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As was communicated earlier, the Union considers the University’s intention to increase class caps of up to 300% for the summer session to be a severe violation of Course Lecturers’ and Instructors’ rights. Therefore, the Union is making its voice heard at every level, including writing an open letter to Principal Fortier. This letter was drafted in consultation with the whole McGill community. As you can see, almost all of McGill’s Unions and Associations have signed in support. We hope that the Principal, the Provost and Deans will ensure to revert this decision to increase class caps and respect employees’ rights. Following is the letter to Principal Fortier.

Dear Principal Fortier,

We the undersigned, representing the Unions and Associations that make up the McGill community, write to express our serious concerns regarding recent developments involving a request by different Faculties to have class caps increased for the upcoming online summer courses. An email was sent to all its Course Lecturers asking each of them to increase their class cap by as much as 300% and it is being suggested by some Chairs and Directors that more graders be hired instead as a cost cutting solution. In this time of crisis and with what we are all going through together, we find this request to be disingenuous and opportunistic. One that disregards the well being of Course Lecturers, full time professors, teaching assistants, students and the McGill community.

As a community, we came together to address the COVID-19 crisis. The Course Lecturers and full time professors were called upon to undertake a momentous transition from in-class to online teaching for the safety of students, the safety of the McGill community and the integrity of our students’ education. All answered the call and we are now in the process of providing our students with the highest level of education possible under these demanding and stressful circumstances. Course Lecturers are teaching while dealing with confinement, taking care of family, possible loss of income of their partners and many are concerned of their own job security as we move into the summer and fall sessions. This request to increase class caps is an affront to all of our work and sacrifices in response to the crisis.

In addition, this will impose even greater demands and create more stress for Course Lecturers and students alike. Courses with up to three times the present cap sizes will force Course Lecturers to work harder and longer while still earning the same salary per course. All this while knowing that these larger class sizes will inevitably mean less courses available to them and their fellow colleagues in the near future. Making their jobs even more precarious. Students themselves will not receive the education and support they deserve. With larger class sizes the availability of the Course lecturer to address their questions, concerns and needs will not be met by the high standards expected from a McGill University education.

Students will most likely have to also worry about privacy issues, as larger online class sizes will lead to more intrusive methods of testing in the name of efficacy. Students will be asked to give online proctoring programs permission to access their computers and record their every movement. Students, who will be paying for these courses, should benefit from the expected practices and standard we have in place, namely more regular cap course sizes that are more manageable and fair to all involved.

The email sent out by the Faculty cites demands from students for more summer courses. For the reasons stated above, we believe larger caps on online courses is not the answer. The only realistic answer is more course sections instead. We also believe this is an obvious attempt to undermine the Course Lecturer’s job security even more than its existing precarious situation and to undermine the McGill Course Lecturers and Instructors Union itself directly. We therefore ask you to address this issue in a manner that would better reflect McGill values and with empathy to all its faculty and students. Furthermore, we ask that the University respect the working conditions related to this matter and to send out a new message to all Course Lecturers, full-time professors, teaching assistants and students retracting the present demands.

Regards,

MCLIU (Course Lecturers and instructors) (CSN), President, Raad Jassim

And

AGSEM (Invigilators) (CSN), President, Kiersten Van Vliet
AGSEM (Teaching Assistants and Lab Demonstrators) (CSN), President, Kiersten van Vliet
AMURE Post-Docs (PSAC), President, Sean Cory
AMURE Research Assistants & Research associates (PSAC), president, Sean Cory
AMUSE (Floor Fellows) (PSAC), President, Delali Egyima
AMUSE (Non-Academic Casuals) (PSAC), President, Delali Egyima
MUNACA (Non-Academic support staff) (PSAC), President, Thomas Chalmers
Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University, External Affairs Officer, Esteban Gongora Bernoske
SEU Facilities management, Faculty Club, Residences, President, Jose Rego
SEU Macdonald campus (Powerhouse and Trades), President, Andrew Fraser
SEU Trades Downtown, President, Allen Neil
SSMU, Vice President (External Affairs), Adam Gwiazda-Amsel

The University is intending to double and even triple the class sizes for the online summer courses. In the past two days, different departments have emailed Course Lecturers informing them that the University will increase class sizes by up to three times. The departments are asking employees to respond by Monday noon.

The Union has supported and cooperated with the University in the best possible manner so that the COVID-19 crisis does not impact delivery of courses and negatively affect students from receiving their education. Most of our members, who have been teaching during COVID-19, have had to quickly transition from in-class to online, involving an enormous amount of work and extra hours without any extra compensation. All this while dealing with isolation, extra stress and possibly taking care of family at home.

This cooperation of the Union and our members, however, is not being respected. Instead, the University seems to be using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse towards severe violation of our work conditions by increasing class caps by three times and increasing workload on Course Lecturers.

The Union strongly condemns this move by the Employer, which clearly and significantly violates Members’ rights. In some cases, it proposed to raise class caps from 45 to as many as 150 students. The Union asks its Members to refuse such requests of the Employer and respect their original contracts with the regular class sizes. Please ensure that your class size is as per your contract and is as it has been historically.

We are calling upon the Employer to address greater student demands for courses this summer with more sections and not larger class sizes. If the Employer imposes increased cap sizes, please contact the Union immediately and we will advise you on the next course of action.

Lastly, and most importantly, please keep safe.

MCLIU Executive

The Union Executive wishes you peaceful and happy holidays.

MCLIU, along with McGill’s other unions and associations, has been meeting with the Administration during the COVID-19 situation on a weekly basis in a forum called the Employees Group. Union concerns and other emergency issues are brought to the attention of the Administration during these meetings. The Provost has kindly accepted to create a focus group to discuss issues that will be brought to the attention of the McGill Emergency Operating Committee (EOC).

Some of the questions and concerns raised by MCLIU, for which we are waiting for replies, are the following:

• Summer courses: posting, allocation, and online deliveries
• The need for resources to deliver online coursse such as, and not limited to, equipment, computer, data/internet access, training, security and privacy
• Addressing both federal and provincial government emergency funds, given class cancellations
• Special attention where social distances will impact certain hiring units: nursing, music and other laboratory and field teaching courses.

Your Executive and Delegates Council are available to address any inquiries you may have. As information becomes available we will share it with you right away. In addition, don’t hesitate to contact your hiring unit’s chairs or director for any issue, concerns or resource needs.

In the meantime the Union would like to remind you of a few key resources available to Members:

If you have lost a teaching contract due to COVID-19, the Federal government is offering several resources, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Please view the following link for further information and how to apply for these resources:

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html#individuals
https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-finances/plan-intervention-economique.html#particuliers

For online teaching resources please visit the following TLS sites:

Teaching remotely guide:
https://mcgill.ca/tls/files/tls/tls_teaching_remotely_guide.pdf.
https://mcgill.ca/tls/instructors/class-disruption.

Software use in courses: TLS site on Zoom for teaching
https://www.mcgill.ca/tls/instructors/class-disruption/tools/zoom

In this time of transition and online teaching, with all the issues it brings, the Union has made a point of clearly siting and reminding the Administration on your right to freedom of conscience and teaching inherent to an institution of Higher learning.

« Toute Chargée ou tout Chargé de cours bénéficie des libertés de conscience et d’enseignement inhérentes à une institution universitaire. »

Lastly, and most importantly, please keep safe.

MCLIU Executive