- Previous Newsletter
- Dog Fights and Puppy Mills: Austerity Is the Problem, Not the Visa Cap
- Summary of Local Demand Setting Meeting
- Want to Engage with Your Union Locally? Share Your Interests with Us!
- Labour Music Workshop – Empowerment in Difficult Times
Previous Newsletter
NOTE: Sorry we missed sending our last newsletter via email.
You can find it here: Colloqiuim
Dog Fights and Puppy Mills: Austerity Is the Problem, Not the Visa Cap
“What has been framed as a nationwide explosion in international student numbers — prompting Ottawa to impose an immediate two-year cap — is disproportionately linked to a handful of schools, the vast bulk of them public institutions, predominantly in Ontario.”
“Canada’s international student spike was blamed on private colleges. Here’s what really happened” analyzes new data to make a strong case that blaming private colleges as “bad actors” is a distraction from the real bad actors, the provincial government and Ontario’s public colleges. Including Fleming.
Immigration consultant and international student advocate calls the growth in study permits in Ontario “explosive and reckless.” The desperation and exploitation we have seen in our classrooms for years has finally hit the mainstream, rarely as strongly as in this CBC report.
The cat’s out of the bag. Even Bloomberg business news notes that “Canada’s ‘student trafficking’ industry is backfiring on Trudeau.” The article notes that “about one in 40 people in the country is on a foreign-study visa” and explores what the exploitation we have seen in our classes for years does to students and communities.
Read “Gloves truly off now: The fight among college presidents over international students is getting ugly ” to see how anxious college leaders are turning on each other.
Doubling down on a failed and immoral strategy is not the answer. The federal government cap is the ethical thing to do. Ford’s austerity measures were temporarily plugged by a shameless transfer of billions of dollars from the Global South to the Global North.
Underfunding is the problem, not the cap.
Summary of Local Demand Setting Meeting
On February 26 we held a hybrid meeting to finalize our local demands. We appreciate the efforts of those who attended both virtually and on-line, and those who were unable to attend but completed the survey.
We were able to share the survey results by the required deadline with the provincial bargaining team later that afternoon.
At this meeting we elected delegates, alternates and observers for three upcoming events happening in our region. The dates for each event and delegates are as follows:
College Faculty Final Demand Set – March 22-23, 2024
- At this meeting representatives from all 24 colleges will rank and vote on the Local Demands brought forward. These demands will define the scope of the negotiations for the Members side in the next round of bargaining
- Liz Mathewson
- Kari Draker Fortis
- Karen Bateman
Region 3 Meeting – April 2, 2024
- At this meeting the executive board members that will represent Region 3 at OPSEU/SEFPO will be elected
- Liz Mathewson
- Karen Bateman
- Amanda Mshynski
Divisional Meeting – May 24-25, 2024
- At this meeting representatives from all 24 colleges will meet to discuss topics and vote on general policy of concerns to members in the CAAT-A sector
- Liz Mathewson
- Karen Bateman
- Audrey Healy
Through the discussions at the meeting, a common concern about the current expectations being placed on coordinators became clear. Further, there was a desire among faculty to work together to ensure that workloads are transparent and equitable.
As agreed to at the meeting, we have worked to create a single list with all current coordinators (based on the information posted on MyCampus – February 27, 2024).
Link to Coordinator Master List – February 27, 2024
At the next Local Executive Committee (LEC) Meeting, occurring March 4th, the local executive will begin planning for a coordinators meeting – date to be determined.
Want to Engage with Your Union Locally? Share Your Interests with Us!
If you are interested in becoming more involved in your Local and want to share what you are interested in, please complete the following form.
https://forms.office.com/r/7hxAYAUdLr
There are lots of different ways you can get involved! If there is something that you are thinking of that isn’t listed, please let us know.
Labour Music Workshop – Empowerment in Difficult Times
Have you ever stood at a Union convention, meeting, demonstration or picket line and heard, or sang, “Solidarity Forever”? That song has been with trade unionists, through the generations, for more than a century, and shows no signs of abandoning us now when the going is getting exceedingly rough.
Have you ever attended an International Women’s Day event and heard the strains of “Bread and Roses”? It, too, has been passed down by generations, and likewise, not going anywhere, until the battle for full equality is won.
Both of these songs, and many others, have been handed down to us to tell an otherwise unknown story of our movement. Understanding our past is essential as we confront the incredible challenges of today and chart a path to the future.
The true history of our movements for progress is contained in the “special” songs of past generations, just as the struggles of today will find reflection in the songs created today. They will be handed down to a new generation tomorrow.
With that in mind, the Lindsay and District Labour Council is convening a special labour music workshop:
Empowerment in Difficult Times
When: on the weekend of May 25th, 2024
Where: at the headquarters of the local ETFO, at #8 Commerce Place in Lindsay.
We will strive to bring together musicians and singers who want to contribute to making our movement stronger and combining with the necessary wisdom and experience of current labour leaders and activists who have the experience in current struggles to make the music as relevant as possible to, and for, our memberships. In our endeavour, we do not exclude our community allies who see, and want to join, in our collective actions to build a more just society.
Please share this opportunity with other members, musicians, singers and activists; and as widely as possible amongst your community allies.
Labour music has been foundational in the building of the modern trade union movement and remains a critical tool in labour’s toolbox.
In Solidarity,
George Hewison, singer, songwriter, labour activist
(see “a few select words”, a partial labour music curriculum vitae)
Fleming Faculty Union 