Strike Mandate Now that we have a strike mandate, and a strong one at that, it is likely that we will walk out soon. To help clarify things, here is a short summary of what to expect from a strike action.
It is important to state that we go on strike in the context of negociations. We stop performing our duties and we disrupt the normal activities at the College in order to put pressure on our employer. This is a legal strike. We have the right to exercise this pressure. We will not be arrested, we cannot lose our jobs for this, there will be no consequences aside from hopefully gaining better working conditions. But of course, since we do not fulfill our obligations while we are on strike, we must also renounce our salary. As a pressure tactic, the strike generally involves picketting. When we picket, we not only demonstrate our dissatisfaction visually and audibly, we also prevent all workers from entering the College. Picketting is a disruptive action. If things went along as usual while we are on strike, our pressure would be useless. Il faut que ça dérange.
The details of this particular strike action will be determined later if we do go out, but here is what to expect on a typical day of strike. We all gather in front of the College, or at a designated location. The day is divided into shifts, and teachers are assigned to a shift. You are required to participate in the picketting and strike activities for the whole duration of your shift. When you arrive, you sign in with your picket captain – a fellow teacher whose responsibility on that day is to register people arriving and leaving. Once you are signed in, you grab some noise making and visibility devices and join the others on the picket line. This is usually along avenue Sainte-Croix. You can bring your own musical and noise making instruments. Activities are organized throughout the day. For example, in the past we have walked on the surrounding streets with our colleagues from cégep St-Laurent. We usually have music, dance, speeches, etc. planned to break up the day. Snacks and drinks are also provided. We even arrange for babysitters, so children are welcome. So are pets! At the end of your shift, you sign off with your picket captain to confirm your participation. If we strike for consecutive days, the same scenario repeats the next day. If we strike only one day, regular work resumes on the morrow.
Everyone who has respected the rules of participation in the stike action, adopted at the 7 September GA, is elligible for strike pay. Every teacher at the college is on strike at the same time when we go out. Even teachers who do not teach on that day. Participating in the picketting is not mandatory, but it is a requirement in order to receive strike pay. A few teachers can be excused from picketting by performing other tasks related to the action, but these are limited. If you cannot make it to the picket line, for any reason, you contribute to the strike by forfeiting your share of the strike pay which will help maintain our strike fund for future actions. Strike pay is separate from our regular salary, and it is non-taxable.
This time around, we will likely be joined in our strike by the support staff, professionals and other Vanier workers. We are all part of the public sector Front Commun. So there will be a lot of people chanting, cracking rattles, and waving flags in front of the College. We want the picket to be a safe and positive space for everyone. Solidarity!
Update on Negos Despite the regular negotiation sessions at the central table, the government offers have not evolved since last spring – and they remain unacceptable. It is in this context that the Front Commun march took place on September 23. It proved to be a resounding success, with close to a hundred thousand participants. The next step to move the negotiations forward is the strike. Our assembly was among the first ones to adopt the unlimited strike mandate, on September 21. Similar mandates are voted for across all sectors of the four centrales (CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS), with similar, massive approval rates, above 90%. Recent media coverage can be found here, here or here.
Public-sector unions continue to see strong support for strike mandates
“They have nothing to lose, they’re angry and they want to go all the way.”
montrealgazette.com
À mi-parcours, les votes de grève du secteur public toujours aussi forts
Les quatre syndicats formant le Front commun sollicitent de leurs 420 000 membres un mandat de grève générale illimitée.
www.ledevoir.com
Négos du secteur public | Les votes de grève demeurent très forts au sein du front commun
À mi-chemin de la période de votes de grève dans le secteur public, la tendance se confirme : les syndiqués du front commun se prononcent très fortement en faveur d’un mandat de grève illimitée.
www.lapresse.ca
For the sectoral bargaining, and after a round of local consultations, a more focused version of our demands was agreed on. The prioritized topics are similar to the ones presented at the GA on September 7, see attached document and table reports.
One recent topic of interest in the sectoral table discussions is distance education, and in particular its asynchronous flavor. You may remember that it was a major item in the employer’s initial demands. Instead of letting colleges wildly develop it, eventually through the involvement of non-teaching personnel or by underestimating the corresponding workload, the nego committee thinks that it is necessary to hold those discussions. The goal is to delimit strict guidelines and regulate the specific working conditions under which such teaching can be delivered. More details to come in the next tables report.
Common Front March in Support of Public Services (September 23) The VCTA would like to thank everyone who came out and marched with us in support of public workers and their demands for better wages and better working conditions. The CSN estimated that well over one hundred thousand workers took to the streets on September 23rd – sending a powerful message to the Legault government: that it must negotiate seriously to improve public services.
T-Shirt Campaign Show your solidarity with other unions and your disagreement with the government’s offer by wearing your Profs-en-Négo t-shirt every Wednesday and your Front Commun t-shirt every Thursday.
PROF-EN-NÉGO Trucker Caps A small order of Prof-en-Nego caps just arrived at the VCTA office! These stylish trucker caps (ie. fabric with a plastic mesh back panel) come in black and are fully adjustable to fit everyone. Come grab yours while quantities last!
Call for Volunteers – Fneeq Communications Campaign As part of the upcoming negotiation for the new collective agreement, Fneeq is looking for teachers who would be willing to be filmed/photographed in their classes as part of a communications campaign. If you are interested in volunteering of would like more information about this this campaign, please send us an email at vcta@vaniercollege.qc.ca
World’s Teacher Day – Thursday, October 5
October 5th is World’s Teachers’ Day. To celebrate your hard work and all your good energy, we are offering bagels and cream cheese in the union lounges, Main building and N Building, from 10 am -2 pm. Drop by and enjoy!
Inter Union Coffee Break – Thursday, October 12 As part of our common front activities, the three unions at the College: teachers (VCTA), support staff (VCSPA), and the professionals (AVCP) will be organizing an inter union coffee break for Thursday, October 12th from 12:00 – 4:00 pm in the Carrefour. Come grab a coffee on us and catch up on latest news on negos. We hope to see you there.
Professional Development This is a friendly reminder that the deadline to submit an Expense Report for PD Activities which took place last academic year is October 30th.
The report itself, receipts, and supporting documents must be submitted electronically. You can access the form here:https://www.thevcta.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/VCTA-PD-Expense-Report.pdf
If you have any questions and/or need help with your Expense Report, feel free to swing by our office in C-101 or send us an email at vcta@vaniercollege.qc.ca and we would be happy to give you a hand with it.
How Things Work On occasion we will be adding a “How Some Things Work” column as an attachment to the News Bulletin. In this issue, we are focusing on insurance.
We have a GA Oct 11th on Insurance changes for 2024 -so we thought it a good idea to remind everyone how our insurance works. Covered by Article 5-5.00 in the Collective Agreement.
Full-time or part-time teacher (with at least 33% of a workload) must adhere.
If a spouse has a private plan as well, teachers can opt out of this.
During most leaves, such as maternity & Voluntary Workload Reduction, teachers continue to contribute and be covered.
Premiums are deducted from each pay – determined on the choices of the teacher.
Our insurance includes Semi-private Hospitalization, Extended care, Travel insurance and Trip Cancellation Insurance in addition to the following Health plans: Plan A (meds & a few services at 70% reimbursement) / Plan B (meds + more services at 80%) / Plan C (more services still at 90%):
Individual, single parent and family plans exist. There are also optional Life Insurance plans available.
There is also a choice of two Dental Plan with different services and repayment options. See details here: https://www.beneva.ca/en/media/14861/download
Premiums are updated every January.
This is a self-managed insurance plan through FNEEQ with Beneva as our provider.
Vanier College makes no contribution to this plan.
From October to May we can request changes by writing to the FNEEQ working group. (CFARR)
Also, Beneva predicts the needs of the group for the following year based on usage in the previous year and proposes changes to the premiums to be collected in order to meet the group’s needs.
FNEEQ can modify these using some reserves that have accumulated over time.
Changes are evaluated and proposed to representatives from all FNEEQ unions (RSA) in September.
These are brought to local unions and voted on by mid October for changes as of the next January.
Individual teachers can change their plan in November (but must stay in a particular plan for 3 years before reducing their coverage).
Our GA next Tuesday October 11th at noon will mainly discuss the premium changes for next January.
The increase in premiums for our Health Insurance for Jan 2024 is proposed at 14%. And Dental at 9%.
72% of our costs go to reimbursements for drugs. Like everything else these keep increasing.
We will have a representative from FNEEQ to present and explain the need for these increases.
We will also discuss ways we can try to minimize these increases in the future.
Upcoming Meetings
- October 5 – Association Council (1:30, F 216)
- October 11 – Special General Assembly on Insurance (12:00 – 2:00, B 223
- October 20 – Academic Council (1:00, F 216)