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
- Explanation of Labour Adjustments under s.54 of the Labour Code
- Canvass Presentation
- Seniority Calculations
- Lobbying & Letter Writing Campaigns
- Contract Negotiations Committee Motion: Organizing Coordinator Proposal
- Nominations and Election for Member-At-Large Vacancy
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 that significantly affect the terms, conditions, or job security of a substantial number of employees covered by a collective agreement. Here is what the employer sent us. BCGEU and CUPE received similar notices. Together, we asserted that the college must adhere to the 60-day notice period required AND negotiate alternatives to layoffs. All three unions at the college have suggested that the problem could be easily solved by eliminating administrative bloat!
| CCFA Faculty | Exempt Employees | Student | |||
| FTE | Total Annual Earnings | FTE | Total Annual Earnings | Headcount | |
| 2015 | 413.423 | $43,177,367.87 | 57.923 | $5,560,160.35 | 18,766 |
| 2020 | 473.294 | $52,471,900.35 | 89.586 | $9,279,325.94 | 15,980* |
| 2024 | 493.181 | $63,123,117.78 | 101.689 | $12,765,368.95 | 14,104 |
| Increase | 11% | 46% | 75% | 129% | |
Sources: International Accountability Plan & Report, Camosun College, 2023/24; 2019/2020; 2014/2015 Reporting Cycles;
Human Resources Database, PSEA
We have negotiated expanded canvass options under Article 6 of the “Common” section of our 2022-2025 Collective Agreement. Because early retirement is one of the options typically offered in a canvass, we advise our members to discuss their retirement planning with the Union before announcing their intentions to the college. Our Labour Relations Advisor, Dominique, is an expert on all things Retirement and Pension!
We’ve just published the 2024 Seniority List, but caution all members… there are errors! Read our detailed blog post about how to double check your own calculations!
Check your employee email for our MLA Letter Writing Campaign, or read this blog post about how I’ll continue to lobby for changes to the policies that precipitated this budget crisis. But, I need your help to make sure it gets discussed when our legislature convenes for the first time on January 21 – so write your letters, PLEASE!
Members also approved a new 50% CCFA-release position for a trial Organizing Coordinator in Winter 2025. We’ve conducted interviews and selected Janice Niemann from the English Department to help engage with and communicate with all our members ahead of Bargaining! Remember, our Collective Agreement EXPIRES on March 31, 2025, and given the current labour relations climate, we will need all our members behind us to achieve significant gains.
As of December 19, 2024, Mandy Hayre will be taking a one-year unpaid leave of absence from the CCFA to be the Interim Dean of Health Sciences at Vancouver Community College. This leaves a “Member-at-large” (MAL) vacancy on the CCFA Exec. We meet every two weeks (hybrid) from 3:30-5 PM on Tuesdays, with pub nights to follow once a month. The current MAL duties are to lead “Table Talks” and be a point of contact for members. Please send me your expressions of interest or nominations before January 14.
Members who joined our Discord Server during the SGM will receive a Union Swag package!
- Jan Jackson
- MichaelP
- Mama
- Anneke24
Our Discord server is the first, best place to receive news, information, and support from your colleagues, stewards, and ME! If you aren’t yet a member, email my union account from your personal email, and I will send you a private invite.
Contact our office staff if you don’t hear from them about your prize in the next week or two! I hope you’ll stop in to see me whenever you’re walking by Young 222! You can usually find me on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays, and I’m available by appointment at Interurban or Zoom on Mondays & Fridays!
Lynelle Yutani (she/they)
ac.ytlucafnusomac@tnediserp
President, Camosun College Faculty Association
Lynelle is a queer, leftist rabble-rouser galvanized to guard the rights of union members and is on a crusade to convince you that you get out of your Union what you put into it. Lynelle serves on Presidents Council of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) and was elected to FPSE Executive as a Member-at-Large. She is on a number of FPSE affiliate committees, including the 2SLGBTQIA+ and Racialized Workers Caucuses for the BC Fed, and is active in the Victoria Labour Congress. Lynelle also serves as V.P. of her Strata Council & oversees a rooftop community garden which partners with Harvest & Share Food Aid Society to grow fresh produce for local foodbanks and community food security programs.
Send Us YOUR Content for the Confluence Blog!
This is what we mean when we say that the Confluence Blog is for members, by members. Your colleagues are interested in what you have to say! Contact us or send your article in by College Email. New blog posts can be published daily, accounting for staff availability. Feel free to include images licensed through Creative Commons, that you personally own rights to, or other royalty free open resource images.
Leave a Reply