Dear Members, The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators is accepting requests to access funding from the 2023 International Solidarity Fund (ISF) until Monday, February 20, 2023. You may access the online application form and other ISF information on the FPSE website. The ISF is designed to support long-term, ongoing projects that build partnerships between our … [Read more...] about Call for Proposals: 2023 FPSE International Solidarity Fund
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Register Now for CAUT’s Collective Bargaining (March 6 – 10, 2023) – by 4 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2023
Greetings Members! This is the first call for CAUT Collective Bargaining – which is another workshop being offered in conjunction with the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) through our FPSE affiliation. This is an ideal course for those new to bargaining or interested in learning more about what goes on at the bargaining table. It is a great way to … [Read more...] about Register Now for CAUT’s Collective Bargaining (March 6 – 10, 2023) – by 4 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2023
Free Webinar on Canadian Pension Plans & Climate Crisis
Hi Members! Ally Flynn, our FPSE Pension Advisory Committee member, wanted me to share a free webinar link with you. The webinar is Wednesday, February 8, @ 9 AM (12-1 EST). You need to register for a spot, but there doesn’t appear to be a limit on attendees. We know it is late notice for many of you, but it just came to our attention. Canadian … [Read more...] about Free Webinar on Canadian Pension Plans & Climate Crisis
Welcome Message from New PD Chair
Hello dear CCFA members. I want to introduce myself to you. I have just taken over the role of the CCFA Professional Development Fund committee chair (from Blair Fisher, who was in the role for many years). I thought it would be good to share some valuable tips and info with you about the PD funds and the process to apply. DID YOU KNOW? Term faculty are also entitled … [Read more...] about Welcome Message from New PD Chair
SD Intent Deadlines & Payroll Advance Registration Reminders!
Greetings Members! I know from the title you were probably expecting to get a series of Confluence Blog articles from the Union’s posts over the last month. Well, surprise! THERE WEREN’T ANY. Not that I didn’t want to publish some great info for our members or that I wouldn’t have loved to post your content, too (that’s a plea, by the way!). None of … [Read more...] about SD Intent Deadlines & Payroll Advance Registration Reminders!
UPDATE: Union Response to Pay Date Change Fiasco
Dear Members, Yesterday, we asked you for your stories and I’ve spent the past day reading so many distressing stories about you were affected in the aftermath of the Pay Date Change. I learned that a substantial number of our members have suffered negative financial consequences from being improperly informed and underprepared for the shift to “Pay in Arrears.” … [Read more...] about UPDATE: Union Response to Pay Date Change Fiasco
Union Response to Pay Date Change Fiasco
Dear Members, Earlier this month, it seemed like our members lost a week of pay because our pay date was postponed right after the Winter Holiday, and we won’t get that money back until we retire or otherwise leave the College’s employment. In September, when the College indicated it would change the dates of pay for CCFA members, it is clear that they utterly failed to … [Read more...] about Union Response to Pay Date Change Fiasco
Shared Recovery Mandate | Bargaining 2022
How Does The "Shared Recovery Mandate" Stack Up Against Inflation? Are you sure you really want to know this? I wasn't... but then morbid curiosity got the better of me. Our Union is 48 years old. In less than two years, we will celebrate OUR golden 50th anniversary, just three years behind Camosun College's. So lets see how well we weathered inflation during that time. … [Read more...] about Shared Recovery Mandate | Bargaining 2022
Holiday Spotlight on Literature: “A Visit from the Union”
Updated 2022 Edition by Lynelle Yutani. (A highly stylized adaptation of the poem, “Twas The Night Before Christmas” attributed to both Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingston Jr.) 'Twas just days before Christmas, when all through each campus,Not a creature was stirring, the Term's all complete, for which you can thanks us; Next term’s course syllabi are posted to … [Read more...] about Holiday Spotlight on Literature: “A Visit from the Union”
Faculty Feature: Winter Break Isn’t a Jolly Holiday for All
A reminder about precarity from one of your many Term Colleagues It’s that time again! We are in the final stretch until the end of the term. For many instructors this is a time of winding down and thinking about the next semester of teaching and looking forward to some well-deserved R&R. For term employees, it the stress and uncertainty of if there is a contract coming … [Read more...] about Faculty Feature: Winter Break Isn’t a Jolly Holiday for All
It’s Not Just
Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living. There are far too many "memorial" dates in November, beginning with November 8, Indigenous Veteran's Remembrance Day and traditional Remembrance Day on November 11, every November Canadians spend a vast portion of time grieving for those we've lost and reflecting on how to end the violence. You may have noticed the … [Read more...] about It’s Not Just
Spotlight on Literature – Poet’s Corner, a Haiku
Found Feather By Sandra Bannikoff a remembrance of someone who is still free … [Read more...] about Spotlight on Literature – Poet’s Corner, a Haiku
CCFA Info-sessions Fall 2022 – Updated
Check your Cheque - October 14, 10-11:00 a.m. Are you receiving the right pay? Would you like to be able to understand and check your earnings statements? Come to this brief info-session and learn the tools you need. With special guest Tana Kristjansen, retired accounting instructor. This one-hour session includes a 20-minute presentation followed by Q & A. … [Read more...] about CCFA Info-sessions Fall 2022 – Updated
CCFA Endorses Capilano Faculty Association’s Statement of Support For Iran
It is impossible to ignore the ongoing human rights violations occurring daily in Iran as people there continue to protest the death of Mahsa Amini on September 13, 2022. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, was accused of inappropriately wearing a hijab by Iran’s ‘Moral Security’ agency, arrested, and killed. Following her death, … [Read more...] about CCFA Endorses Capilano Faculty Association’s Statement of Support For Iran
New Confluence Feature: Spotlight on Literature – Member Book Review
“The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility.” (bell hooks, 1994) By Martha McAlister For the faculty book club this fall, we just finished reading “Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom” by bells hooks. She passed away last year, sparking us to revisit her seminal work. Though this book was written in 1994, it’s … [Read more...] about New Confluence Feature: Spotlight on Literature – Member Book Review
Faculty Feature: Kenyan Women and Children
Arts & Science Students & Faculty Fundraiser School of Arts and Science Kenyan Women & Children Fundraising Join the School of Arts & Science for their Kenyan Women and Children Fundraiser Event, on November 4 and 7; 11:00am to 2:00pm in the Fisher Foyer. We are hosting Fundraiser for the Ngoswani School for Kenyan women and children to … [Read more...] about Faculty Feature: Kenyan Women and Children
2022 Fall GM – Thursday, November 3, 3:00-4:30 PM – Online
Attention Camosun College Faculty Association Members, your Fall General Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 3, 2022, from 3:00 to 4:30 PM. Please check your Outlook Calendar to make sure you've received our invite and link. If you haven't gotten an invite, please contact us. This is an important meeting for all Term AND Continuing Faculty members … [Read more...] about 2022 Fall GM – Thursday, November 3, 3:00-4:30 PM – Online
Fair Employment Week 2022
MAKING IT FAIR FOR CONTRACT ACADEMIC STAFF October 17-21 is Fair Employment Week, the Canadian Association of University Teachers' annual campaign to raise awareness about precarious employment on campuses and support local organizing to improve the working conditions of contract academic staff. For us here at Camosun College that's our many Term, Contract, … [Read more...] about Fair Employment Week 2022
Have You Seen the New 2023-2028 Strat Plan Draft for Camosun College?
I hadn't, and I'm usually pretty observant! So you can imagine my surprise when, during the October Board of Governor's (BoG) meeting, I learned that it was due to be approved next month for adoption in January. Hang on. What? That's right. The thing that will guide, direct, and affect each of our working lives over the next five years, that we were promised to be … [Read more...] about Have You Seen the New 2023-2028 Strat Plan Draft for Camosun College?
Camosun Showcase 2023: Professional, Scholarly, and Creative Activity – Call for submissions to share your knowledge and expertise
Are you interested in sharing your stories of innovation, research, and creativity with the college community and beyond? Are you interested in highlighting the relevant and important work that you have done individually or collaboratively with colleagues, students, or community? Are you interested in writing about your experiences in harnessing the ‘best of both worlds’ of … [Read more...] about Camosun Showcase 2023: Professional, Scholarly, and Creative Activity – Call for submissions to share your knowledge and expertise
Hey CCFA, Let’s Get Out the Vote on Oct 15!
B.C. municipalities go to the polls to elect new city councils, school boards, and mayors on Oct 15—in fact, mail-in ballots and advance voting have already begun. Local civic elections represent residents’ best chance to have a direct impact on their day-to-day lives—far more than provincial or federal equivalents. And yet, ironically, they habitually attract much lower … [Read more...] about Hey CCFA, Let’s Get Out the Vote on Oct 15!
Learning to Walk Together in a Good Way
September 30th is now officially Victoria Orange Shirt Day in BC also known as National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. This proclamation was made by the Honorable Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing, an uninvited settler on these unsurendered (but occupied nonetheless) lands, with the … [Read more...] about Learning to Walk Together in a Good Way
What does “important” mean?
Recently your Union did something that may have surprised many of you. We sent an actual physical postcard... to your home address. No one on the current Exec could remember ever having done anything like that before; and don't for a minute imagine that it was an easy decision for the Executive Committee to make, either. We wrestled with the idea for a long time... we … [Read more...] about What does “important” mean?
Why should you care about Academic Governance?
Well, for starters, Education Council, or EdCo, is the one and ONLY governance committee at Camosun College that has MORE faculty than administrators on it. Well, that is, when all the elected seats are filled. When it comes to the Academic Matters of this institution, the Education Council are responsible for changes to student admissions, academic standards, and academic … [Read more...] about Why should you care about Academic Governance?
FPSE Climate Action Standing Committee Speaker Series
The CCFA is proud to announce that the inaugural FPSE Climate Action Standing Committee Speakers Series will be held September 23rd, 2022 at 10 AM. Scott Saywell, Superintendent of BC School District 68 and Joan Brown, CAO of the Snuneymuxw First Nation will share their organization’s approaches on sustainability and climate issues with an emphasis on applying traditional … [Read more...] about FPSE Climate Action Standing Committee Speaker Series
Announcing the 2022 CCFA Charity Fund Recipients
Each year, the CCFA allocates $1500 to make donations to various charities nominated by our members. It is never an easy decision deciding how to split such a small sum among so many in need. This year, our decision was harder than ever, with many, many deserving charities submitted we relied on a guiding principle that we would fund charities where our own faculty and … [Read more...] about Announcing the 2022 CCFA Charity Fund Recipients
Bargaining in the shadow of BC’s Public Sector Employers’ Council
Have you heard the news? BCGEU: The votes are in and nearly 95% of BCGEU's public service members voted in favour of strike action, in their fight for a fair deal that includes #COLA! This is a big day for BC's labour movement. Read on to learn more about why this matters and how important it is for Collective Bargaining. Union Power in BC has been suppressed for over … [Read more...] about Bargaining in the shadow of BC’s Public Sector Employers’ Council
Honouring Our Commitments to Reconciliation on National Indigenous Persons Day
It is so important to uphold and promote good works that others do. Amplifying and sharing with respect and gratitude isn't always appreciated in our colonialized educational system. So, today rather than creating my own blog post on Indigenous Persons Day, I am sharing a wonderful Newsletter from the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council that I received through a sign-up … [Read more...] about Honouring Our Commitments to Reconciliation on National Indigenous Persons Day
Pride & Labour: There Might Not Have Been One Without the Other
This week kicks off a week of PRIDE celebration events here in Victoria, B.C. and while my heart soars that after a two year hiatus, queer and straight alike will once again have the opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principle that LOVE IS LOVE, together and in-person. My joy is overshadowed by the growth of hate speech and the threats of violence against queer … [Read more...] about Pride & Labour: There Might Not Have Been One Without the Other
Your Labour Makes It All Possible
This past week, as thousands of Camosun graduates crossed the convocation stage at the first in-person graduation ceremony since the beginning of the Pandemic, I wanted to extend my awe and gratitude to all of our members for a job well done. Covid-19 robbed us of so much, like the hundreds and thousands of uncompensated hours of labour you supplied to make it possible for … [Read more...] about Your Labour Makes It All Possible
