Message on Behalf of Local 556 Membership

We are writing to you on behalf of the members of Local 556.  As George Brown navigates the current crisis in the Ontario college sector—and the issues facing our institution specifically—we continue to experience the devastating impact of mass faculty and staff layoffs.

Our members, understandably, have urgent, legitimate questions and they deserve straightforward answers from George Brown leadership.  They do not need to read more hollow rhetoric or listen to more rote talking points.    

We therefore urge you to consider the following concerns/questions from the faculty membership (this is far from an exhaustive list and only covers some of the most commonly communicated issues):

1. In a recent email communication to the George Brown community, you indicate that management is committed “to maintaining open, transparent communication.”  However, thus far, the communication from the Polytechnic has been anything but ‘open and transparent’.  Open communication includes informing the community about the number of employee terminations (euphemistically referred to by the term ‘mitigation’) and the full extent of layoffs. 

After clicking on a number of links and scrolling through several webpages, members of the community will eventually find a posting regarding the Ministry of Labour ‘Form 1’, a mandatory mass termination notice.  Notably, the Polytechnic did not post this update until March 31, several days after an article on the George Brown mass termination appeared in the Toronto Star and other media platforms. This is despite the fact that the Form was actually issued on March 4.  The Polytechnic waited over 3 weeks—and until after the story broke in the media—before updating the George Brown community on this urgent matter.

2. We understand that some administrative positions have also been closed as part of the ongoing ‘mitigation’ efforts.  However, why does our institution continue to have such a top-heavy administrative structure?  George Brown currently has 12 Vice-Presidents.  We do not wish job loss upon anyone, but how can the Polytechnic possibly justify having this many Vice-Presidents while we are being told we need to cut the budget and while junior administrators, faculty and staff are being laid off in droves?  If this weren’t bad enough, there are currently a number of senior management postings on the George Brown careers web page—including a posting for a 13th Vice-President position.  Again, what is the justification for this senior management bloat in the current financial climate?

Our members are also asking other finances-related questions, such as how the Polytechnic has money to purchase real estate properties at a time when so many employee layoffs are happening.  There is little transparency surrounding these dubious investments.  And why is institutional money being spent in this manner when it should be going into frontline education?

3.  Vague references to ‘transformation’ and ‘innovation’ aside, what is the plan for this institution?  Apart from a sense of fiscal panic and a stated need to slash the budget, is there any vision for what will remain?  Senior management has touted new partnerships with other post-secondary institutions and hyped the new programs and opportunities that will apparently come with re-branding as a ‘polytechnic’, but at the same time it is eliminating a vast swath of the academic talent that could support these new initiatives and the students we seek to draw to them.  We all understand financial pressures, but how will George Brown maintain its reputation and its market desirability if it becomes an organization that sacrifices the long-term quality and sustainability of its programs to save money in the short-term?             

President Fearon, you are presiding over the dismantling of a beloved educational institution.  The George Brown community will never be the same.  Faculty and staff are devastated.  We urge you to respect them enough to face them and provide honest and direct answers to these questions and concerns. 

We will be sharing this message with the Local 556 membership and we look forward to your prompt response.

 

Respectfully,

Tom Tomassi, President

Paul Petrie, Treasurer/1st Vice-President

Jeff Brown, Lead Steward/2nd Vice-President

Sarah Wiebe, Communications Officer/3rd Vice-President