Dear [First Name] [Last Name]
Since College Presidents give direction to the College Employer Council (CEC), I ask that you instruct the CEC bargaining team to resume bargaining with faculty and conclude negotiations on issues where the teams are close, and agree to voluntary binding interest arbitration on the other issues.
Faculty demands are about time for students: up to two additional minutes to grade students’ work each week and additional time for online learning; reasonable workloads for program co-ordinators; and improved working conditions and job security for unionized contract faculty.
These are extremely low- or no-cost to the employer but provide enormous benefit to students. Binding interest arbitration will prevent further escalation and ensure stability in labour relations – an essential component to community.
This is not about taking sides in a labour dispute: Calling the CEC back to the table doesn’t mean endorsing either team. With binding interest arbitration, a trusted, neutral party will decide on how the differences should be addressed and ensures there is no labour disruption.
When all is said and done, the fact remains: the only current proposal on the table that ensures no labour disruption and no interruption to student learning, is the offer of voluntary binding interest arbitration.
The binding interest arbitration proposed by the faculty bargaining team permits an arbitrator to select the best proposals from each side’s offer. In contrast, the final offer selection arbitration proposed by the CEC forces the arbitrator to select one offer or the other, in its entirety.
Final offer selection creates winners and losers. While we do not know who the winner would be, we believe that students would lose.
As our College President, your primary responsibility is to put students first and build community. Right now, that means supporting the only option that puts students first and allows faculty to focus on student success.
I am asking you to direct the CEC to return to the table and to bargain faculty’s demands in good faith, or failing that, to agree to binding interest arbitration. Please let students continue their studies without distraction or added stress.
Signed,
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