FAIR EMPLOYMENT WEEK 2022

Fair Employment Week is an annual national campaign to raise awareness about precarious employment at post-secondary institutions and support local organizing to improve the working conditions of contract academic staff (see the Canadian Association of University Teachers makeitfair.caut.ca website.)

• Believe a university has a mission for the public good?  Then it needs a well-supported complement of securely employed faculty who can exercise their academic freedom.
• Building a university on a foundation of precarity hurts real people and weakens our communities.
• Fair employment is an equity issue, and it is a structural problem that demands a structural solution. Let’s work collectively to set all faculty up for success.

How does Precarious Employment apply at MRU? Read the Quick Reference Sheet here.

You Can Help – Attend sessions and support actions planned during FEW. We hope all members can commit to undertaking at least one action in support.

FEW 2022 Actions and Activities

• Sign the petition to end precarious employment practices at MRU
• Attend the Keynote address – October 19, 11:00 am (MT) – Organizing to Win for Contract Academic Staff
  • Open University is the largest provider of distance learning in the UK with the majority of instruction provided by over 4,800 Associate Lecturers (ALs), who are employed on casualized contracts.  In their latest round of bargaining, ALs won permanent contracts. Hear from Richard Bradbury – a member of the bargaining team at Open University and member of the Executive Committee of the University and College Union in the UK – about how they won this historic victory. 
  • Register to attend the keynote address here.
• Participate in the Social Media Day of Action – Wednesday, October 19
  • Help spread the word online about Fair Employment Week and the realities of precarious employment on our campuses.
  • CAUT has developed a social media tool kit and digital resources to support engagement in this day of action.
  • Remember to use the hashtags #MakeitFar and #Fairness4CAS.
• Put up Door Hangers and Posters (Advocacy Committee-sponsored initiative)
  • MRU faculty members can write Why you support Fair Employment for Contract Faculty at MRU on the door hanger and poster that will be delivered by Monday October 17. Hang the door knocker on your door and put up the poster somewhere visible on campus.
• Attend the CAUT “Zoom social for contract academic staff”
  • Friday, October 21 at 11:00am MT – Register here to attend
• Attend Drop-In Sessions with the MRFA Contract Member Officer, Brenda Lang
  • October 18, 1:00 – 2:00pm – with Lecturers
  • October 20, 1:00 – 2:00pm – with Clinical Instructors
  • October 21, 1:00 – 2:00pm – with Lab Instructors
  • Please note – contract members are welcome to attend any session for which they are available. 

Other Resources

• Fair Employment Week Campaign Video
• September 2018 CAUT report: Out of the Shadows: Experiences of Contract Academic Staff
• CAUT Pro Rata model
• November 2018 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternaties report: Contract U: Contract Faculty Appointments at Canadian Universities