First mention of PDAC
"PDAC has been working to bring about some positive changes for postdocs at the U of C. For example, the group has been organizing workshops and seminars to address common concerns of postdocs..."
"PDAC is also working with the university to change the status of postdoctoral fellows and research associates..." "This gives postdocs access to benefits..."
Becoming an Official Union
Trace the pivotal moments in PDAC's history as it transitioned from an advocacy group to an official union.
1997
Formation of PDAC
PDAC was created by postdoctoral scholars (postdocs) of the time to convey the concerns and issues impacting postdocs at The University of Calgary (U of C) to the U of C administration.
PDAC was not a legal bargaining agent.
2016
April
Presidents for the postdoctoral associations at the U of C, University of Lethbridge (U of L) and The University of Alberta (U of A) submitted a joint letter to Premier Rachel Notley, local MLAs and the Minister of Advanced Education Marlin Schmidt proposing that postdocs be included within the Post-Secondary Learning Act (PSLA).
The following links on the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars/ l'Association Canadienne des Stagiaires Postdoctoraux (CAPS/ACSP) provide additional details leading up to the submission of this joint letter and a link to the letter itself
e for employee status and unionization rights among postdocs.
October
The Presidents of the U of C, U of A and U of L postdoctoral associations submitted a report arguing for three major changes for postdocs in Alberta
1.All postdocs should be considered employees, regardless of their source of funding.
2. The province should provide funding to “...offset the cost of improving services, protections, and benefits for postdocs working in Alberta...”.
3. Postdocs should be included in the PSLA and/or other legislation providing similar rights and privileges to those already afforded to graduate students and academic faculty
2017
May 4
The Government of Alberta passed (gave Royal Assent to) Bill 7, An Act to Enhance Post-secondary Academic Bargaining into law.Bill 7 was an important piece of legislation for postdocs because,for the first time, postdocs in Alberta were recognized as employees, and their representing associations were given collective bargaining rights and recognized as trade unions.
Bill 7,Section 58.5(1)(b) states:“the postdoctoral fellows of a university are employees of the board of governors of the university”
Bill 7,Section 58.5(1)(c) states:“the postdoctoral fellows association of a university is...the bargaining agent for the postdoctoral fellows of the university and has exclusive authority to bargain collectively on behalf of the postdoctoral fellows and to bind them by a collective agreement.”
Bill 7,Section 58.5(2) states: “The postdoctoral fellows association of a university is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be a trade union for the purposes of acting as bargaining agent for the postdoctoral fellows of the university.”
Revisions to the PLSA, included postdocs being defined as: “postdoctoral fellow” means an individual holding a postdoctoral appointment or occupying a postdoctoral position at a university, including any of the following: (i) postdoctoral fellow; (ii) postdoctoral associate; (iii) postdoctoral researcher; (iv) postdoctoral scholar
2018
May 28
The Postdoctoral Fellows Association of The University of Calgary (PDAC) was incorporated by the Order in Council made by the Lieutenant Governor for the province of Alberta
This invoked Section 92.1(2) of the PSLA, which states:
“Each postdoctoral fellows association is a corporation with the name given to it by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and consists of the postdoctoral fellows of the university.”
