Each month, as dictated by our collective agreement, local faculty representatives and management representatives meet to discuss workload issues in our college.
On April 28, three new management representatives attended to replace three others who have completed their two-year terms. Items discussed were collective agreement-stipulated terms of reference for the WMG, the roles of “Co-Chairs,” and several on-going concerns including “Deliverables,” the method of giving out hours for “Program Review,” and assessments for PLAR in Con-Ed.
Regarding “Deliverables,” there was a very long discussion. Union members of Workload shared the feedback they have been getting from faculty regarding deliverables and in particular the anxiety many of our faculty feel regarding this concern. Union members of WMG asked for no further changes to deliverables without prior discussion with faculty through the WMG, and secondly, on-going discussions at WMG aimed at achieving a compromise on this extremely polarizing issue.
Regarding PLAR assessments in Con-Ed, the union representatives discussed the collective agreement requirement that all work must be on the SWF and compensated through overtime, not through a stipend. There was discussion of how this change could be implemented and it will be further discussed at future WMG meetings.