Announcement of OPSEU Equity Vice-President: Dr. Crystal Garvey
We are delighted to announce the selection of our own Dr. Crystal Garvey as the Vice-President-Select of OPSEU’s new equity board seats.
Over a decade in the making, delegates to OPSEU’s 2023 convention passed a Constitutional Amendment adding seven new Equity Seats to the Executive Board. These new seats will allow OPSEU to meet the member-led demands for representation on the Executive Board that reflects the diversity of our membership.
Crystal has played a pivotal role in championing equity and inclusion, notably through her involvement as a member of OPSEU’s Provincial Women’s Committee. Crystal has also recently joined the college’s own EDI Committee and is our designated Equity Steward.
We congratulate Crystal on her new role!
SWF Spring 2024
As members will soon receive either a SWF or Spring Memo for the spring 2024 semester, we remind all members to be aware of the following:
SWF Review Timelines and Workload Discussions
If you have any concerns regarding your spring SWF, please ensure that you promptly refer your SWF to the Workload Monitoring Group (WMG). Faculty members are allotted five days to complete this process upon receipt of the SWF. Discussions can still continue with your manager and workload issues can still be resolved outside of a referral, but if you don’t refer your SWF, you lose the right to have your workload concerns formally reviewed if you can’t come to mutual agreement with your manager. Mutual resolution is always preferable.
Student samples to determine Course Evaluation Factor
If your manager requests student samples in order to determine the appropriate evaluation factor on a SWF, members are advised to provide their evaluations and answer keys for such a review in keeping with the Collective Agreement (CA) Article 11.01 E 2, 11.01 E 3 and Article 11.02 A 1. These articles do not mention the requirement for student samples and therefore the union’s position is that student samples do not have to be provided.
Spring Memos 2024
Spring memos are issued for faculty who are not teaching in this period and do not require signing. However, any work assigned in this period must also be issued with mutual consent and agreement of faculty, according to Article 11.08. It is recommended that faculty have a discussion with their managers about what activities they are engaging in during this non-teaching period.
Typical activities in this period include professional development, curriculum review and planning for the next school year. Members are reminded that they are entitled to 10 days of professional development of their choosing each year, including one period of at least five consecutive working days if requested. Requests for PD must be approved by a manager, but cannot be unreasonably withheld.
Working Together
If you have any questions about your spring workload, please reach out to your local steward. If you are unsure who to contact, please email the local at office@opseu354.ca.
For more information on Workload, please visit our website here: https://opseu354.ca/workload/know-your-swf/
And for a complete FAQ on SWFs and how they are calculated, you can also visit the following page, which includes a downloadable SWF calculator: https://opseu354.ca/workload/swf-faqs/
In solidarity,
Your Local 354 Executive