Hello everyone,
Let's put an end to this job action by supporting our professors through a student letter writing campaign! Members of the public and Langara alumni are encouraged to voice their opinions about this situation as well! The college is refusing to meet any of the teacher's demands where money is involved, but apparently the college has $750 000 to spend on hiring new administrators.
Please scroll down for a sample letter, which further explains why students should support their teachers. By sending this letter to the President of Langara and the Chair of the Board of Govenors, we will be increasing the pressure on Langara college to end the job action sooner by actually starting to negotiate with the LFA (as opposed to just saying no). Please send this letter to them ASAP!
Also, we need your help for spreading the word about this campaign. Please forward this message to your Langara friends and everyone in all your classes.
Here's how to send an email to everyone in your class:
- sign into myLangara.bc.ca
- click on the myCourses tab at the top
- click on Course Tool
- click on any of your classes – past or present
- click on E-mail, on the left-hand side
- check the box next to Member Name to select all
- click Send Email on the right-hand side
The College Board meets this Thursday, March 31 in room C408 at 6:00pm. Students who are interested in knowing what the College Board is doing to ensure that Langara faculty are able to achieve their bargaining objectives, and ensure that Langara remains a great place to study and a great place to work are welcome to attend.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Langara Social Justice Club at langarasocialjustice@gmail.com
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This is the updated text of the letter...
To: davidross@langara.bc.ca, boardchair@langara.bc.ca
Subject: End the Job Action – Give the LFA their Demands!
To David Ross and Dennis Dineen:
I am a Langara student, and I am outraged at the college's stalled negotiations with the Langara Faculty Association (LFA). The college is operating at over 100% efficiency and has record numbers of students, yet all of the LFA's demands are being met with a “no”. It is also appalling that even though inflation is at 2.4%, any demands for pay increases are also being met with a “no”.
As a Langara student, I have paid the college to provide me with educational services, which includes negotiating a satisfactory collective agreement with the LFA. I do not believe that college has done anything thus far to prevent job action from occurring or to protect me, as a paying student, from disruptions to my learning. Saying “no” to the LFA's demands is not negotiating. I want the management of the college to actually negotiate a satisfactory collective agreement with the LFA. What are you doing to ensure that Langara faculty members are able to fairly negotiate a faculty agreement?
Langara is facing a funding freeze from the government. What are you doing to put pressure on the government on behalf of Langara college?
Despite the funding freeze, Langara does have money. The fall 2010 semester saw more students than ever before attending Langara. Why did Langara spend $50 000 on rebranding during this same semester? Rebranding the college, when your student population is already at an all-time high, does not seem necessary in the face of more grievous concerns, such as underpaid faculty members. More importantly, why is there $750 000 available to hire new administrators but not to improve learning conditions for Langara students? Education is the central service the college offers; the allocation of college resources should reflect education as the college's key priority. In order to be great place to learn, Langara must first be a great place to teach.
I stand in solidarity with my professors, and I support their right to job action in the absence of any meaningful progress in negotiations. The quickest and least disruptive way that Langara college can deal with this job action is to give our valued educators all that they demand. As a Langara student, I fully expect the management of the college to reach a satisfactory collective agreement with the LFA very soon in order to ensure that there are no more learning disruptions at Langara.
Signed,
YOUR NAME
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Some FAQs...
Who are the bargaining parties?
The Langara Faculty Association (LFA) and Langara college.
What are some of our professors' demands? What are the college's answers?
General salary increase? NO.
Lower mainland cost-of-living allowance? NO.
Adequate computer access? NO.
Improved benefits? NO.
Restored paramedical benefits? NO.
Taken from the LFA website: http://www.lfaweb.ca/wordpress/?p=267
What is job action?
The LFA may do any of the following:
• ask all members to participate in a study session
• ask department chairs and division chairs to not submit their schedules
• ask members to not report to work, even if no picket line is set up
• direct its members to take some action that affects the employer’s ability to do business
• withdraw services completely in full strike action
Taken from the LFA website http://www.lfaweb.ca/wordpress/?p=280
Isn't the college bound by the "net zero mandate" recommended by the provincial government?
"The mandate is not a law... in Ontario, where the same “mandate” was in place, arbitrators ruled that the government mandate had no power over negotiations and awarded the unions wage increases."
Taken from the LFA website http://www.lfaweb.ca/wordpress/?p=267
For even more information, check out some of the Langara links in the side bar, especially the Langara Faculty Association Website.
Keep checking this blog for new developments regarding the student letter writing campaign in support of our professors. Langara CUPE 15 employees haven't had any luck negotiating with the college either, and they are up for a strike vote this Wednesday, March 30th (see sidebar for article). They may also need our support.
I encourage all students to take initiative, be creative and get involved in supporting our professors in a variety of other ways as well.
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