(Article courtesy of Local 560)
Full-Time faculty are in the process of receiving their Standard Workload Forms (SWFs) for the summer academic term. The SWFs are being “maximized” for work assignments by management. Contracts for summer employment have either been started or will be issued soon to Partial-Load faculty.
As a Partial-Load member of the bargaining unit, you have the protections of our Collective Agreement, including Article 26.10 D and 26.10 E in particular, which is the Partial-Load Registry. It begins on p. 58 of the Collective Agreement, and you may want to read it here.
There are a number of criteria for the Partial-Load Registry, including having to make your interest known to the College. You must have signed up prior to October 30, 2019 to be eligible for priority hiring in the 2020 Calendar Year.
In addition, the Collective Agreement reads in Article 26.10 E:
“[W]here the school or department within a college determines that there is a need to hire a partial-load employee to teach a course that has previously been taught by that registered partial-load employee in the department/school, it will give priority in hiring to such partial-load employee…” .
Therefore, if the College decides not to offer a specific course, they may not have violated Partial-Load rights under 26.10 E.
Unfortunately, if the College does not offer courses that you have previously taught, the College is not obligated under the Collective Agreement to offer you other courses. The College, of course, may still choose to offer you different courses.
We understand that the start of a new semester can be stressful at the best of times. Given the added uncertainty around COVID-19, as well as the financial uncertainty it has caused, faculty may be feeling heightened stress. You may be eligible for a number of programs, which can provide some financial relief at this time, if required.
1) Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB): https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html
2) Employment Insurance (EI):
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-regular-benefit/apply.html
NOTE: Information on applying for CERB or for EI: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application/questions.html
3) Additional federal programs that may apply to you:
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html
4) OPSEU Regional Hardship Fund (mail form to Region 3 Office)
https://opseu.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/108-regionalhardshipfundapplicationformaccre.pdf
Partial-Load contracts are given where the College determines the need for offering courses, even during the COVID-19 crisis. These Partial-Load contracts are issued for teaching course curriculum and not for content development or to convert material to an online delivery mode.
If the expectation from the College is for Partial-Load professors to go beyond what is traditionally required to teach the course itself, then the College should be providing you with greater resources and equipment, in recognition of the additional work to make your students successful.
In Solidarity,
Your Local 354 Team