YUFA eNewsletter July 2015

Visit YUFA's New Bargaining Resources Page

YUFA has created a central location on our website for all information related to the 2015 bargaining round now underway. This includes Bargaining Updates, Bargaining Backgrounders on key issues, and the full text of YUFA's primary negotiating positions. While members will receive information as it becomes available through the YUFA-M email list, all bargaining materials will be collected and easily accessible in this space. Our first Backgrounder, "Is York Really Broke?", provides the essential context for YUFA's position that we have the resources to make choices that will rebuild the tenured faculty complement, allow for more competitive teaching loads, and improve the quality of research, teaching and learning at York. For a refresher on YUFA's analysis of York's financial situation and processes, see How to Read York University's Financial Statements, Budgets and Financial Statements, and The SHARP Budget Model in Context.

Ontario Faculty Associations Bargaining This Summer

YUFA is not the only faculty association spending its summer at the bargaining table. As of June 30, OCUFA reports that several other faculty associations in Ontario are in negotiations, including

• Algoma

• Nipissing

• Queen’s (now in conciliation)

• Royal Military College of Canada

• Ryerson

• University of Toronto (now in mediation)

• Western (librarians and archivists)

YUFA will be paying close attention to developments in these negotiations as they can set trends that affect progress at our own bargaining table.

YUFA Responds to the New Campus Proposal

On May 20, 2015, York University announced that the provincial government agreed to fund a new York University campus in Markham. YUFA's representatives on the Joint Committee for the Administration of the Collective Agreement (JCOAA) and the Joint Committee on Long Range Planning (LRP) have been asking the employer for detailed information on many dimensions of the proposal for many …

Who Should Choose University Presidents? The #OpenBrockU Campaign

Our colleagues at the Brock University Faculty Association (BUFA) have launched a public campaign to have their next University President be chosen in an open search that would include public talks and opportunities for members of the university community to interact with short-listed candidates. While Deans and the Provost are still selected through open searches at Brock, plans are to hold a closed search for Brock's new president. In this discussion, BUFA President Linda Rose-Krasnor argues that the values of transparency, legitimacy, and accountability are all served by an open search, not least because universities are public institutions. These concerns are similar to those that have led YUFA to prioritize strengthening collegial governance -- including open searches for Deans, University Librarian, VP Academic (Provost), and VP Research and Innovation -- in the 2015 Bargaining Round. To view BUFA's petition for an open presidential search, see here.

YUFA Working Group on the Federal Election

The federal election that is expected on 19 October will be important for universities. The present government has made a number of moves that have upset faculty, students, workers, and even administrators, including: • Reducing funding to the major granting agencies and tying new funds to research in support of private-sector projects. • Cutting support for or abolishing a host …

More Than a Bargaining Unit: YUFA's Community Projects Committee

In the Spring-Summer 2015 issue of OCUFA's Academic Matters, YUFA Community Projects Committee Co-Chairs Natalie Coulter and Lorna Irwin discuss the history and contemporary importance of our Association's work with the Jane-Finch Community. Funded by a $2/month levy, the Community Project Committee realizes YUFA's commitment to social justice and to develop initiatives that are responsive to the needs of the community in which our campus is situated.

Read the article.

YUFA Executive Committee: By-Election for Equity Officer (1 of 2)

Notice of Vacancy: By-Election for YUFA Officer Position Second Call Nominations are now being accepted for the position of Equity Officer (1 of 2). Term of office ends 31 May 2016. Candidates for election as Officers of the Association shall submit written statements of their qualifications, goals, and interest in serving. Where two or more candidates stand for an Officer …

Call for Nominations: Joint Committee on Affirmative Action

Third Call: YUFA is seeking three members for the Joint Implementation Committee on Affirmative Action for Faculty and Librarians (Article 12.22). The mandate of this subcommittee is to ensure that units conform to the Article 12.21 criteria for selecting candidates and to ensure that units actively seek out and give fair consideration in their selection processes to candidates designated in the …