https://www.wincalendar.com/ca/Red-Dress-Day#google_vignetteWilfrid Laurier University Staff Association Phone: (519) 884-0710 x2952 Office hours: © Wilfrid Laurier University Staff Association | Privacy Policy | Website by Sryde Digital Marketing
Contact
202 Regina St. N, Room R121
Waterloo, Ontario
Email: wlusaadmin@wlu.ca
Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
CONTACT US
Annual Day of Mourning
The National Day of Mourning is an important day for Canada’s unions and for workers across the country. Ceremonies and events allow workers and families to come together to mourn for the dead and recommit to our fight for the living.
On April 28, join us in remembering those workers who were injured, made sick or killed because of something that happened at work, and in demanding better, starting with better enforcement of the Westray Law. This is part of how we honour those we’ve lost and those harmed on the job.
LOCATION: Worker’s Monument, Riverside Park, Cambridge
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 2024
TIME: 10:30 am
Delivering Community Power
Reimagining Canada Post with services to support every community.
This is thinking outside the box that we can show solidarity with.
Check it out:
Fight for Wilmot Township Farmland
Farmers and landowners of 770+ acres of prime agricultural land in Wilmot Township have received offers from a US-based consulting company, acting on behalf of the Region of Waterloo, to purchase their land. There’s an underlying intention to rezone this land for industrial use and embark on a significant development project. The scale of this project is so immense that discussions about it have been silenced within the township and regional council levels.
2024 ELECTION NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN
Nominations for the Executive Board are open until Thursday, April 11, 2024. Elections will take place at the AGM on April 24, 2024. Any WLUSA Member in good standing may nominate themselves for any position.
The positions up for election this year are:
Please use this form to submit nominations: https://wlusa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Nomination-Form-Executive-Elections-2024-2025-fillable.pdf and send the completed form to wlusaadmin@wlusa.ca
Position Descriptions
Vice-President Internal
- voting member of the Executive Board
- assist the President in carrying out the aims and objectives of the Association;
- assume the duties of the President if the President is, for any reason, unable to carry out those duties;
- review the Constitution biennially and Bylaws annually to ensure it reflects the aims and objectives of the Association;
- assist the Grievance Officer as needed in carrying out grievances;
- have co-signing authority on all cheques drawn on the Association’s treasury;
- organize New Member Orientation Sessions act as the Constitution Officer.
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Vice-President External
- voting member of the Executive Board
- assist the President in carrying out the aims and objectives of the Association;
- serve as one of the Executive Board’s voting delegates at OSSTF’s Annual Meeting of the Provincial Assembly (AMPA);
- act as the WLUSA liaison with the Waterloo Regional Labour Council, other university staff unions and/or associations, government departments, and other related areas;
- establish and update annually a resource list of external contact persons to be kept on file in the WLUSA office;
- have co-signing authority on all cheques drawn on the Association’s treasury;
- act as Chair of the Communications/Political Action Committee;
- be responsible for on-going communication with other units within District 35 of OSSTF;
- be responsible for on-going communication with other OSSTF Districts within our region;
- be one of four Anti-Harassment officers who will enforce the Anti-Harassment Policies and Procedures at all meetings and assemblies of the Association or ensure a suitable member is appointed to this task in their absence.
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Treasurer
- voting member of the Executive Board
- be responsible for the maintenance of the financial records of the Association;
- be responsible for all monies related to Association business and for obtaining all required approvals in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws;
- be responsible for reconciling all financial transactions and statements as set forth in the Financial Responsibilities Policy & Procedures in Appendix A;
- present a written quarterly financial report to the Executive Board and Membership;
- prepare and present to the Executive Board and the Membership at the end of the fiscal year, an annual financial statement that indicates the revenues and expenditures of the preceding year, along with the dues paid and remittances (rebates) received from OSSTF;
- prepare, in co-operation with the Executive Board, a budget for the forthcoming year to be approved at the Annual General Meeting;
- have co-signing authority on all cheques drawn on the Association’s treasury.
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Chief Negotiator
- voting member of the Executive Board
- act as chair of the Collective Bargaining Committee;
- conduct research in preparation for collective bargaining;
- report in a timely and regular basis to the Executive Board and the Association;
- represent the Association at all Regional Collective Bargaining Committee meetings; review Letters of Understanding on a periodic basis;
- carry out other duties as determined by the President;
- serve for a two (2) year term when the upcoming year is the final year of the current Collective Agreement and serve for a one (1) year term in all other years.
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Member at Large
- serve on the board and will contribute to discussions and vote on Board decisions;
- be one of four Anti-Harassment officers who will enforce the Anti-Harassment Policies and Procedures at all meetings and assemblies of the Association or ensure a suitable member is appointed to this task in their absence;
- assist the President in carrying out the aims and objectives of the Association;
- optionally chair or participate on committees
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OSSTF MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
BUDGET SMOKE AND MIRRORS COVERS UP EDUCATION CRISIS:
OSSTF/FEESO RESPONDS TO 2024 ONTARIO BUDGET
TORONTO, ON — The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) calls out the Ford government’s 2024 provincial budget for distracting away from the retention and recruitment crisis in education.
“This is the Ford government’s sixth budget since taking office, which makes six budgets that have intentionally underfunded public education and deliberately shortchanged Ontario students,” said OSSTF/FEESO President Karen Littlewood. “The Progressive Conservatives claim to care about student needs, yet they have allowed a retention and recruitment crisis to take hold across Ontario, negatively impacting schools and students in every district in the province. Principals, teachers, and education workers are calling out for something to be done, yet their calls continue to be ignored.”
Despite the government’s repeated claims of historic education investments, the 2024 budget only provides a 2.7 per cent projected increase to the education budget compared to last year’s spending, which is lower than inflation and does not account for rising enrollment. What they portray as an increase is actually a cut. The province also ignored all 33 of our pre-budget recommendations and have not included anything that would address the staffing crisis in education.
The increases are even more miniscule when it comes to post-secondary education funding. This budget is a mere 0.1 per cent higher than last year’s budget and will not even begin to resolve the severe financial concerns of Ontario’s universities and colleges. Ontario is currently last among all provinces in per pupil funding at the post-secondary level. The government’s own blue-ribbon panel called for more investments in the sector, calls that the Progressive Conservative government has for the most part ignored.
“Politics is all about choices,” added Littlewood. “The Premier and his government continue to choose to put students last, and this budget is no different. They’ve ignored the severe underfunding of elementary and secondary schools as well as in post-secondary education, which has contributed to an acute staffing crisis, rising violence in classrooms, and significant cuts to special education programming across the province. And it’s Ontario’s most vulnerable students who pay the highest price for this government’s faulty choices.”
Earlier this week, a report titled ‘Staff shortages a daily issue for many Ontario schools’ was released. The report surveyed Ontario principals and found that more than a quarter of Ontario’s schools experience teacher shortages every single day, and almost half experience daily shortages for education assistants.
Recruitment and retention were found to be even more serious in secondary schools, with 35 per cent of secondary schools reporting that they face daily shortages of teaching staff and 46 per cent facing daily shortages of education workers. Principals identified a lack of investment in public education plus low wages as root causes of the recruitment and retention crisis.
“Today was a critical opportunity for this government to address the very serious issues that the Progressive Conservatives have either created or allowed to worsen in Ontario schools,” concluded Littlewood. “Every day, schools are forced to operate in an environment where staffing is insufficient, violent incidents are more likely to happen, and many special needs students are unable to receive the supports they need to learn successfully. Every student in Ontario deserves full and equitable access to a high-quality education. My question for the Premier is, what are you going to do to stop failing the students of Ontario?”
OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has over 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.
Contact: Caitlin Reid
Media and Communications Advisor
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation Caitlin.Reid@osstf.ca
416-576-8346