“Job security, fair pay, and benefits for contract faculty will deliver fairness for workers and protect the high‐quality education our students deserve.”
Many thanks to the Academic supporters who work with us everyday and see our value and contribution to the university: Brock University Faculty Association (BUFA), Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), and Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA).
When Brock chooses cuts over investment, it traps contract workers in unstable jobs with low pay and no job security. Precarity isn’t an accident. It’s the business model that austerity builds. It’s the model that Brock uses to keep contract workers paid unfairly and bumps long-term contract holders out of their work.
We say: NO AUSTERITY. NO PRECARITY. NO CONCESSIONS.
We won’t be nickle & dimed anymore. Our work is vital to this university.
Quality teaching deserves Quality pay. It’s time to pay us what we’re worth.
CUPE 4207 Unit 1 members play an essential role in delivering and supporting high-quality education to students at Brock University.
Brock’s reputation for academic excellence depends on the people who teach, grade, and support its students everyday. It’s time to invest in us: over a thousand instructors, teaching assistants, course coordinators, marker-graders, and lab demonstrators teaching the next generation of youth that will shape the future.
Austerity and precarity are choices that hurt both workers and students. We’re standing together to demand a fair contract that reflects the value of our work.
Quality education can’t happen when learning spaces – whether in person or virtual – are packed beyond capacity.
Unit 5, Our Faculty of Education Instructors, are standing up against the normalization of overcrowded classes that undermine student success and exploit academic workers.
Unit 1 is facing the same challenges, as seminar sizes are beyond room capacity. Our online members are being exploited with dozens of extra students without extra pay.
It’s time for real investment in education, not austerity disguised as efficiency.
Join us for our CUPE 4207 Solidarity Rally & Community BBQ!
Date: Thursday, October 23rd, 2025.
Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm.
Location: Outside Glenridge A (corner of Glenridge Ave & John Macdonell St).
Parking: Paid parking in Lot E or Lot Glenridge (HONK app).
We’ll have hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks, and vegetarian options on the grill.
Both Unit 1 (Instructors, Course Coordinators, Teaching Assistants, Marker-Graders, and Lab Demonstrators) and Unit 5 (Faculty of Education Instructors) are standing together on three key priorities that resonate across the labour movement.
We’re not asking – we’re demanding!
Reasonable Class & Seminar Sizes – because we teach to students, not Stadiums;
Fair Hiring Practices – because we earned our Seniority, it’s not optional;
Fair & Comparable Wages – because we need to afford our rent and groceries.
Seniority is the backbone of fairness in our workplace. It means that jobs are awarded based on experience and service, not on favoritism, not on who the employer “prefers.” When seniority and experience is respected, members know they can build a future with job security, stability, and dignity.
Right now, the employer is trying to undermine this system by pushing for MORE “preference” in hiring of PhD students into instructor positions. This is seniority-busting, plain and simple. It threatens the job security of our Unit 1 members who are not graduate students, pits us against each other, and erodes the protections we’ve fought for at the bargaining table.
When they weaken seniority, they weaken all of us. Protecting seniority means protecting fair hiring, protecting good jobs, and protecting the quality of education for students. It also means protecting our PhD students who might unfairly be put into positions that they cannot handle or would impede the completion their graduate studies.
Seniority isn’t just a clause in our contract, it’s a principle of fairness we cannot afford to lose.
It has come to our attention that many unit 1 members have not received their Allocation of Hours form.
According to our Collective Agreement, these should be provided to us by the end of the second week of classes. Our contracts started September 1st and it is now the third week of September. Many of us are are still waiting for the Allocation of Hours. Why?
Unfortunately, many faculty and departments are expecting us to grade student work without knowing how much time to spend on the task. They are expecting us to be available to students without providing a timeframe for student contact. They are expecting us to prepare for the course and seminars without telling us how many hours we have to do so. Some of our members aren’t even clear if they are required to attend lecture or to hold office hours. Or, those receiving them three weeks into the term are finding themselves ‘owing hours’ or ‘behind’ because they were supposed to be spending hours on tasks they were never told about.
Let’s be clear. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
If you have a D1 or D2 contract and have been delegated tasks without an Allocation of Hours form, please:
Keep track of the hours you are spending on these tasks so that they are included in your hours for the term.
Reach out to your direct supervisor or Department Chair and ask when you will be receiving your AoH. It’s your right – this is not a favour we’re asking – it’s in our contract for them to provide us an AoH.
Contact the union ASAP and let them know that you are working without an AoH.
We understand that many of our members don’t feel comfortable reaching out to the department about this – even though they are REQUIRED to provide you with an Allocation of Hours. Some of our graduate students have told us that they feel it’s risky to say something and they’re worried that they will be seen unfavourably in their department (and their graduate supervisor) for asking about it.
This is so unfortunate and devasting to hear that our members are worried about using their voice to protect their rights. What kind of work environment is that?
You always have support with CUPE 4207, your union! And, we will amplify your voice or be your voice in order to protect your workplace rights. If you require confidentiality because you are concerned about department backlash, contact us – we’ve got you covered. Always.
Attention all Unit 1 instructors! CPI is hosting a three day workshop on course design. Tuesday, August 19 2025 at 9:00 AM EDT to Thursday, August 21 2025 at 4:00 PM EDT.
The Course (re)Design Institute is designed for Brock instructors including faculty members, part-time and sessional instructors who will be teaching a course(s) in the 2025/26 academic year.
Instructors will have the opportunity to engage in workshops on learning outcomes and alignment, assessment and activity design, using Brightspace, and accessible pedagogy. Time will also be dedicated to working on designing or redesigning elements of your course (e.g. syllabus, Brightspace course site, assessment design).
Your union is committed to creating safer, fairer workplaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirit, intersex, and queer-identified union members!
CUPE 4207’s Pink Triangle Committee is committed to addressing the persistent discrimination, violence, and marginalization faced by 2SLGBTQQIA+ persons worldwide.
With hate crimes and rates of violence towards the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community surging daily, it is time to:
STOP THE HATE!
We call upon our allies to stand together with us and help us resist homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia, to offer us support, and to help us heal from the trauma of hatred imposed upon us daily.
“Everyone should be able to be who they are and love who they love, free from discrimination and hate… But people from the 2SLGBTQI+ community, particularly transgender people, are still facing a crisis of targeted violence in Canada and across the globe,” said Trudeau.
Clinical Nursing Instructors are Unit 4 of CUPE 4207. They are negotiating their first collective agreement and will be in a third conciliation on May 28th.
WE DEMAND RESPECT FOR BROCK’s CLINICAL NURSING INSTRUCTORS!
Brock University refuses to bring their pay to the provincial average. Their pay grid hasn’t changed in 12 years!
Come to support the indispensable educators in health care. Ontario needs more nurses, and nursing students need Clinical Nursing Instructors! A fair settlement will avoid a strike!
There will be FREE refreshments featuring a barbecue with vegan options as well!
What exactly do Clinical Nursing Instructors do?
CNIs liaise with hospital staff and management and liaise with faculty to deliver faculty developed curriculum and structure for each course. CNIs liaise with hospital staff and management. They meet with faculty at regular intervals and more frequently with students at risk.
They provide INSTRUCTION: The CNIs are responsible for providing effective instruction and assessment during clinical practice to students and where there are knowledge gaps we are responsible for creating success plans in conjunction with faculty. CNIs assign pass/fail grades to students and grade journal reflections, learning plans, patient care assignment sheets and provide formative and summative midterm/final evaluations. CNIs orientate students to hospital policies and protocols and ensure they are followed by the student.
They provide STUDENT CARE: CNIs attend to the emotional needs of student including mental health needs and accommodate students in conjunction with SAS at the University. CNIs debrief students after dealing with ethical dilemmas observed in clinical settings or after witnessing upsetting experiences like a death. CNIs fill out incident reports after incidents occur during clinical hours. We also prepare and deliver post conference sessions for students after their clinical day to debrief as a group.
They combine CLINICAL CARE AND INSTRUCTION: The CNIs provide practical instruction to give students on-the job training and experience in hospital settings They are the primary source of communication with the student during their clinical placement. Most CNIs supervise a group of up to 8 students in the hospital setting while caring for patients. The group is assigned by the hospital to a specific unit. CNIs help students assess patients and take vital signs, directly supervise students while performing procedures. CNIs are side by side students administering medications and ensure the safety of the student and patient at all times.
