Thanks to your strong strike mandate (95%!), the University finally responded to our financial package after sitting on it for two and a half months. However, we were thoroughly insulted by their response.
Aside from rejecting our cost of living adjustment (COLA) language that would align annual stipend increases with the rate of inflation, the University’s proposed:
3% effective September 1, 2022 (an additional $226 per 0.5 credit course, roughly $28 per paycheck);
2% effective January 1, 2023 (an additional $155 per 0.5 credit course, roughly $19 per paycheck);
2.25% effective September 1, 2023 (an additional $178 per 0.5 credit course, roughly $22 per paycheck);
2.25% effective September 1, 2024 (an additional $182 per 0.5 credit course, roughly $23 per paycheck).
That’s only 9.5% over the life of the agreement. 9.5% doesn’t account for the over 13% pay gap that currently exists between Contract Instructors at Carleton and the University of Ottawa. And it doesn’t begin to touch the astronomical inflation you and your colleagues have experienced over the past year and a half. Make no mistake: this salary offer is a pay cut.
They also rejected a number of other financial proposals outright, including extending the tuition fee waiver to spouses and dependants, an emergency fund, a leaves benefits fund, and the optional match-defined RRSP. After hearing their financial package, we asked them how they expect to compete with other universities, particularly the University of Ottawa, and they were silent.
You and your colleagues are facing record high inflation and cost of living, and have taken year-over-year pay cuts when adjusted for inflation. Carleton works because you and your colleagues do. You deserve wages and benefits that reflect that. You deserve wages and benefits that aren’t a poverty sentence.
And that’s why we’re calling a Special Unit 2 Caucus on Thursday, February 16 at 7:00 PM (details to come). Your bargaining team is demanding salary adjustments that account for your needs and the value you bring to the University. You gave us a clear strike mandate, now come have your say about red lines.
We hope to meet you at a meeting!
In solidarity, The Bargaining Team
Noreen Cauley-Le Fevre, President Sarah Fiander, VP Internal Cheryl Cundell, co-VP Unit 2 and Chief Negotiator Ryan Conard, Recording Secretary Patti Kmiec, Mobilization Committee Chair Lori Stinson, Unit 2 Member Codie Fortin Lalonde, Acting Business Agent and Organizer
|