Hi Members! Our office staff take their much-deserved holidays in the summer while many of you are also away on vacation. During July and August, when our office hours are reduced due to seasonal staffing availability, processing of PD claims may take up to 30 days. Please remember that all PD inquiries, including claims, should be sent to ac.nusomac@DP-AFCC. REMINDER: … [Read more...] about Summer Hours 2025
From the President
Your 2025 AGM Election Results & Highlights
Congratulations to your newly elected CCFA Executives! We are happy to announce that the following nominees have been elected or acclaimed to Office for 2025-26: We are also pleased to inform you that Isabel Grondin (HSHS) has been re-elected to the position of CCFA Representative on the PD Committee, effective immediately. The Executive Committee extends our … [Read more...] about Your 2025 AGM Election Results & Highlights
Honouring Black Canadian Workers
The Struggles and Triumphs of Black Workers in Canada Black workers in Canada have historically faced numerous challenges, including discrimination, wage disparity, job segregation, and exclusion from certain trade unions. Many were relegated to low-paying and dangerous jobs in industries such as railway work, domestic service, and manufacturing. Despite these barriers, … [Read more...] about Honouring Black Canadian Workers
Fall 2024 Special General Meeting Highlights
Greetings to all our Siblings & Relations! Did you miss the Fall Special General Meeting on December 12, 2024? If so, here are the highlights: Meeting Business Territorial Acknowledgement Agenda Section 54 of the BC Labour Code requires employers to give 60 days' notice and engage in good-faith discussions with the union before implementing changes … [Read more...] about Fall 2024 Special General Meeting Highlights
Lobbying & Letter Writing Campaigns
Hi Members! I know many of you are still working hard to complete your final exams and grading for the semester, but I’m hoping you’ll take a moment to pay attention to this important request. Last week, members at the SGM learned about our MLA Letter Writing Campaign. We want every member to send a letter to their MLA requesting support. Please do this … [Read more...] about Lobbying & Letter Writing Campaigns
2024 Fall GM Highlights
Greetings to all our Siblings & Relations! Did you miss the Fall General Meeting on October 15, 2024? If you did, you missed our first attempt at a completely hybrid General Meeting. This Winter, we'll do it again, this time at Interurban. While it would have been great if everyone could have joined us in person or online, we know it isn't possible, so here are your … [Read more...] about 2024 Fall GM Highlights
What Voting in This Election Means to Me
Today, in honour of the first day of early voting and in a direct act of protest over the "Essential Spending and Strategic Hiring" announcement we got in a Special CamNews today, I'm writing a very personal message to all of my siblings, colleagues, and friends. I first moved to Canada in 2010, actually, on May the fourth, as many of you may have heard me joke during our … [Read more...] about What Voting in This Election Means to Me
A Few Helpful Reminders for CCFA Members – Fall 2024
Hi Members! A few end-of-the-month reminders, but trying to keep this brief because the official digest comes out next week! Be on the lookout for our Bargaining Team and Exec members circulating in your areas. They’ll be dropping into your department and team meetings with our Bargaining Survey! I know it seems obscenely soon, since we don’t even have an … [Read more...] about A Few Helpful Reminders for CCFA Members – Fall 2024
Welcome Back &/or Carry On, Members!
Dear Friends and Members! Whether you are returning from a brief time off between semester assignments or the summer break, there's a few new and different things that all faculty members should be aware of! Your Union didn't take any time off this summer and we've been working around the clock to improve your working conditions and protect your rights. That said, we don't … [Read more...] about Welcome Back &/or Carry On, Members!
Your 2024 AGM Election Results & Highlights
Congratulations to your newly elected CCFA Executives! We are happy to announce that the following nominees have been elected or acclaimed to Office for 2024-25: The new Executive Committee members will take office on September 1, 2024. We are also pleased to inform you that Isabel Grondin (CSEE) has been elected to the position of CCFA Representative on the PD … [Read more...] about Your 2024 AGM Election Results & Highlights
My Favorite Things – Union Style
When Rogers and Hammerstein wrote the beloved stage musical, the Sound of Music which debuted in 1959, they never imagined the song "My Favorite Things" would someday become closely associated with the winter holidays as a popular secular carol. It was Julie Andrews, performing "My Favorite Things" in 1961 on the Gary Moore TV Holiday Special that launched this song into the … [Read more...] about My Favorite Things – Union Style
Another Successful CCFA Winter GM!
Hi Members! We were so pleased to see so many of joining us at our General Meeting on March 2, 2023 from 3 - 4:30 PM. We had lots to share with you! Executive updates, including some Q & A time with your Bargaining and Contract Management Chairs! You heard a number of important announcements, calls to action, and we handed out some great door prizes - Munro's Books … [Read more...] about Another Successful CCFA Winter GM!
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”
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
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?
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?
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
Select Committee on Finance for the 2023 BC Budget
On behalf of the Camosun College Faculty Association, I once again provided recommendations to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services Committee for the 2023 BC Budget Consultation. On June 7th, I presented to the Committee as part of a panel of presenters across Post Secondary, who spoke on similar topics. Panel 2, Advanced Education - Tuesday, June … [Read more...] about Select Committee on Finance for the 2023 BC Budget
My Personal Indigenization Statement – Lynelle Yutani
Indigenization and Decolonization are processes, not just goals. I choose the path of reconciliation and cross-cultural healing with great intention. I work for it (inside myself) and try to model it for others. I intentionally check my privilege and attempt to be as generous (in heart as well as in other ways) as possible. I try to walk with respect for my … [Read more...] about My Personal Indigenization Statement – Lynelle Yutani
How learning to be a President is a lot like learning to knit
For my first Confluence article ever, I thought I would share something more personal and fun. Last week I bombarded you with listserv messages trying to bring awareness to the plight of Term and Contract Academic workers as part of Fair Employment Week… but guess what? Before this past week, I hadn’t really paid that close of attention to what Fair Employment Week was all … [Read more...] about How learning to be a President is a lot like learning to knit
