The 23h Work Day

Remember that kid in elementary school who always wanted to be ahead? They did their homework and then read the next chapter in the text book for no reason at all?  Well... I was that kid.  

Being ahead helps me feel like I am on top of my game, it is simply the way I operate.  I can't stand the thought of emails piling up unanswered or various unfinished projects sitting in my office.  Yet this is precisely the situation I have found myself in.  

Today I decided to end this situation.  I refused to leave my office until I was caught up and organized.

The morning began with back to back interviews for Afrofest workstudy candidates.  I admired the variety of skillsets the candidates brought and imagined how phenomenal the Afrofest team could turn out to be.  (I wish I had more time to volunteer).

Every moment I had to myself I spent answering emails and phone messages assisting with the organization of the Ontario Undergraduate Students' Alliance conference taking place next weekend.

Hannah Larking (The Lance News Editor) interviewed me for a couple of articles she was writing for next weeks paper.

After, I marched along the river with students supporting the Engineers without Borders "Make Poverty History" campaign.

Following this event Mohsin and I made our way to a meeting with Alan Wright the Vice President of Teaching and Learning to brief him as the guest speaker for the OUSA general assembly.  It was like Christmas in October when Dr. Wright ended up being an amazing choice for guest speaker having written papers on the very issues OUSA is currently researching.  Mohsin and I walked out of the meeting ecstatic about having an excellent guest speaker AND equipped with new mugs from the Teaching and Learning office.

I returned to my office and phoned Dr. Wildeman to see if he had chosen a song for me to sing at his installation service,  we brainstormed a few ideas and decided to have a final decision made by Saturday so I would have enough time to learn the song.  

At about 6:30pm it occurred to me that with all of the running around I did all day I forgot to eat.  Theresa Trad (the walksafe coordinator) and I made our way to the pub for dinner before heading to a play at Assumption University "Dead Man Walking".  The play was fantastic, it will also be playing on Saturday and Sunday so I recommend that you check it out.

After the play I returned to my office, and still felt swamped.  No matter how hard I worked, or how much I tried I was still behind and I decided not to accept this.  I stayed in my office until every document was filed and project was complete... this brought me to 7:30am.

It felt amazing to watch those dreadful piles of paper disappear into easy to access organized labelled folders.

I have the whole weekend to sleep now, and when I return on Monday I start with a fresh slate.

Enjoy the Weekend!  See you at the Finger Eleven concert!

Breakfast At Tiffany's

I know I know,  what is the point of a blog if I don't update it?  In my defense I have been very busy trying to catch up with all of the work that piled up during the strike.  I'm buried in meetings, emails, phone calls and unfinished projects.  (If you sent me a message and I have not yet replied I would recommend you send a follow up... it is probably lost in my inbox).

A lot has happened in the last two weeks: Students FINALLY went back to class and the "aftermath" began, We enjoyed thanksgiving dinner, and we got a new government!

The transition back to class has not been easy for anyone.  We lobbied heavily to be sure that there would be heavy student consultation before new syllabi were created.  The concerns constantly rolled in regarding the new exam schedule and we spoke up about the unfairness in the new exams affecting student travel plans (and sleeping patterns).  The 7am exam for example had everyone up in arms and still is a problem. The closest to a solution that has been suggested is the ability of professors to begin those exams at 8am.  

Overall, it is clear that we will continue to see the affects of the strike for a while.  

I'm feeling pretty isolated from the campus these days while playing catch up with all of the work on my plate.  I ran on a platform that promised I would make every effort to stay connected with students, but it's easy to lose touch when I'm sitting in my office at my computer all day or in meetings.

A friend of mine (Jessica Courtney the clubs coordinator) came up with an awesome idea to rectify this situation.  I could get donuts & coffee and have weekly "focus groups" called Breakfast At Tiffany's!  I'll supplement that by making time to hang out on campus more, talking to students in the marketplace/ residences/ pub/ gym/ toldo and all of those other places on campus where you are.  I would do class talks too if they weren't so invasive on the precious class time since the strike.

Either way, it's important that I get out of this rut and back on my A game.  

P.S.  We are looking for a few delegates for a conference next week (Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance conference)  It would be a commitment for Friday Oct 24- Sun Oct 26, free meals and a chance to meet student leaders from across Ontario.  Delegates will be here from Laurier, Brock, Western, Queens, McMaster and Waterloo.  If you are interested contact Mohsin Khan at vpuauwsa@uwindsor.ca.

And if you have any suggestions as to how I could reconnect with the campus please feel free to comment or email me at puwsa@uwindsor.ca.  OR stop by my office, I'd love to talk to you.

I'll also make an honest attempt to update this blog at LEAST once a week.  Why have one if I won't use it?

Don't forget to vote in the UWSA by-election taking place this coming Monday and Tuesday!

The end of Strike '08

Where were you when you found out a tentative agreement was reached?  I was at home, recovering from a day full of brainstorming issues that will arise during what I call the strike "Aftermath".  

I was so relieved I didn't know exactly what to do, made the necessary phone calls of course and decided to write this blog entry in the excitement.  It feels so satisfying to know that students will be in class on Monday (once the agreement is ratified by the WUFA membership and approved by bog).  I can't wait to go back to normal work hours!

Tomorrow is filled with meetings with Deans and the works to be sure that students' rights are not trampled over when we return to class.  It has become quite clear to me that everyone won't be happy with how the remainder of the year will play out.  Some people want to see the "UWIN"  week used to make up lost class, others are angry at the prospect of losing the week because they have planned vacations.  

Here's hoping for a remarkably smooth transition back to class...

Not Alone

The Faculty Association at Brandon University announced that they are going on strike on Monday September 29.  As soon as I caught word I called and emailed the President of the Brandon students' union to talk - whenever he has time.  

There is no way to know how to deal with these sorts of situations.  There is no instruction manual that gives a step by step breakdown explaining what to do.  There are no files in my office that offer wisdom from past presidents who experienced this.  

I even made my way down to the UWSA archive room to see if I could find minutes from the council in 1982 when the last faculty strike of 6 days took place.  The extent of my findings was the following:

Sac B of D Minutes September 8, 1982

Page 2

5.0 Other Business

Professors' Strike:  It was made clear that the professors are now in a legal position to strike.  We have an assurance by the administration that there will be no strike.  Jim mentioned that the administration has been very cooperative.

What is the role of the Students' Union in a faculty strike?  My guess is as good as yours.  Perhaps when this is over I should make it my thesis.  

The formula I have come up with is as follows:

1. Meet with both parties and gather information 

2. Plead both parties to reach a fair agreement that recognizes the fiscal restraints of the institution

3. Write formal letters to the government, both parties, and both negotiating teams

4. Ensure the impact being felt by students is well known by both parties

5. Hold a demonstration/rally to inform/involve the student body

6. Solicit support from students' unions from across Canada

7. Investigate legal options 

Repeat 1-5 until agreement is reached.  In case of stalling substitute 7 for "Implement legal options"

8. Post agreement:  Demand student involvement in back to work protocol

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The faculty association donated $5000 + to an emergency student strike fund.  If you have ideas as to how we should distribute the money please make them known, our board will be meeting soon and would appreciate your input.

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There will be another demonstration on Monday at 2:30pm.  The council has planned a memorial service for the education we have lost.  We will also be signing a petition to be presented to the ministry who seems to be ignoring our letters.

At 3:30pm on Monday Dr. Wildeman will be hosting a briefing for UWSA, GSS and OPUS elected representatives.  The UWSA reps will make ourselves available at 5pm in the pub for an informal discussion about the briefing.  If possible we will see to it that this briefing is recorded and made available on our website.

Expectations

When I was first elected I spent quite a bit of time imagining what this year would look like.  I imagined the challenges we would face carrying out our plans to improve services.  I wondered how I could be the strong voice needed to represent the students on this campus at the administrative level.  I searched for the student issues that needed to be answered and began formulating a plan to fight institutional racism, provide support for students living off campus, and bring an environmental sustainability officer to our campus.  Of course I imagined different issues would come up throughout the year, but nothing could have possibly prepared me for this catastrophe.  What's worse is the fact that what is going on is so completely out of my control.  It doesn't matter what I do, how many hours I put in (9am-1am), or how hard I work:  This strike will continue until the Administration and WUFA reach an agreement.  

 

Theodore Roosevelt once said:

 “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 

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Memo I sent to the chief negotiators for both teams (and each member of the teams), Alan Wildeman, Brian Brown: 

 

I am writing to you within my capacity as President of the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance on behalf of 12,000 undergraduate students.   

From what I have come to understand the University left the last offer on the table and is waiting for a counter from WUFA.  I have also been informed that WUFA has prepared a counter to the offer and is ready to return to the negotiating table.  As far as I am aware the mediator has been informed that WUFA is prepared to resume talks and has informed the University of this fact. 

If all of this information is true, and both negotiating teams are at the hotel or within 15 minutes of the hotel what is stopping the bargaining process?   

Thousands of students have invested millions of dollars into their education at this institution.  

Please go back to the bargaining table and end this strike immediately.    

I have the utmost respect for each and every one of you; all I ask is that you step up to the plate right now and set a time to resume talks. 

Our education is at stake; please do not take that lightly. 

Sincerely,  

Tiffany Gooch  

President  

University of Windsor Students’ Alliance  

 

Responses:

 

Dear Tiffany,

Thank you for your email.  Please rest assured that our negotiating team and I did everything in our power to avert the strike.  We scaled down our expectations and our proposals significantly before the strike deadline.  The University administration then gave us what they called their best offer on tuesday just before the strike deadline.  It was an all or nothing offer.  There were too many features - including clawbacks  - that the Union simply could not accept.  

On Sunday evening I indicated to the mediator that we were willing to come back to the table with our entire team and we had a written counter that we were willing to table.  The Administration team has not expressed a willingness to return to the table.  Currently we are communicating through the mediator.  We remain totally committed to attaining a fair and equitable collective agreement because that is in the interests of everyone in the University, students and faculty and librarians alike.

Please feel free to contact me if I have not been clear on any aspect of what is going on.   All of us on our side of the table are professors/librarian.  We are as anxious as you are to return to school.

 

Emily Carasco

Dr. Emily F. Carasco 

Professor, Faculty of Law

University of Windsor

 

Hi Tiffany:

 

Thank you for your letter. We share your concerns and are working hard to achieve a Collective Agreement. 

Sincerely,

Gwen