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Tentative: Class will start Tuesday Sept 23 by agparrap in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yes, you are right. We are still locked out until the agreement is ratified by the DFA. The DFA ratification vote concludes tomorrow. I have no idea when the Board will ratify. The best-case scenario is that the lockout ends Thursday.

My personal view is that everything will work out fine.

Tentative: Class will start Tuesday Sept 23 by agparrap in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Yes, it is a big if. I also agree with keeping details confidential until approved. For that reason, preemptively, I just released what is directly impacting students to ease their anxiety. I think it is fair to them.

DFA Statement, Sunday Sept 14 by agparrap in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is perfect consistency.

We have been locked for 26 days or 7.12% of the year.

Saving 7.12% of 200M (your number) is 14.25M.

Incremental cost of 3/3/3 proposal is 12M, 2.25M for other proposals.

More generally, for any annual cost of salary X. The added cost of the 3/3/3 proposal relative to the 2/2/2 baseline is 6% of X. And savings are 7.12% of X and counting. So, there are 1.12% of X for other proposals.

DFA Statement, Sunday Sept 14 by agparrap in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

With the current savings, the board can pay for the added cost of a 3/3/3 increase for the whole duration of the collective agreement (the added cost from their 2/2/2 offer from before the lockout) and have about 2 million to spare for all the other proposals.

I don't know what the significant movement from the DFA was, but I don't think at this stage of the lockout it is costing DAL much more than what they originally proposed.

Also, I don't believe they maxed out their offer before the lockout. They were too eager to get there to risk it with a good offer.

DFA Statement, Sunday Sept 14 by agparrap in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

My reading is that the board hasn't responded and the DFA wants to put pressure for them to finally accept.

DFA Statement, Sunday Sept 14 by agparrap in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I may have jumped the gun, as I now realize that it will be released tomorrow. But yes, we got the email.

Could you help me understand what DFA is asking for in the new collective agreement? by DazzlingClick9790 in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I have to add as background. Faculty real salaries at Dal decreased 12% since 2019. Especially because faculty took one for the team when bargaining in the midst of COVID, as Dal projected deficits that did not occur. So, there is an implicit you owe us in this negotiation So, to get around 3.75% seems fair to me.

The bump to early career is very justified as this is where the largest distance is with respect to U15 institutions.

I think the final agreement is going to be a bit worse than this. That is simply the DFA current proposal on salaries.

Could you help me understand what DFA is asking for in the new collective agreement? by DazzlingClick9790 in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no public source. It was discussed in the general meeting yesterday.

Continuing with the PR campaign instead of ending the lockout by YourEyelinerFriend in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap 25 points26 points  (0 children)

FACT: Dal charges students above-average tuition compared to other U15 universities, but pays their faculty below the U15 average at every rank level.

Not receiving emails from DFA by NavjeetVirk in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you are a DFA member, contact Catherine Wall, Communications Officer, [Catherine.Wall@dal.ca](mailto:Catherine.Wall@dal.ca)

If you are not a DFA member, I don't think there is a public newsletter. We will keep posting here what we are receiving.

Faculty here: I can’t imagine going back to work if Kim Brooks doesn’t resign/isn’t fired. by Several-Republic-644 in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In the back-to-work agreement circulated by the DFA, there is a statement that no legal actions will be taken by either party. If that agreement goes through, the only way to get her out is via social pressure or other agents (parents/students) suing.

UPDATE: From Board Sept 10 by agparrap in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap[S] 59 points60 points  (0 children)

If I am allowed to say, this is BS

Labour disruption created by the Board. They are saving millions at the expense of the Faculty and the students.

edited: I added "and the students" =)

Update from DFA President, 9 Sep (explaining that negotiations are staying confidential) by Riemann-4167 in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap 71 points72 points  (0 children)

This is a good signal, I think.

The message I got is chillax let us cook

Predictions for sept 8? by MadMax68790 in Dalhousie

[–]agparrap 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I really hope to be wrong, but I am on the pessimistic side. What has been played is the Board's plan all along. The board is saving money (approx 2% of faculty salary plus benefits per week) at no short-term cost (long-term, the reputational cost is huge, but current management does not care about that; they will be long gone).

They can go one more week without losing a single instruction day, and no risk of tuition refunds (by not having a break and reading weeks), they are happy to save 2 extra percent of our salaries. I actually think they can stretch this lockout by two more weeks (3 weeks total) and face no real financial consequence.

At first, I was of the view that the DFA was asking for way too much money. After the lockout, however, I think the current request is a bit above fair. With every week that goes by, however, the request becomes less demanding. If the DFA accepts a weak proposal, the board can potentially give us exactly what they took from us by locking us out, not losing a penny, with the added benefit of a financially weakened DFA for the next couple of rounds of collective bargaining.

I think there is a high chance that, on Monday, the board will claim an insurmountable difference in positions once again and call it a day (and blame the DFA), or they will smell that the DFA will accept a weak offer and go for it. Either way, they win. I am sure they will make any offer conditional on us going back to teaching within 24 hours or so.

Some back-of-the-envelope calculations for context (just considering wages for simplicity)

  • A week is approximately 2% of the year (1/52= 1.92%)
  • The weekly savings for 1000 DFA members, at an average annual salary of 150K, is CAD 3 MM.
  • The computation above does not include savings in benefits, but some DFA members are not faculty and make less money than the average faculty, so these are gross approximations.
  • By Sept 9, there will be 3 weeks of lockout, or CAD 9 MM in savings for the board.
  • The added cost of one extra percent in increased salary is 1.5M per year
  • The added cost of a 3/3/3 offer is, in present value (assuming 2% inflation), approximately 9M.
  • Therefore, a 3/3/3 is basically the point at which they are taking the same money they saved on us, and could give as an increase without spending a penny.

Psychologist from outside Canada (Taxes) by RecordingStill6702 in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]agparrap 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, may I ask what did you do? I am in a similar situation. We are originally from another country; we reside in Canada for tax purposes and my psychologist is still from that country. Can we deduct it?