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TO:
ALL COLLEGE FACULTY FROM:
Ted Montgomery, Negotiating Team Chair DATE:
RE: Letter
from Management Over the next day
or two, most of you will be receiving a letter from the management
negotiating committee. It is signed by their chair, L. Joy Warkentin. For the most part
the letter has nothing new. It
simply reiterates statements made in previous management newsletters and
so-called fact sheets. This letter touts the same old offer that has
been on the table since the summer, with stunningly little amendment. There is one
serious item I do need to bring to your attention. In the letter, Ms
Warkentin states as follows: “Also on March
6, the This
is untrue. The union proposed
the across-the-board limits on class size for the first time on February
16th in a without prejudice presentation to management.
Ms Warkentin was in the room at the Delta Toronto East Hotel
when that presentation was made. The attempt to portray this as a
last-minute move is false. The
union tabled the position formally on March 6, but it had been proposed
long before. In fact, the
union adjusted the proposed cap number, which had been 30, to 40 on the
March 6 . It is extremely
unusual to make “without prejudice” positions public.
In this instance, it is necessary because of the deliberate
falsification of events. The allegation that the union had not proposed
the cap on class size until March 6 is untrue and should never have been
written or said to anyone. Sending such a falsehood to all faculty
demands that the truth be made known. As for the rest of
the letter, as noted there is nothing new.
I suggest that “return to sender” would be a good way to deal
with it. Faculty who want to
read it can look at the Council website and will see that it is nothing
more than the same old claims about the same old offer.
Others might find the paper useful to start fires for the barrels
at picket locations. We remain hopeful
that the ACAATO campaign of denigration and belittling of college
faculty will end and that the government will pressure the colleges to
get back to the table with a serious and purposeful offer. Ted Montgomery,
for the Bargaining Team |