The Vanier College Teachers’ Association
Happy Holidays!
This will be our last News Bulletin for Fall 2022. As we head into the Holidays, we hope that you will be able to take some time off to relax and disconnect from the College.
Wishing you all a very Happy Holidays, one that is filled with lots of good cheers and plenty of time to recuperate and re-energize!
Below are some pictures from the VCTA’s Holiday Happy Hour.
A Look Back on Fall 2022
This semester, much of our attention was focused on Bill 96 (Law 14); its impact on the working conditions of teachers at Vanier College; and our relationship with Fneeq.
However, despite all of this, during this past year, we were able to close a considerable number of individual cases with favorable outcomes for the teachers involved. Even if the larger conflicts are more widely reckoned, as your union representatives, we must never allow their weight to steer us away from defending the rights of individuals.
With this in mind, we will resume fighting all the broad as well as the narrow battles with the same level of might and wisdom after the break. Solidarity!
Nego Update
The government’s offers were received on December 15 (central table, for the 420000 public sector workers organized in Front Commun) and December 16 (sectoral table, for the FNEEQ/FEC alliance of cegep teachers).
The so-called offers presented to the Front Commun were received as “an insult” and described as “grossly inadequate”. The proposed wage increase would be limited to 9% over the next five years, plus a 1000$ lump sum, with no mention of a protection mechanism against inflation. This would result effectively in further impoverishing public sector workers, even though issues of labor shortage and attraction/retention difficulties are unprecedented. Retirement and pension plans are also being attacked, while many of the demands we articulated are being completely ignored. The latest Info-Nego issue is attached.
For the sectoral table, the dépôt patronal lacks clarity and details – only a French version is available for now, see attachement. Distance education seems to be a priority, and, similarly to three years ago, RAC, continuing education, and professional development avenues to promote “flexibility” and “agility” of the teachers’ body are mentioned. Attraction and retention issues, as well as the recognition of research are also referred to. The alliance will meet on Monday and Wednesday, let’s hope it will dissipate some of the vagueness of the demands, and clarify the aspects of the collective agreement that are targeted. After the holidays, a wider consultation process will start across local unions to refine our positions and negociation priorities.
Conseil fédéral of December 2022 – Report on the future of the French language in Québec
The main topic of discussion during this meeting was the report on the future of the French language (“L’avenir du français au Québec”) from the FNEEQ’s Comité école and societé which was mandated in 2021.
This report is over 100 pages long and explores the state of French in various sectors, including the university and labour sectors, as well as “francisation” of immigrants. To put it succinctly, the main conclusions of the report point to an ongoing fragility of the French language, without speaking directly of a decline. Their findings do not offer as a conclusion that extending Bill 101 to the cegeps is the ultimate solution to protect and promote French. The report puts forth over 30 recommendations, including the importance of expanding second language learning to include more languages than French and English. Approximately half of these recommendations were retained by the Bureau federal and presented to the Conseil fédéral. These recommendations were voted on and adopted in their entirety, with minimal changes. It is worth highlighting that one of these recommendations was to exempt Indigenous students from the second language requirements of Law 14.
Insurance & Pensions Workshops – January
In January, Fneeq will be organizing two local workshops (in English) for faculty members who wish to learn more about insurance and RREGOP.
A Doodle Poll will be sent out in the near future to help us determine which dates and times would be best to host these workshops. So please keep an eye out for the poll in your inbox and we hope to see you there!
No more compost in the VCTA Lounge
It is with sadness and disappointment that we are forced to announce the end of compost gathering in the VCTA Lounge. Unfortunately, the people who collected the waste, Hugo and Ingrid, too often had to fish out plastic and other undesirables from the box before dumping it onto our family pile. The decision was finally made to stop when recently we found the VCTA’s box completely infested with maggots to the point where we had to throw the whole container in the garbage. This was probably due to some raw meat having been dropped in, but we will never know for sure because a proper investigation would have been too gross. If other colleagues would like to try their luck at collecting compostable waste in C-101, let us know, but this is the end of the line for me. Thanks to everybody who contributed fruit peels, uneaten salad, coffee grinds, and other compostable stuff. Here’s hoping the College finally institutes a more elaborate and cross-campus compost collection initiative. Cheers. Hugo,
On occasion we will be adding a “How Some Things Work” column as an attachment to the News Bulletin.
How It Works: Union Dues
You might have been wondering about this. Here is a summary of what happens to the money labeled as “Union dues” on your pay stub.
So, where does the money go?
Firstly, 1.66% of our salaries are collected as union dues. This is your contribution as a laborer represented by the VCTA. It is separate from the nominal $2 fee we ask to become a voting member. All Vanier teachers pay union dues, and are represented by the VCTA, even non-voting members.
Union dues vary across local unions. Compared to other cégep teachers unions, we are pretty much in the middle of the pack. Members contribute between 1.46% and 1.9% in the other Québec colleges.
The 1.66% is divided as such:
- 0.72% goes to CSN
The majority of the funds go to the establishment of a ‘Fonds de défense professionnelle’, which is used to supplement local strike funds to help striking union members meet their essential needs while on strike. The CSN also provides multiple services to its federations and local unions.
- 0.5% goes to FNEEQ
The funds are mostly used for travel and accommodations for our representatives to meet to discuss common issues. These become more frequent during contract negotiations. They also pay for advisors and legal representation costs associated with our grievances. FNEEQ also provides release for members to participate on committees and take specific roles within the federation.
- 0.06% goes to the CCMM
The funds are used to provide local unions with practical strike actions and support. For example, last time we were on strike, the CCMM paid for the church rental next door, the marching band, snacks, picket signs, noise makers, etc. The CCMM also has supported our local campaigns (against 80CI minimum and for more exec release) with the design and production of coffee cups.
- 0.38% stays at the VCTA
Most of the funds at the VCTA pay for Executive release and the salary and benefits of our employee. The budget for the following year is presented at the May General Assembly for discussion and approval. Any teacher has access to this year-round in the union office C-101.
Upcoming Meetings
Note: the locations for of the each meetings will be announced at least one week before the scheduled event
Association Council: January 12, 1:30
General Assembly: January 16, 11:30
Association Council: February 2, 1:30
Academic Council: February 3, 1:00
General Assembly: February 8, 12:00 – 1:30
CRT: February 23, 2:00 – 4:00