RSL for Professionals: Testimonials

The item that has gotten a lot of attention from members is the employer’s proposed removal of Research & Study Leave (RSL) for professional staff.  While we know that not all professional staff are able to take this leave (for many reasons including lack of staffing to cover for their leave, a workload that is too heavy, and that it wouldn’t be approved by their manager), the minor payout that AU has offered is not a fair compensation for this benefit. 

In a recent survey of professional staff (with 140 respondents and just under 200 professional members of AUFA): 

• 65.9% of respondents said that RSL was important to them 

• 66.67% said that it was likely that they would take professional RSL in the future 

• 19.9% thought it was acceptable to trade RSL for a one-time flat payout of around $10,000 (which is the current offer) 

As many members have pointed out, the push to remove this benefit from professional members relies on the assumption that AU professional members are not important members of our research community and that their continuing studies are not important to the work they do for the university. 

Here are testimonials from members about why RSL leave is important for them: 

Testimonial 1: 

I left a PhD program to work for AU, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to some of my graduate research once I accumulated enough Research and Study Leave (RSL). Following that first RSL in 2012, I published three articles in top-tier peer-reviewed ecology and entomology journals. In my most recent RSL, in 2018, I edited websites, tested and edited educational board games, and edited books of poetry, a fiction novel, and an academic monograph. Diversifying and broadening my experience has made me a better editor and has been hugely valuable to my work in FHSS, with its wide range of courses and styles—from statistics to creative writing, from psychology to political science. 

Professional Development leave is certainly very useful for attending a webinar or a three-day conference. Even if I took all of my PD time at once, however, I could not write research articles or edit a manuscript. RSL provides me with something PD or an extra 9% compensation would not: time. The time to pursue education or research or service not only improves the work that I do for AU, it also reinforces the university’s credibility as an employer and as a provider of high-quality educational materials. 

Testimonial 2: 

As a senior software developer with over 15 years of experience, I took a significant pay cut to come work at AU two and a half years ago. With the ever-increasing costs of everything while trying to raise a young family, taking this pay cut has not been easy. However, I wanted to come work here because I would be able to pursue graduate studies and I would be allowed to take R&S leave to complete my research. I am currently enrolled in the MScIS program and the intended focus of my research will be around learning analytics and the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in learning management systems. 

AU's proposals to eliminate R&S leave for professionals are incredibly shortsighted for several reasons. First, the outcomes of my research are likely to be beneficial to AU as they will be focused on using emerging technologies in distance education. This research is directly applicable to my day-to-day work and will provide me with a foundation that will allow me to identify innovations and efficiencies to improve our services. 

Likewise, by being able to take R&S leave, I will be able to research my chosen topics in-depth and focus on delivering meaningful and novel findings, rather than just trying to complete my thesis so I can be done with it. As I am sure that many academics would agree, meaningful research requires time, effort, dedication, and perseverance. R&S leave allows professionals to focus solely on their studies rather than having to balance them against many other priorities. 

Furthermore, R&S leave for professionals is a significant competitive advantage for AU when it comes to hiring new IT staff. Every other institution can offer you more money, but few other companies have the framework and the capabilities to offer you something like R&S leave. There is a significant shortage of IT professionals in every field right now. If anything, AU should be looking to boost R&S benefits to use them to hire talented, skilled, and hardworking individuals who are passionate about their career. 

Finally, professional R&S leave is a benefit that is likely to cause strong debate. It is not a coincidence that AU is using it to create division amongst AUFA union members. For those that are reluctant to support this benefit because they do not understand its value or do not believe that professionals should have it, I urge you to think about what AU will try to eliminate in the next round of bargaining and who will be willing to stand with you in solidarity. 

Testimonial from AUFA Member Yasamine Coulter

We are publishing this testimonial from Yasamine Coulter, an AUFA professional and editor, as a feature on our blog, due to the time and care she took to write it. If you would like to read other member testimonials or add your own, please click here.

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Dear Colleagues,

I choose a united AUFA and a united AU, in no particular order. I choose both.

We need to uphold unions and protect them. My hope in writing this piece is to disseminate the message that we need to put aside our differences and look at the bigger picture.

Today, AUFA needs our support. Tomorrow, another union may be on the chopping block. Unions in Canada are slowly disappearing (Statistics Canada, 2018). Most unions are found in the public sector, and we are starting to see the demise of those. De-designation has already taken place at the University of Alberta. However, de-designation in post-secondary institutions is just the beginning.

Our very own president said it best: “We need to activate the power of the collective” (Fassina, 2020, 8:06). Let us heed those words. Let us stand united. Let us remember the value that AUFA and all unions bring to society:

• Unions are a response to harsh work conditions and unreasonable expectations of workers.

• Unions value human rights over profits.

• Unions serve to represent employees and ensure they are treated fairly in the workplace.

• Unions have the support, the funds and the knowledge to defend their members’ rights.

• Unions have a say in how the organizations in which they operate are run.

• Unions uphold and challenge employment standards.

• Unions keep the power of employers in check.

• Unions protect the voices of their employees.

Unions are often demonized and deemed wasteful because they require employers’ time and financial commitment. In periods of “austerity,” unions become the scapegoat for corporate deficits. In an employers’ market, like today, organizations take advantage of the unemployed and offer them pitiful wages for work that was once well paid. Wages rarely return to their previous levels when the market picks up. Strong unions can prevent this from happening. For that reason, employers seek to break up unions.

What We Stand to Lose: Freedom of Speech

Today I speak out, but tomorrow, if I am expelled from AUFA, will I be able to speak so freely? Membership in a union protects my freedom to voice my concerns. Without a union to back me up, would I be able to share my thoughts without fear of dismissal? Or would I keep quiet to preserve my employment?

Perhaps the greatest benefit to AUFA membership is being viewed and treated as a human being. We are first and foremost humans, not employees who can be “repurposed.” Free-thinking human beings are what unions protect. Faculty associations are the guardians of academic freedom.

What is the purpose of dismantling AUFA other than to save money and “balance the budget”? Many people in post-secondary education have spoken out against the province’s cuts to the public sector and have presented many sound arguments that amount to a very simple fact: it appears that there is a trend to undermine academia, critical thinking, and freedom of speech. What does a world look like where we are no longer permitted to push boundaries and challenge the status quo? To me that world looks robotic, repetitive, and highly controlled.

Furthermore, a performance-based funding model may succeed in removing the fundamental purpose of an academic sector, replacing it with skills-based training that prepares students for jobs rather than careers. There is merit in skills-based training, but there is also merit in academic freedom. We need both. We must not be locked in a world where corporations call the shots based on how much money they will generate. Rather, we, the people, should be calling the shots based on what is best for humanity. Academia plays an important role in leading the way.

What We Stand to Lose: Bargaining Power

In recent months, we’ve seen many analyses of the province’s budget cuts and funding models. Rather than rehash what has already been said, I’d like to bring attention to the fact that if de-designation succeeds, our union will lose more than half of its power. AUFA will disintegrate into a small, weak union with little or no voice. How much power will remaining AUFA members have as a group? Post-de-designation will leave AUFA with approximately 159 members. It will be easy to topple the group.

What can we understand from the combination of cuts to post-secondary institutions, on the one hand, and de-designation, on the other? As one professor at an Alberta organization suggests, “by cutting funding from the large public institutions, the UCP is cutting the ground out from underneath large faculty associations that represent the rights of academic staff” (Garrison, 2019).

What We Stand to Lose: Job and Retirement Security

The long and short of it is this: if AUFA de-designation succeeds, it is likely that the small and weakened faculty association that remains will not have the power to resist the changes that will be imposed upon it subsequently. We don’t know what those changes will be, but we can make an educated guess. Will tenured positions become redundant? is one question that springs to mind. And for those who are kicked out of AUFA, will their positions become contractual rather than permanent?

What about pension plans? Removing 260 members from the UAPP will eliminate a significant amount of pension liability for AU if those members are no longer contributing to the pension plan. Many organizations today are stepping away from defined-benefit pension plans because they are too much of a financial risk (Vettese, 2018). Moreover, the pool of contributors to UAPP will shrink significantly, and this will likely influence the health of the pension fund itself.

What does the aftermath of de-designation look like? Professionals will be in limbo and vulnerable to job loss. Benefits and pensions will have to be renegotiated. Without a union to back up employees, they could be deemed “obsolete” and will have no resources with which to defend their rights. Consider long-standing employees who look forward to retirement two years from now. They could lose their jobs at the drop of a hat, and they may never be eligible to claim their full pensions. Professionals become vulnerable to being laid off. If they are fortunate, they will be rehired on contract, without benefits and with less pay. If they are unfortunate, they will be out of work. The unemployment rate is 8% in Edmonton, which is the highest in metropolitan Canada (French, 2020).

Planning Ahead

What is our plan of action if de-designation takes place? We must be united in how we negotiate our benefits and salaries. Our employer cannot take away our current benefits without replacing them with new ones. If we are united in how we negotiate, and if we stick together, we will be successful in securing jobs and work conditions for all affected members post-de-designation. We must not sign new employment contracts too hastily. Post-de-designation, we are still a strong group of 260 members, and we can and should stand united.

We must have a solid “Plan B.” However, first and foremost, we must do our best to stand up for AUFA and refuse de-designation. We have the power to succeed. And we must prepare a Plan B, just in case Plan A is not successful. Let us not be caught off guard.

Support AUFA. Support Unions.

I ask all Athabasca University employees to indicate in writing (anonymously, if you wish) that you support a united AUFA. Unions look to other collectives and their successes when they bargain with employers. A strong and cohesive AUFA that remains united will set a precedent for other unions at the bargaining table. There is power in numbers.

Every single member of the Athabasca University community will be affected by de-designation. Even retired employees will be affected, because they rely on a strong UAPP. Excluded staff will be affected, too, because they negotiate their benefits based on AUFA’s and they contribute to the same pension plan. AUPE and CUPE staff will benefit from a united AUFA that sets a standard of power and cohesion at the bargaining table.  

The easiest way to show your support is to visit the AUFA website and sign a letter or write a statement. President Fassina invites your questions and comments via email (president@athabascau.ca) or the ETeam site. Speak to your colleagues, friends and families about this. Spread the word and ask them to speak up.

Your support gives power to all unions in Alberta. Let us set an example for other unions at AU and in this province. If we don’t stick together, we may end up watching one union after another become dismantled. Without unions, without collectives, without community and without associations, we lose our freedoms and our human rights.

In solidarity,

Yasamine Coulter

Course Materials Editor

Faculty of Science and Technology

AU employee and AUFA member since 2008

References

Aivalis, C. (2018, December 8). If unions fail, our democracy may well be at stake. The Globe and Mail.

Fassina, N. (2020, January 28). Neil’s notes January 29, 2020 [Video]. YouTube. 

French, J. (2020, January 28). Latest job numbers peg Edmonton as having highest unemployment rate of Canadian cities. Edmonton Journal.

Garrison, J. (2019, November 20). The UCP’s anti-intellectual agenda is harming education – and the economy. CBC News.

Statistics Canada. (2018, May 17). Unionization rates falling.

Vettese, F. (2018, October 4). The extinction of defined-benefit pension plans is almost upon us. The Globe and Mail.