OCADFA and are represented by the association in matters of bargaining and workplace conditions. These conditions are covered in the Memorandum of Agreement that outlines the matters of salary, contracts and hiring. The Memorandum and is available on the OCAD and OCADFA web sites - OCADFA.ca - and you can read it for information on your terms of employment. If you have any inquiries or concerns, please feel free to call the OCADFA office at extension 336, and we will be sure to speak to you.

OCADFA participates in all aspects of the university activities with representatives at Academic Council, the Board of Governors, Equity in Education and Employment Committee, The OCADU/OCADFA Joint Committee, Intellectual Property Committee, Health and Safety and Pension committees that make the school work.

There are two positions on committees currently available. These are Academic Council and The Health and Safety Committee. If you are interested in participating on these committees, please contact the OCAFA office at conniereid@ocad.ca.

Here are some notes on OCADFA activities this summer:

The summer has been busy with meetings of our affiliate organization, Ontario College and University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) in Toronto. Bill Leeming, Negotiations Chair, and I have been attending meetings with the other Presidents and Negotiators of faculty associations in Ontario to discuss the impact of the current legislation coming from the McGuinty Government about the Public Sector wage freeze. Ontario faculties are currently caught up in one of the most important issues since the Social Contract of the Rae government in 1993. After the government announced last spring that it would be undertaking consultations in response to its statement calling for two consecutive years of zero increase in net compensation, the faculty associations elected eight representatives to meet with the government and the Council of Universities. We have no idea how the government intends to implement its statement on compensation and the impact this might have on us. This is only the beginning of what we will face from the Ontario government, and we at OCADFA are confident that these issues can better be addressed at the local level by free collective bargaining. Ontario universities are diverse and the needs and interests of our workplace can best be addressed here, at the local level. Government public sector consultations so far has resulted in most unions walking away from the table.

Bill Leeming has been sending regular negotiation updates. Please keep up with the news coming from OCADFA. These are crucial issues that will be affecting our rights to collective bargaining during negotiations this year.

Other Items of Interest:

Intellectual Property- even though a meeting held in April was productive and encouraging; there has not been any activity on the part of management to finalize this agreement. The committee members have been involved in discussions about Intellectual Property for over two years. We have an appointment with the arbitrator in December, but I thought that this matter would have been completed by now. I hope that we will have something ready soon as it is to be included in the Memorandum of Agreement.

Three OCADFA officers, Marie-Josee Therrien, Tony Kerr and I, took part in mediation training sponsored by the office of Equity in Employment and Education. It was a three day workshop that took place in June. All OCADU students and employees are affected by this new legislation (Bill 168) that is now in effect. This addresses Violence and Harassment in the Workplace. A new document, The Respectful Workplace and Learning Environment has been written and approved by the Board of Governors to reflect this legislation and replaces the former Harassment Policy of OCAD. The changes in this document will require negotiating changes to Article 6.3.1, regarding Collegial Behaviour, and Appendix A - Academic Freedom in the Memorandum of Agreement.

Information about OCADFA

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Sandra Altwerger, President

Many of our members have questions about OCADFA. Who are we? What are our rights?

All faculty, academic counselors and academic staff are members of OCADFA.

The Ontario College of Art and Design Faculty Association is a legally constituted association formed in 1965 to protect the rights and improve the working conditions of full and part-time employees listed in the Memorandum of Agreement. OCADFA is the only body that can negotiate terms of employment with the University. OCADFA was unionized under the Ontario Labour Relations Act in 2000 when the Memorandum of Agreement was revised.

OCADFA negotiates a Memorandum of Agreement with the University. This is a legally binding document which governs the terms and conditions of employment for all of the members. The Association monitors the Universities’ compliance with the Memorandum of Agreement, and may file grievances where it believes that the University has violated the MOA. The Association also acts as a spokesperson for the members on issues of concern at OCAD. The MOA is a legally binding document that affects all faculty and Academic Staff and Counselors. It contains salaries, benefits, hiring procedures, working conditions and grievances.

OCADFA is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). Both of these organizations offer legal and consulting services to all universities in Ontario and Canada and lobby both Provincial and Federal governments on behalf of university employees. As a member of these organizations, the Grievance Chair, the Negotiations Chair and the President attend conferences and workshops regularly throughout the year as part of our service to OCADFA.

All of the members of OCADFA are eligible to be nominated and be elected to the Board of Directors. This is the executive committee of OCADFA. The members elect the executive who consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Grievance Chair and Negotiations Chair, plus four Directors. There are a total of nine people on the Board of Directors who hold their terms for three years. The Board of Directors is a rotating Board, with all Directors being elected for terms of three years with three Directors retiring and being elected each year. The Executive is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Association and reports regularly to the membership at a minimum of two membership meetings during the year.

Changes are made to the Memorandum of Agreement during negotiations. The faculty association and the university select their own negotiating committees. OCADFA has nine members on the Negotiations Committee, with a representative from each of the constituencies at OCAD. The two committees meet in an attempt to agree on changes to the Agreement. If the two committees agree on a package of amendments then the Negotiations Chair and the Board of Directors bring the amendments to the membership meeting for ratification. If the members of OCADFA and the Board of Governors ratify the package, the Memorandum of Agreement is modified in accordance with the agreement.

The Memorandum of Agreement provides that any member’s dispute can be taken to mediation through the grievance process. If resolution cannot be found through discussion at the university, then an outside mediator is appointed to help settle the matter. The mediator looks at all sides of the issue and makes a recommendation to the parties which is binding. Legal services are expensive, and fees for mediation and grievances are paid for from the fees collected from the membership.

Participation in OCADFA is important. Every member can vote. Every member has the right to be nominated and serve on the Board of Directors. Throughout its history, OCADFA has had representatives from the entire faculty, academic staff and counselors as representatives on the Board of Directors. All labour groups are welcome and need to participate so that your concerns can be heard.

If you have any inquiries, please contact the Executive Assistant, Connie Reid at extension 336. Or email Connie at conniereid@ocad.ca.

Please make sure that you stay informed about OCADFA activities. I look forward to seeing you all on September 13th, 2010, 11:30am - 1:30pm, room 230, at a negotiations meeting for all members.

Sandra Altwerger,
President, OCADFA

President, Sandra Altwerger, Faculty of Art
Vice President, Frederick Burbach, Faculty of Design
Secretary/Treasurer, Chris Bennell, Academic Staff, IT
Grievance Chair, Marie-Josee Therrien, Faculty of Liberal Studies
Negotiations Chair, Bill Leeming, Faculty of Liberal Studies
Director, Natalie Waldburger, Faculty of Art
Director, Tony Kerr, Faculty of Design
Director, Charles Reeve, OCAD Gallery Director and Faculty of Liberal Studies
Director John Kuisma, Academic Staff, Faculty of Design

Update on Bargaining

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Update on Bargaining

There has been a good deal discussion in the media about a two year wage freeze for Ontario public sector workers, including university academic and general staff. We would like you to be aware of the facts.

On Tuesday, Dwight Duncan, the Minister of Finance, met with stakeholders in the affected unions and administrations and said that he was encouraging all those in bargaining to agree to a pause and that all interest arbitrations be put on hold. He also announced that the Government was convening sectoral "consultations" with the university sector scheduled for Aug 9-20 at the Royal York in Toronto. Apparently, the participants will work around the clock for twelve days to reach a consensus. The objective of the "consultation" is for labour and management in the university sector plus government representatives to come up with solutions and options on how to meet the Government's policy objectives.

On Thursday, CAUT arranged a conference call of the leaders of all academic staff associations currently in bargaining to share information about what the government had said and to discuss what we, as the associations representing academic staff, wanted to do. It was agreed that there will be a meeting in Toronto next week of the presidents of all academic staff associations in Ontario to discuss whether we will participate in the "consultation"; if so, who our negotiators will be; what mandate they will have from all the academic staff associations in Ontario; and what system of accountability there will be between those at the table and the leadership of associations across the province. The actual agenda will be set by the presidents at the start of next week's meeting -- the date still to be determined.

Until then, it is important to know:

1) The government has stated its wish that there be no net compensation increase for the first two years of any agreement signed after the current agreement expires. There has been no legislation that authorizes the government to impose this restriction.

2) The government has indicated its desire that bargaining be paused and that all interest arbitration be placed on hold until after the Aug 9-20 "consultation.". As with the first item, this is only a request and the government has no legislative authority to impose it. Parties are free to continue bargaining and to negotiate whatever they want. The government has indicated that it will not add additional money in the event of a negotiated increase so each university would have to find the money in its current budget.

3) The government's hope apparently is that the Aug 9-20 "consultation" will result in to parties agreeing to a sectoral framework consistent with the government's plan. It seemed to be the consensus of presidents on Thursday's conference call that the obligation of academic staff associations is to put the interests of its members first, not to act as an agent for the government in its efforts at setting sectoral bargaining restrictions.

We will keep you updated following the meeting of association presidents next week.

Bill Leeming
OCADFA Chair of Negotiations

Sandra Altwerger
President, OCADFA

Frederick Burbach
Vice-President, OCADFA

Negotiations Update / Ontario Government�s Wage Restraint Consultations

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

On Thursday, July 29, Vice-President Academic McKinnon sent an email to the OCAD University community to announce that she will be one of eight Ontario university administration representatives participating in sectoral consultations during August regarding a government directive to public sector employers and unions to seek agreements with no net compensation increases for a two year period following the expiry of current agreements.

Bill Leeming and Sandra Altwerger represented OCADFA in a meeting of Ontario university faculty associations hosted by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) on Friday, July 30 to discuss how Ontario Faculty Associations wanted to respond to the government invitation to participate in these consultations.

It was decided by the 131 members present, that the faculty associations should participate. However, because the government has not provided details on the consultation process, none of the faculty association representatives present felt comfortable to participate in the consultations and act on behalf of other faculty associations. (As in the case of the administrations, the government had requested that only eight representatives attend a meeting on August 9.) It was therefore resolved that OCUFA would send a delegation of eight representatives who would attend the consultation for purposes of listening to what the government was proposing. The delegates will then return to tell the collective of faculty association representatives to report what they have heard. At that point, the faculty association representatives will decide what next steps will be.

It has already been resolved by the faculty representatives present that Ontario faculty associations will conduct contract negotiations in the letter and spirit of free collective bargaining, and in the interests of their members and the profession. Furthermore, Ontario faculty associations strenuously oppose any infringement, now or in the future, on free collective bargaining. Further to this, Ontario faculty associations will take such action as is necessary to preserve free collective bargaining in this province and to protect the interests of the people they serve.

Finally, we would like to report that all provincial faculty associations who are currently in negotiations were surveyed to see if any bargaining was on hold, i.e., respecting the government’s request to “pause” until after consultations. We are please to report that there have been NO breaks in negotiation proceedings in this province.

OCADFA will continue to update you as the situation develops.

September 13th OCADFA Negotiations Meeting for Members

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

It was resolved at the OCADFA Spring General Meeting that there would be a meeting in September to review and update the mandate of the OCADFA Negotiations Committee.

Bill Leeming will Chair the meeting on September l3th from ll:30 a.m. to l:30 p.m. in Room 230. The meeting is for all members and will focus on the issues to be taken to the bargaining table as well as developments since the Spring General Meeting including the status of provincial governmental policies that may affect bargaining.

Please note that the meeting is for review, questions and discussion pertaining to bargaining only. The resolution made no provision for voting. Proxies will consequently not be necessary.

Bill Leeming
Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Studies OCAD University 100 McCaul St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1W1

email: bleeming@faculty.ocad.ca

Please rsvp your attendance with Connie Reid so that adequate refreshments may be provided (and let us know if you have dietary restrictions as well).

Connie Reid
OCADFA Executive Assistant
Ontario College of Art & Design Faculty Association
4l6-977-6000 - Ext. 336
conniereid@ocad.ca
www.ocadfa.ca

More Notes on Recent Activities of OCADFA

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

SPRING MEETING MAY 10, 2010
More Notes on recent activities of OCADFA
From OCADFA President, Sandra Altwerger

Intellectual Property
Bill Leeming, Negotiations Chair and Intellectual Property committee members Archie Graham and Tony Kerr, have been working for the past two years hoping to finalize a document for the school. However, there have been numerous delays plus the resignation of Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies, Michael Owen that have made this difficult.

Last week there was finally a meeting with the University administration and legal counsels from both sides. The school has a new lawyer that specializes in Intellectual Property and the discussions went forward quite well. I was able to attend the meeting and could see what an enormous task this has been for the committee. The points of contention have been patenting and copyright and the rights of ownership of the university. Even though we have an appointment scheduled with the arbitrator in December, we are hopeful that the discussions will be finished by then and we will have a good, solid, working document.

New OCAD Document - Respectful Workplace & Learning Environment
OCADFA was asked to take part in the discussions regarding the development of a new workplace policy that will affect all employees and students at the University.

A new Bill is coming into effect in June 15, 2010, that is a significant change to the Health and Safety Act. This is Bill 168 - Addressing Violence and Harassment in the Workplace. The new policy and program are required to cover harassment based on human rights grounds. It was necessary for the university to write this document in order to replace the current Harassment Policy of OCAD.

Jane Ngobia, Director of Diversity& Equity Initiatives, and I met in March to review the document. It was passed at the last Board of Governor’s meeting in April. The emphasis is on a no tolerance policy on bullying in the workplace. The changes in this document will require negotiating changes to Article 6.3.1, regarding Collegial Behaviour, and Appendix A - Academic Freedom in the Memorandum of Agreement.

Course Scheduling - the Registrar is continuing to send OCADFA updates about the progress of the scheduling process this year. There are still some details to be agreed upon between the Vice President, Academic and myself, but I am hopeful that this can be finalized at the Joint Committee meeting scheduled for June.

The Academic Freedom Fund at CAUT
All of the universities across Canada are contributing to a fund set up by CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers). This fund was established in order to help out any of the member organizations that may be affected by catastrophic expenses in the defense of academic freedom. This is a very worthy cause and this year OCADFA donated a thousand dollars to the fund. This was the first donation by OCADFA even though the fund has been set up for several years. You can see an update of the money donated to the fund when you read your CAUT Bulletin. This publication is placed in the mail room of your department every month and is an excellent resource as it contains information from universities all across Canada.

Elections at OCADFA
There will be a Director’s position filled on the Board of Directors by sessional faculty, Natalie Waldburger, as Lewis Nicholson will be leaving the Board of Directors to go on sabbatical leave. I would like to thank Lewis for his participation on the Board of Directors for the last two and a half years. He has been a valued and important participant at OCADFA.

This leaves the rest of his term to be filled. According to our by-laws, Article 4.01, the Board of Directors is allowed to appoint any member until the next general meeting. There was a strong feeling from sessional faculty that they wanted to name someone to fill the position until the November elections as they felt unrepresented at OCADFA. OCADFA welcomes all members to be nominated and be elected to the Board of Directors. There has been representation from sessional faculty at OCADFA for many years in the past and we welcome more sessional faculty representation now.

There will be an election at the Annual General Meeting of OCADFA to elect someone to fill the position for the final year of Lewis’ term. OCADFA is a participatory democracy and as positions become available, all members can be nominated and elected by the members.

Committee Members Needed:
- Health and Safety Committee still needs one more member.
- Academic Council - Judith Doyle has finished a three year term. Many thanks to Judith for her excellent service to OCADFA

If you think you would like to participate in the activities of OCADFA and be a part of these very important committees please forward your name to our Executive Assistant, Connie Reid at ext. 336

President�s Report - Spring General Meeting

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

President’s Report
Spring General Meeting,
May 10th, 2010
Room 327, 11am - 2pm

What are foremost on the minds of the membership at present are the negotiations at OCAD set to begin in September of 2010. The current agreement will expire on the 30th of June, 2010. Many meetings have taken place recently with different focus groups representing different labour groups at OCAD. There were six meetings in all. It is very clear that there are many serious issues affecting everyone. The concerns of all of our members are very serious and the Board of Directors and the Negotiations Committee will be working throughout the summer and next fall to bring resolution to the next round of negotiations. Bill Leeming, OCADFA Negotiations Chair, will be leading discussions at the member’s meeting on May 10th and will be take a mandate for negotiations at that time.

Many of our members have questions about OCADFA. Who are we? What are our rights?

I cannot explain each and every labour group here in this message, but in order to clarify some of the many questions that people have, I have prepared this information below.

The Ontario College of Art and Design Faculty Association is a legally constituted association formed in 1965 to protect the rights and improve the working conditions of full and part-time employees listed in the Memorandum of Agreement. OCADFA is the only body that can negotiate terms of employment with the University. OCADFA was unionized under the Ontario Labour Relations Act in 2000 when the Memorandum of Agreement was revised.

OCADFA negotiates a Memorandum of Agreement with the University. This is a legally binding document which governs the terms and conditions of employment for all of the members. The Association monitors the Universities’ compliance with the Memorandum of Agreement, and may file grievances where it believes that the University has violated the MOA. The Association also acts as a spokesperson for the members on issues of concern at OCAD. The MOA is a legally binding document that affects all faculty and Academic Staff and Counselors. It contains salaries, benefits, hiring procedures, working conditions and grievances.

OCADFA is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). Both of these organizations offer legal and consulting services to all universities in Ontario and Canada and lobby both Provincial and Federal governments on behalf of university employees. As a member of these organizations, the Grievance Chair, the Negotiations Chair and the President attend conferences and workshops regularly throughout the year as part of our service to OCADFA.

All Faculty, Academic Staff and Counselors are members of OCADFA. All of the members of OCADFA are eligible to be nominated and be elected to the Board of Directors. This is the executive committee of OCADFA. The members elect the executive who consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Grievance Chair and Negotiations Chair, plus four Directors. There are a total of nine people on the Board of Directors who hold their terms for three years. The Board of Directors is a rotating Board, with all Directors being elected for terms of three years with three Directors retiring and being elected each year. The Executive is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Association and reports regularly to the membership at a minimum of two membership meetings during the year.

Changes are made to the Memorandum of Agreement during negotiations. The faculty association and the university select their own negotiating committees. OCADFA has nine members on the Negotiations Committee, with a representative from each of the constituencies at OCAD. The two committees meet in an attempt to agree on changes to the Agreement. If the two committees agree on a package of amendments then the Negotiations Chair and the Board of Directors bring the amendments to the membership meeting for ratification. If the members of OCADFA and the Board of Governors ratify the package, the Memorandum of Agreement is modified in accordance with the agreement.

The Memorandum of Agreement provides that any member’s dispute can be taken to mediation through the grievance process. If resolution cannot be found through discussion at the university, then an outside mediator is appointed to help settle the matter. The mediator looks at all sides of the issue and makes a recommendation to the parties which is binding. Legal services are expensive, and fees for mediation and grievances are paid for from the fees collected from the membership.

Participation in OCADFA is important. Every member can vote. Every member has the right to be nominated and serve on the Board of Directors. Throughout its history, OCADFA has had representatives from all of the faculty and academic staff and counselors as representatives on the Board of Directors. All labour groups are welcome and need to participate so that your concerns can be heard.

If you have any inquiries, please contact the Executive Assistant, Connie Reid at extension 336. Or email Connie at conniereid@ocad.ca.

Please make sure that you stay informed about OCADFA activities. I look forward to seeing you all on May 10th 2010, 11am - 2pm, room 327, at our annual spring meeting.

Sandra Altwerger,
President, OCADFA

President, Sandra Altwerger, Faculty of Art
Vice President, Frederick Burbach, Faculty of Design
Secretary/Treasurer, Chris Bennell, Academic Staff, IT
Grievance Chair, Marie-Josee Therrien, Faculty of Liberal Studies
Negotiations Chair, Bill Leeming, Faculty of Liberal Studies
Director, Lewis Nicholson, Faculty of Design
Director, Tony Kerr, Faculty of Design
Director, Charles Reeve, OCAD Gallery Director and Faculty of Liberal Studies
Director John Kuisma, Academic Staff, Fabrication Studios

OCADFA General Meeting

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Sandra Altwerger, President OCADFA

Spring Meeting for the General Membership of OCADFA (Ontario College of Art & Design Faculty Association)

On May 10, 2010 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Room 327, the Spring Meeting for the general membership of all members of OCADFA will take place to discuss the negotiation process that will commence in the fall of 2010.

Our Negotiations Chair, Bill Leeming, will be leading the discussion with his Negotiations Report in order to review a mandate for the next round of bargaining for the OCAD/OCADFA Memorandum of Agreement.

OCADFA Board of Director member Lewis Nicholson will be leaving on June 1st due to a sabbatical leave. I would like to thank Lewis for his participation at OCADFA. He will be missed by all of us at OCADFA.

Natalie Waldburger, Sessional Faculty, Faculty of Art, has been appointed by the OCADFA Board of Directors to take Lewis’ place on the Board from June 1st to the date of the next Annual General Meeting of OCADFA to be held in November of 2010. As the OCADFA by-laws state in article 4.01, the OCADFA Board of Directors may appoint someone from the membership to fill a vacated position until the next Annual General Meeting. Welcome Natalie!

Please attend this important meeting. It is important that all of the voices of the membership be heard so that your concerns can be brought forward in matters of negotiations.

Regards to all,

Sandra

Please rvsp your attendance with Connie Reid so that adequate refreshments are provided and let us know if you have any dietary restrictions.

Connie Reid
OCADFA Executive Assistant
conniereid@ocad.ca
4l6-977-6000 - Ext. 336
conniereid@ocad.ca
www.ocadfa.ca

Rescheduled OCADFA Spring General Meeting

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members:

Please note that our Spring General Meeting date has been rescheduled from April l9th to Monday, May l0th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Room 230 - l00 McCaul Street.

Agenda and attachments to follow at a later date.

Public Sector Compensation Restraint - 2nd Message

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Sandra Altwerger, President, OCADFA Bill Leeming Negotions Chair, OCADFA

As a follow-up to our e-blast yesterday about public sector compensation restraint, OCUFA has released a statement to say that it is bargaining as usual for all faculty associations in the upcoming year, whether or not they are certified trade unions.

Donna Gray of OCUFA points out: "The Finance Minister indicated in the press in the days following the budget that the government fully expects hard bargaining to occur this year; clearly, he does not anticipate that public sector unions will simply roll over as a result of this budget."

Given that so much of next year's provincial funding increase is tied to the system enrolling 20,000 additional students, we anticipate that workload and complement issues will continue to dominate the discussion for many faculty associations. That being said, there do NOT appear to be any legislative bars to bargaining compensation increases for our members.

Public Sector Compensation Restraint

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Message from Sandra Altwerger, OCADFA President and Bill Leeming, OCADFA Negotiations Chair

Dear Members:

OCADFA members will no doubt be wondering what the impact will be of the Public Sector Compensation Restraint to Protect Public Services Act, 2010 on our upcoming round of MOA negotiations in September.

Please be advised in reading the memorandum circulated to you by our President, Sara Diamond, yesterday that the Liberal government is being vague in its explanations. Consequently, there are several things that OCADFA and other provincial university faculty associations are investigating at this time. First, the immediate compensation freeze only applies to "non-bargaining" public sector (and broader public sector) employees. Secondly, assurances were given earlier this year to Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Association representatives that this part of the legislation would not apply to any OCUFA member - including OCADFA. OCUFA will attempt to re-confirm this when the actual legislation becomes available.

OCADFA will keep you posted as news becomes available.

OCADFA Bargaining Questionnaire

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear OCADFA Members:

You should have received a website link for the OCADFA Bargaining Questionnaire, sent out last week. If you have not received the link please contact Chris Bennell (cbennell@faculty.ocad.ca)

If you would prefer to fill out a hard copy of the questionnaire, these are available from Connie Reid in the OCADFA Office - Room 248 - 100 McCaul Street - conniereid@ocad.on.ca

Bill Leeming, OCADFA Negotiations Chair

A Message from OCADFA President, Sandra Altwerger February 17, 2010

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members of OCADFA,

I am forwarding a letter to you from our afillliate, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) .

It is extremely important to understand that universities in Ontario are underfunded by the government of Ontario, and universities are being asked to address the need for more money to operate the system by increasing student enrollment.

Attention to this matter has to be brought to the university community at large and the people who teach in it as well.

We need increased funding from the government to hire more tenure track faculty and teaching assistants rather than keep on increasing class sizes and not provide the proper support for the faculty teaching in them.

Please read the letter below ans communicate your thoughts on the matter to the links provided.

Sincerely,
Sandra

Dear Colleagues;

Ontario’s higher education system is at a crossroads. Decisions we make today will affect our ability to provide a high quality educational experience to students now and for generations to come.

Quality teaching and research depends on public funding. Faced with rising enrollment and the demands of the knowledge economy, our universities are in urgent need of new investment in the quality of education they provide.

The Government of Ontario’s Reaching Higher Plan took a visionary, long-term approach to higher education in Ontario and injected needed money into our university system. It is time to renew this commitment to higher education and equip universities with the resources they need to move our province forward.

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) has launched its Quality Matters: http://www.quality-matters.ca campaign to convince Premier Dalton McGuinty to increase public funding for Ontario’s universities. This new investment will improve the quality of education by:

Creating smaller classes and improving engagement with individual students;
Ensuring students learn in the best classrooms, labs, and libraries with the latest technology available; and
Supporting the basic and applied research that will fuel our economy; and
Keeping the cost of higher education affordable through frozen tuition fees and compensatory funding for universities, which in turn controls the level of student debt.

The people of Ontario – present and future – need a high-quality, world-class university system to succeed in the new economy and build a vibrant society. You have the power to help make this vision a reality.

Please visit Quality-Matters.ca and take the time to send a letter: http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=81&ea.campaign.id=2336 to Premier McGuinty indicating your support for increased investment in universities. You can also show your support by joining our Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo page or following us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ocufa.

It’s time to move Ontario into a new future defined by high-quality education, research and innovation, and the success of every student. Thank you for your support of Quality Matters.

If you have any questions about the Quality Matters Campaign, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

All the best,
Graeme Stewart
Communication and Government Relations Manager Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
300-83 Yonge St. | Toronto, ON | M5C 1S8
416 979 2117 x232 | gstewart@ocufa.on.ca www.ocufa.on.ca

Bargaining Questionnaire Notice - Message from Bill Leeming, OCADFA Negotiations Chair

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Dear Members,

You will shortly be receiving an email invitation to fill out an OCADFA Bargainning Questionnaire to assist the Negotiations Committee in developing the mandate for bargainning in the next round of OCAD/OCADFA Negotiations (September of 2010). There will be four separate questionnaires for tenured faculty, sessional faculty, technicians, and non-technician academic staff. The findings from the questionnaires will form the basis for focus groups that will take place in March. The Negotiations Committee will tabulate all findings and discussion prior holding a separate general meeting of the membership to finalize our mandate.

In addition, a proportion of the faculty will also receive a separate email inviting them to participate in the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) National Workload Study. The full range of work of faculty is poorly understood in our sector and there is little hard national data describing the breadth of faculty activities. OCADFA is therefore participating in CAUT's survey to assess and measure facutly workload and work experiences across the country. A sample group comprising more than 10,000 Canadian faculty is currently being prepared and the invitations will be sent out shortly. If you are one of those selected, we would urge you to take the time necessary to complete the questionnaire AND the survey.

With best regards,
Bill Leeming

OCADFA Negotiations Chair
Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Studies Ontario College of Art & Design 100 McCaul St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1W1

email: bleeming@faculty.ocad.ca

OCUFA Call for Submissions - 37th Annual Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards

OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA)

Hello Members:

OCUFA (Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations) is calling for submissions for the 37th Annual OCUFA Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards. If you would like to recommend one of your colleagues guidelines are available on the OCUFA website - www.ocufa.on.ca. Nominations normally range between 50 and 75 pages (12 categories).

Deadlines for submission is May 7, 2010

Please contact the OCADFA office for a hard copy of the guidelines

Connie Reid
OCADFA Executive Assistant
conniereid@ocadfa.ca
Room 248 - 100 McCaul Street
Ext. 336