Tell Bill Flanagan you support AASUA’s bargaining team in their demands to #MakeItFair

Sign This Petition

First Name
Last Name
Email *

Not in US?

United States

What is your connection to the University of Alberta

I am a student
Comments
- You may receive email updates from Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta, the sponsor of this petition.
- Edit Subscription Preferences Close Preferences
- - Opt in to email updates from Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta

Flag As Spam

Tell Bill Flanagan you support AASUA’s bargaining team in their demands to #MakeItFair

Bill Flanagan, University of Alberta President | Kate Chisholm, Board of Governors Chair

At the University of Alberta half of all courses are taught by instructors on contract.

Sixty-percent of these instructors are forced to piece together a living on a course-by-course basis, with little pay and no benefits.*

And those trapped in short-term contracts do more than just teach — there are around 80 Temporary Librarian, Administrative, and Professional Officers who must work at least six years at full time to secure permanent employment.

There are over 400 Trust/Research Academic Staff (TRAS) whose appointments solely depend on external funding, even though around half have been employed at UAlberta for six or more years.

In this round of bargaining, you can help support AASUA’s bargaining ask to ensure timely conversion to permanent, stable employment for these educators and researchers. Currently, ATS are eligible for career status after nine years of service. One of AASUA’s proposals is to shorten this term to 36 months of cumulative service.

Sign the petition to let President Bill Flanagan and the Board of Governors know that in this round of bargaining they must agree to AASUA’s proposals to #MakeItFair.

The student experience is better when instructors have more one-on-one time with their students because they’re not leaving after class to teach their next course at another university across the city.

It’s better when instructors know what courses they are teaching in the coming months and can prepare and order textbooks.

It’s better when instructors are available to give students references — not absent because they had to find long-term employment elsewhere.

Adding insult to injury, in the last round of negotiations the Board of Governors targeted this already-precarious group by introducing a two-tiered salary scale to take effect in 2024: over the course of their employment at the U of A, new contract-based instructors will make less than current ones, creating even more disparity within the Academic Teaching Staff on campus.

Sign the petition now to tell the Board that enough is enough; all academic staff members deserve job security!

*This figure is based on 2023 fall semester numbers, the most recent data available.

Sponsored by

Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta

To: Bill Flanagan, University of Alberta President | Kate Chisholm, Board of Governors Chair
From: [Your Name]

Dear President Bill Flanagan and Board of Governors Chair Kate Chisholm,

It’s not enough for the university to make equity claims without backing them up — the Board of Governors needs to go beyond branding and take concrete action to support the university’s commitment to ‘uplifting the whole people.’

It’s inequitable to force 62% of all Academic Teaching Staff (ATS) to piece together a living course-by-course, and to go without benefits despite teaching the same courses as tenure-track faculty. Especially when women and equity-deserving groups are over-represented in this workforce.

It’s unfair that Temporary Librarian, Administrative, and Professional Officers must work at least six years at full-time to secure permanent employment. And it’s troubling that there are over 400 Trust/Research Academic Staff (TRAS) whose appointments solely depend on external funding, even though around half have been employed at UAlberta for six or more years.

These academic staff are passionate about their work and return to the university year after year to deliver high-quality teaching, research, and administration. In return, they are disrespected by their Employer, who denies them job security despite their dedication.

We can’t ignore the impact on the student experience when instructors are trapped in short-term contracts. Contract instructors are often assigned their courses at the last minute, meaning less time for course planning and less time to ensure textbooks are available for students before the start of term.

Unfair employment means less time for instructors to spend with each student, as these instructors are underpaid for their work and might be forced to take on more than a full course load to make ends meet.

I support AASUA’s goals to make employment fair at the U of A in this round of bargaining by
• Providing job security to precarious educators and researchers currently trapped in short-term contracts;
• Providing benefits such as supplementary benefits (e.g. dental care), and top-up parental leave to those on contract and those who work substantial part-time hours;
• Expanding representation on evaluation committees to include a diverse selection of academic staff employment categories; and
• Abolishing the two-tier pay system that sees new contract instructors make less than current ones.

It’s important to me that the Board of Governors listens to AASUA’s equity demands and works in good faith to mend our university’s broken system of precarious employment. Instead of investing in high-paid upper-level administrators, the Board should prioritize front-line teaching and research, and in turn, the student experience.

Sincerely,

The undersigned