New Measures for the VCTA OfficeAs a response to the increased risk levels in effect in Montréal, from October 10th, 2020 until October 28th, there will be no regular presence in the VCTA office. If teachers would like to make an appointment with a member of the VCTA Executive, they should send an e-mail to the VCTA address, and a member of the Executive will contact them as soon as possible.
Covid Resources for TeachingResources have been made available to the College to help them address needs that have arisen because of the pandemic. A portion of these resources is supposed to be invested in teaching. The VCTA Executive contacted the senior Vanier administration to demand that teaching resources be used to help teachers in the classroom. Please see the attached message and the model that we suggest that the administration use to distribute these resources.
An Exceptional Pedagogical SituationYou will find among our attachments a report from one of our FNEEQ committees, École et Société. This committee concerns itself primarily with pedagogical issues. In Chronique 90, the committee looks at how FNEEQ teachers have been challenged by the conditions that have been imposed on them as a result of the pandemic.
Workload Reduction – Here we go againSome of you may remember that, as a result of a grievance that we filed last year, the College abandoned its practice of clawing back salary from teachers on workload reduction whose C.I. decreased after the beginning of the semester. It has come to the attention of the VCTA Executive that the College is now refusing, in some cases, to agree to reduce the fraction of workload requested by the teacher and offering them a different fraction. They are claiming that, if the teacher agrees to it, they do not see a problem and that the teacher has a month, after their application, to take back their request and work full-time if he or she refuses the fraction offered by the College. The VCTA is in the process of investigating this procedure to determine whether or not it is in conformity with the collective agreement. However, until the matter is settled, the VCTA Executive advises teachers who apply for workload reduction to look carefully at the fraction of reduced workload that the College offers them. Please contact the VCTA Executive if the College does not offer you the fraction of workload reduction that you have requested.
Nego Mobilization UpdateOur negotiators are still at the bargaining table despite the pandemic. However, little progress is being made as the government appears to be in no hurry to settle. Our nego committee is asking teachers to help them by continuing our mobilization efforts.
As of October 15th, FNEEQ will ask teachers to wear the CSN t-shirts every Thursday. We have the t-shirts at the office. Teachers will have to let us know when they can come to pick them up so that we can try to organize. If necessary, we might be able to have a distribution point outside the college.
If teachers are not comfortable coming to the college, we would ask them to use the CSN “Urgence d’agir” theme via alternative means every Thursday. We suggest that people use the “Urgence d’agir” background screen for a few minutes at the beginning of their classes every Thursday.https://secteurpublic.quebec/project/outils-pour-la-contre-proposition/
We also encourage you to consult and share the interactive tract prepared by the CSN:https://spark.adobe.com/page/tD9y0F8v9uk4m/
FNEEQ has asked local unions to arrange a meeting with their deputies at the national assembly. The VCTA Exec is meeting with members of the Exec from Cégep de St-Laurent to coordinate as we have the same deputy. We will also discuss other possible joint actions with them for the autumn. We would like to organize a demonstration with them sometime in November for which we would try to create a socially-distanced human chain between Vanier and Cégep de St-Laurent. To do this, we would need at least 50 volunteers from Vanier. If you are interested, please contact us at our mobilization address vctamobilization2020@gmail.com using a non-Vanier e-mail address.
In addition, FNEEQ has informed us that they will propose demonstrations and punctual commando actions this fall. People who are interested should contact our VCTA mob address. Virtual activities will be organized as well. We will let you know as soon as these have been announced.
FNEEQ InfoletterAt the link, you will find the latest infoletter from the FNEEQ Executive Committee. In it, you will also find communications from the president of the CSN concerning teachers.
https://mailchi.mp/bcc2685fd91c/infolettre-22-septembre-4457074
Electronic Election TestIn anticipation of the upcoming VCTA elections, we have prepared, in collaboration with Bruce Norton, a mock election to make sure all teachers are familiar with the system we are using to register the votes before the elections in November. The test will take place next week. You will receive two emails from Belenios: one containing a credential to register your vote, and one containing a username and password to be able to cast your vote.
To help everyone understand the process, which is fairly involved but highly secure, we have created and attached a tutorial detailing each step required to vote.
Next week’s election test will be open to all teachers. But note that only official VCTA members will be allowed to vote during the elections in November. If you wish to become a member, you must sign a membership card. Please contact the VCTA for details.
Professional DevelopmentWe would like to thank all the teachers who have applied or will apply for Professional Development for their patience during these times. Applying the PD policy requires a considerable amount of extra work at the moment. We are transitioning slowly to electronic forms. (We’ll let you know when they are available.) We also need to change our monitoring and communication practices to consider the fact that people do not come to the college as often or receive their mail on a regular basis.
Upcoming meetingsCRT — 22 OctoberAcademic Council — 23 October