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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font style="font-size:11pt"
face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000"><b>From:</b>
OpenLetterFaculty-l: monthly social space for progressive
faculty at UT
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:OPENLETTERFACULTY-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA"><OPENLETTERFACULTY-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA></a> on behalf
of UTFaculty <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:openletterutfaculty@GMAIL.COM"><openletterutfaculty@GMAIL.COM></a><br>
<b>Sent:</b> March 31, 2020 9:23 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:OPENLETTERFACULTY-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA">OPENLETTERFACULTY-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:OPENLETTERFACULTY-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA"><OPENLETTERFACULTY-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA></a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Please sign by Friday! Supporting U of T
staff in an era of Covid-19</font>
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<div>Dear friends - please consider signing this
important and time sensitive letter by
<font color="#cc0000"><b>FRIDAY APRIL 3RD @ NOON</b></font>.
Please also circulate widely through your
networks. Many thanks!</div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><span
style="color:rgb(204,0,0); font-weight:bold">SIGN
HERE! </span><a
href="https://forms.gle/yrJdgMFnUz5pNYkRA"
style="font-weight:bold"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://forms.gle/yrJdgMFnUz5pNYkRA</a></font><br>
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<div>---</div>
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<div dir="ltr">March 31, 2020</div>
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<div dir="ltr">Open Letter to President Gertler re:
Supporting our staff in an era of Covid-19 </div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Dear President Gertler,</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">We write with regard to the COVID-19
crisis and the crucial steps that the University
of Toronto must take in order to protect its most
essential workers: the staff that keep the
institution running. </div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">We applaud the University for so far
stepping up and exceeding its own contractual
obligations to staff. This is admirable and the
right thing to do. Demonstrating ongoing
leadership in this moment must entail the
protection of lives and livelihoods and the
enhancement of a collective sense of
responsibility and care. We are in this together
and U of T’s labour practices must affirm this
fact. </div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">We understand that currently, the
University of Toronto has only committed to paying
administrative and technical staff until April
30th, 2020. This is unacceptable. An institution
that claims to be a model employer, dedicated to
advancing the public good, must do better for all
members of our community at a time of crisis. </div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">We ask you to reassure all workers at
the University of Toronto that their employment
will be protected. This includes renewing
contracts for casual workers, and implementing a
“right of first refusal” when operations start up
again. It also includes providing an Employment
Insurance ‘top-up’ and continuing all benefits.
Staff at the University of Toronto should not be
evicted from their jobs just as no one should be
evicted from their homes as a result of the
current pandemic. In particular, staff who are
supporting elderly family members and/or those
with child care responsibilities should be able to
direct their focus and energy primarily if
necessary towards fulfilling those essential
duties. Staff should not be required to undertake
this vitally essential care work under the shadow
of income uncertainty and professional precarity
as a result of the University of Toronto’s
response to this crisis. The University should
consider redefining a full-time work week to 25
hours for staff working from home who are also
juggling child and elder care responsibilities,
following the example of the Australian National
University, and other institutions of higher
education.</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Indeed, we are seeing many
Universities worldwide step up to enhance job
security for their workers in the context of
COVID-19; this is the model of a caring
institution that we would be proud to call our
own.</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">In this fraught moment, we implore
you to consider our collective responsibility to
more than just the bottom line. Crises like the
one we face today are a dimension of the vast,
human-led global ecological transformations that
promise to multiply. Novel viruses have been tied
to increasing interaction between wildlife and
human settlements in the context of habitat
destruction fuelled by global urbanization fuelled
and massive agribusiness operations.. The
unprecedented speed and scale of the coronavirus’
spread is a feature of globalized supply chains
and human movement. There is clearly no separation
of human and natural disasters in this era, but we
can shape outcomes by actively planning for a just
transition.</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Now is the time for the senior
administration at U of T to show how BOUNDLESS our
institution can be in supporting everyone who
makes this institution so strong. We urgently call
on the University of Toronto to commit to a just
transition through this crisis by firstly
committing to salary continuance for all staff
well beyond April 30th, 2020.</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Yours sincerely,</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Divestment and Beyond: Building
Climate Justice at U of T Coalition</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div><b><font size="4" color="#cc0000">SIGN HERE! <a
href="https://forms.gle/yrJdgMFnUz5pNYkRA"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://forms.gle/yrJdgMFnUz5pNYkRA</a></font></b></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">c.c.: Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President
and Provost</div>
<div dir="ltr">Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Vice-Provost
Human Resources</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
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