The Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) has filed two association grievances against the university administration.

According to its website, CUASA is the union representing approximately 850 faculty, professional librarians and instructor employees at Carleton.

In a newsletter provided to The Charlatan on March 22, CUASA alleged that “the Employer has abused its authority by using the CUASA workforce inappropriately in its failed negotiations with a third party.”

Pum van Veldhoven, the chair of the grievance policy and administration committee at the CUASA, said in an email that the first grievance alleges that CUASA members were directed to take over duties from striking Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2424 members.

“The contract between the employer and CUASA clearly specifies CUASA members’ employment obligations, these do not include administrative support work—that rightfully is the work of CUPE 2424 members,” van Veldhoven stated.

Van Veldhoven added that even though CUASA and the university are in bargaining, this does not mean the administration can change current workplace expectations or fail to provide administrative support to members.

“The employer is failing to provide such administrative support while allowing CUPE 2424’s strike to continue—this too is a violation of our collective agreement,” van Veldhoven said.

According to van Veldhoven, the second grievance involves the university “contravening CUASA’s collective agreement when—several years ago—the employer made amendments to the pension plan (the same plan CUPE 2424’s members are fighting to protect) and implemented these changes without CUASA’s consent.”

To date, 338 professors have signed an open letter addressed to Carleton officials in solidarity with CUPE 2424 members, who are entering their fourth week of striking.

CUPE 2424 represents more than 850 administrative, technical and clerical workers at Carleton, and have been on strike since March 5. Negotiations between the union and the university came to a halt after both sides failed to reach an agreement surrounding pension language in the new collective agreement.

“We invite you to consider the incalculable losses that a long strike or an unjust settlement for CUPE 2424 would represent: a bruised and disaffected workforce, a demoralized student body, and a mistrustful and suspicious faculty attitude towards the Administration,” the open letter read. “There is no doubt that this would result in irreparable damage to Carleton’s reputation and the fabric of its teaching and research community.”

Mugoli Samba, a fourth-year journalism and African studies student, recently co-authored a similar open letter in solidarity with CUPE 2424. This letter was signed by fourth-year journalism students who walked out of their JOUR 4001 class on March 19 to join the picketers.

“I hope that the university isn’t blind to what the strike does to its reputation,” she said.

Stuart J. Murray, a professor in the department of English language and literature and health sciences at Carleton, also recently wrote an opinion piece for the Ottawa Citizen. Murray was also part of the group of professors who signed the open letter to Carleton officials.

Murray’s piece spoke about delayed negotiations potentially affecting faculty unions’ pension language, and referenced the UK universities going through a similar situation.

“[Carleton] has offered repeated assurances that it has no intention of changing our pension plan. But these promises are non-binding and many of us mistrust them,” Murray wrote. “Why would the administration fight so fiercely to remove pension protections if it had no intention of benefiting from their loss?”

In an interview with the Charlatan after the article’s publication, Murray spoke about the intentions of writing his piece and signing the open letter.

“One of the things that [open] letter responded to were claims coming from the university itself, claims that they were acting on behalf of us and they’re trying to protect a fair pension for everyone,” he said. “The effect of some of [Carleton’s] communications might have been to turn certain unions against CUPE 2424.”

Murray said that the letter from professors purposefully used language that would separate their stance from Carleton officials.

“One of the things we wanted to do, as professors and faculty, was to say that not all of Carleton’s emails represent us,” he said.

CUPE 2424 president Jerrett Clark said that these letters are an important tool for the union.

“When student groups and faculty unions send open letters to the president and other decision-makers at the university, I think it has a huge impact,” he said. “It’s really reassuring to us that students and faculty, and sort of the community at large, is really understanding the issue and what’s at stake and why we’re outside all day, every day, Monday to Friday, fighting for our pension rights and protection.”

The university and the union met for 14 hours on March 18, but were unable to reach an agreement. According to an official statement from Carleton, the “legal action is continuing, campus is open, and regularly scheduled classes will continue as usual.”

“Nothing substantial was achieved,” Clark said. “We were optimistic that perhaps the university would come back with a mandate to reach a negotiated settlement but unfortunately that was not the case.”

Photo by Meagan Casalino