Information for Candidates for Academic Positions
Certified under the Ontario Labour Relations Act in 1975, CUASA is the oldest academic staff union in Ontario. The principal purposes of the Association are to promote the well-being of the academic community, to defend academic freedom and to promote the collective and individual interests of its members, as well as to maintain the quality and integrity of the University as an academic institution. The union and the employer work together using a problem solving approach to issues arising from terms and conditions of employment. We are proud of our working relationship and are pleased to welcome you to Carleton University.
Once you have been hired, you are required by law to pay union dues. You have a choice about joining CUASA and participating in the democratic processes of the Association. For information on joining the Association, visit the new member page.
Whether you join or not, CUASA represents you.
Negotiating Your Starting Salary
Your negotiation for a starting salary is vitally important. The starting salary you negotiate will strongly influence your lifetime career earnings and your final pension. Do not expect to renegotiate your salary.
You have complete freedom to negotiate your starting salary at any amount above stipulated lower limits. While salary floors are posted on the CUASA website, floors provide little information with respect to negotiating an appropriate starting salary.
Remember, there is no firm 'hiring' rate. Management will make a salary offer based on parameters such as market factors, budetary constraints and whether there are other suitable candidates available. A salary offer denotes the point at which you start your negotiations for your entry salary.
With the sole exception of conversion of a faculty term appointment to tenure track, you do not get to renegotiate your salary. This means that being tenured or promoted will not give you the right to negotiate a new salary. Once you are hired, you become a member of the bargaining unit and the union has exclusive bargaining rights from that point forward.
Other items you may need to negotiate include reimbursement for moving expenses and research start-up funds.
You are strongly encouraged to contact CUASA's Executive Director Kimberly Benoit for confidential advice on your salary negotiation.
General Salary Information
CUASA compares salaries across the bargaining unit using three charts (faculty, instructors, and professional librarians) from Appendix E: Salary Rationalisation of the Collective Agreement
The basis for each chart is "years since first degree". This basis is used to simplify salary comparisons.
The faculty chart assumes that you were hired 8 years after completing your B.A., B.Sc. B.Eng, etc. at the Assistant Professor floor with a standard career (no denial of career development increments for poor performance, no adjustments through salary rationalisation for market differentials, special merit or alternate offer of employment).
Using these assumptions, we determine your predicted salary. Next, we look at the department/school you are being hired into, to determine whether it is an area with market differentials (colleagues who are positive against their predicted salaries) or one where a negative market applies (colleagues mainly negative against predicted salaries, usually because of oversupply in the market or poor initial negotiations).
Using this guide we can make suggestions for your salary negotiation should you be the selected candidate. You are free to ignore these suggestions and negotiate whatever you can, provided it is not below the minimum specified.
Benefits
A comprehensive set of benefits has been negotiated which include, dental, extended health care (out-of-province health care; drugs, etc.), life insurance and long term disability insurance.
Other benefits include:
- Professional Expense Reimbursement for expenses related to your duties. $1,400 (2011-12)
- Free tuition for yourself, your spouse and your dependents under 26 years of age.
- Comprehensive parental leave (maternity, paternity, adoption) benefit
Sabbaticals
Sabbaticals are a right at Carleton. Those who have taught elsewhere may be eligible for up to 2 years credit towards sabbatical [Article 21.1(f)]. Make sure any such credit is captured in your letter of appointment. Remuneration for the first sabbatical in your wacademic career is 100% of nominal salary whether the sabbatical a full year or a half year in length. Thereafter, sabbatical stipends are at 80% for a full year (after 6 years of service) and 70% for a half year (after 3 years of service) [Article 21.3(a)].
Resources
For additional assistance, do not hesitate to contact the CUASA Office. Other resources include:
CUASA Frequently Asked Questions
CAUT Handbook for New Faculty: Negotiating Starting Salaries
Carleton Faculty Recruitment and Support Office