What Did Open House Cost Faculty?
Our collective agreement expressly states that “The SWF shall include all details of the total workload including teaching contact hours, accumulated contact days, accumulated teaching contact hours,” etc. (11.02 A 2). In other words, all faculty work must be accurately recorded on a SWF. Your local union representatives feel that faculty work preparing for and attending at Open House must be recorded on a SWF.
Further, our collective agreement expressly provides that, although a work assignment on a weekend is not normally assigned to faculty, any faculty work on a weekend must be calculated on a SWF at 1.5 hours for every hour worked by faculty (article 11.01 L3).
Finally, our collective agreement clearly states that any overtime worked by faculty (hours in excess of 44 hours per week) must be paid at .01% of gross salary (article 11.01 J2). In fact, we have been informed that Durham College support staff had the option of accepting either time-and-a-half or lieu time.
Given the provisions in our collective agreement, what does it cost faculty when we are not SWF’d for our work and attendance in respect of Open House? Your union representatives take the position that the following is what should properly occur:
a) For faculty who would not be placed in overtime as a result of being accurately SWF’d for the work and attendance at Open House:
Your union has taken the position that the workload calculation should properly be considered as “teaching” and therefore calculated on a swf with other teaching work. Such calculation should include a prep factor, as well as the class size and any evaluation or feedback that is involved. The contact hours would be reflected at 1.5 hours for each hour of contact to reflect each hour of contact.
b) For faculty who would be placed in overtime as a result of being accurately SWF’d for the work and attendance at Open House, based on an hourly rate of pay reflecting each faculty’s step:
(i) faculty at step 5 – $88.00 per hour
(ii) faculty at step 10 – $108.60 per hour
(iii) faculty at step 15 – $129.00 per hour
(iv) faculty at step 21 – $153.00 per hour
As you may know, your union local has grieved the College’s breach of the collective agreement for refusing to accurately record faculty work and attendance at Open House and any other volunteer activities. As stewards of our collective agreement, we are obligated to take appropriate action to protect our contract of employment. This grievance is scheduled to be heard by an arbitrator on May 7, 2014.