[Org4j-announce] ADVISORY - Friday 8am Labour picket at CarletonU launch event for Diploma in Work & Labour

[Organizing 4Justice]

Carleton University's "The Changing Worlds of Work and Labour" conference,
a launch event for its new Graduate Diploma in Work and Labour, will be met
with a picket Friday morning from its existing labour force who face the
prospect of lowered working conditions and an unhappy labour dispute with
the University in the near future.

*WHEN*: 8:30am Friday November 8
*WHAT*: Picket at Carleton University's special event to launch its new
diploma program
*WHERE*: Carleton's off-campus Dominion-Chalmers Centre (O'Connor at
Cooper) Ottawa
*WHO*: CUPE local 4600, CarletonU contract instructors and teaching
assistants, and allies
*WHY*: The university's unsatisfactory approach to current labour
negotiations

"Instead of working with CUPE 4600 to defend post-secondary education from
Doug Ford’s cuts, Carleton management is opting to further erode the
working conditions of the most precarious and low-waged teaching staff on
campus."

For further understanding, please read CUPE 4600's open letter below:




*CUPE 4600511A Unicentre, Carleton Universityinfo at cupe4600.ca
<info at cupe4600.ca>*



*November 8th, 2019*

*Dear Labour and Community Allies,*
Carleton University is holding a conference this Friday, November 8th,
entitled “*The Changing Worlds of Work and Labour*” to launch a new
Graduate Diploma in Work and Labour through its Institute of Political
Economy.

This program was developed in consultation with unions to “strengthen
connections between the Institute of Political Economy and the labour
movement; spark mutually rewarding and ongoing relationships that enrich
the activist-intellectual work of both the labour movement and Carleton
University; and provide more opportunities for experiential learning and
reflective practice in workplace and academic contexts.”

This sounds great, but we, the Teaching Assistants, Student Assistants,
Research Assistants, and Contract Instructors at Carleton University, would
like to draw your attention to the “experiential learning and reflective
practice” of our current round of contract negotiations with Carleton
University.

The university, which is sitting on a huge surplus of more than $100
million, is declaring itself bound by Doug Ford’s proposed Bill 124, which
would impose wage and benefit “caps” on all public sector workers. Bill 124
hasn’t been made law yet, and it’s unclear what the Bill might look like in
its final form.

But instead of working with CUPE 4600 to defend post-secondary education
from Ford’s cuts, Carleton management is opting to further erode the
working conditions of the most precarious and low-waged teaching staff on
campus. CUPE 4600 is facing possible wage increases much lower than the
cost of inflation and cuts to benefits coverage. Even worse, Carleton
management is proposing major cuts to Contract Instructor job security,
which would only increase the uncertainty of workers who are already forced
to re-apply for their own jobs multiple times a year.

We are part of Carleton University and we are part of the labour movement.
Nothing about what Carleton is doing is “mutually rewarding” when it comes
to exploiting the labour of Teaching Assistants and Contract Instructors.
Teaching Assistants have twice seen their health care benefits suspended in
recent months even as they face increased stressors and workloads. Contract
Instructors continue to struggle under a two-tier system of outrageously
unequal wages and working conditions.

We ask for your solidarity. We are happy to see more connections with
unions in programs such as these. We want those connections to work in
support of workers’ struggles on campus.

Tell Carleton to negotiate fairly with Teaching Assistants and Contract
Instructors! You can email Carleton President Bacon via his Executive
Assistant, Sandra Slater at sandra.slater at carleton.ca or reach him directly
on Twitter @CU_President.


*In solidarity and struggle,*
*The members of CUPE 4600*
*For media inquiries: *President Meg Lonergan, 613 863 4833

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