Good afternoon PSAC555 Friends and Family.

Contents of this newsletter.

· PSAC TA/RA & Invigilators Retro Pay
· PSAC TA/RA & Invigilators working group
· Asynchronous VS Synchronous Learning
· COVID19 Emergency Fund

PSAC TA/RA & Invigilators Retro Pay and new pay amounts from the ratified collective agreement:

On July 3rd, retro pay for Fall 2019 and the Winter 2020 term will be dispersed- you have to have been employed in the bargaining unit in the Winter 2020 term to receive this payment.

· Spring 2020 contract will also be reconciled to the new pay amount in Appendix A of your CA.
· Summer 2020 contract should be at the new pay amount in Appendix A of your CA.

If you have any concerns or questions please contact us office@PSAC555.ca

PSAC TA/RA & Invigilators working group:

In the Fall 2020 term we will be establishing the working group to review LOU #5 (p.24 of ratification kit).

A review of Article 12 and Article 17- to establish fair – transparent hiring practices, for hours that are at the full discretion of the employer. The University has a lot of discretion as per Article 12 and Article 17 of the CA. and there is no guarantee and very few rules around how these extra hours are awarded. Check out the Guide to Article 12 & 17 on our website https://www.psac555.ca/ta-ra-invig/

Sessional Faculty are you teaching Asynchronous VS Synchronous:

Asynchronous VS Synchronous Online Courses – they are a 3-credit hour course and worth the full value of the contract. Ontario Tech U has scheduled all 2020 Spring/Summer courses online and they will be scheduling all Fall 2020 term classes online. What is important is that it doesn’t matter if you are teaching in an asynchronous learning style or in synchronous learning style or a combination of both, if it is a 3 credit hour course (over 6 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks), then it pays the full contract amount. If you are teaching a CRN that has its own unique student enrollment (5 students or 250 students), do not let the university offer or pay you half a contract! Email us immediately, so we can help you resolve this issue!

The PSAC COVID 19 $10,000.00 Emergency Fund:

Due to COVID 19, the employer has cut back on summer contracts and canceled almost all of the invigilation employment. To help address these new working conditions, the membership established a $10,000.00 COVID 19 Membership Emergency Fund on the 2020/21 Academic Year Budget. These funds can be distributed to the membership to help them cover up to $200 shortfalls in their rent, groceries or another monthly bill.

At this point members have used 60% of the fund. If you need help please let us know and apply to this fund.

You can find all the policies and applications in the membership wellness tab on our website: https://www.psac555.ca/.

OFFICE Hours

ERC1085 (the PSAC555 local office) will not be physically occupied until further notice. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our office at Office@PSAC555.ca. We are also able to do conference calls and google meetings with our membership- if you would like to chat.

Please stay safe and healthy.

In solidarity, PSAC555 Executive