December 2024 Updates and Reminders
Dear colleagues:
Please see below for eleven (11) updates, reminders and information items for your holiday reading pleasure. Season’s greetings!
- YUFA Holiday Office Closure
- YUFA Executive meets with President Lenton
- SunLife drug cards for prescription drugs
- Seeking adjudicators for Special Equity Initiatives Fund
- YUFA Wednesday drop-in meetings for Winter semester
- Health and safety on the York University campuses
- Verification of students during midterms and exams
- YUFA members who are Principal Investigators (PIs) employing Post Doctoral Visitors (PDVs)
- Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) courses
- Leave Fellowship (Sabbatical) Fund
- Voting for YUFA officer positions
- YUFA Holiday Office Closure
The YUFA Office closes on December 20th, 2024, for the holiday and reopens on Monday, January 6th, 2025. The YUFA Executive wishes everyone a restful holiday break.
- YUFA Executive meets with President Lenton
On December 12th, members of the YUFA Executive committee met with York University President Rhonda Lenton. Article 7.07 of the YUFA Collective Agreement provides an opportunity for the YUFA Executive to meet once a term with the President of the university and her team “to discuss matters of mutual interest and of concern to the university”.
The first items we discussed, led superbly by Professor Angèle Alook, are grave failures and gaps in support for the work of Indigenous scholars at York. President Lenton agreed to meet with us again early in 2025 regarding these issues and our proposals, many of which we had earlier raised at last March’s Article 7.07 meeting and at the bargaining table over the summer.
We also discussed the Faculties of the Future project, restructuring at York University, YUFA salary anomalies and how to meaningfully address them, a number of serious health and safety issues on campus, and the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario’s (AGO) critical report.
We asked about the program review framework that is being developed but already seems to be in effect, and what programs are considered by the employer to be at a “critical juncture” at York (this term is used several times in the Faculties of the Future project description), especially since many French-language courses at Glendon, and many language and DEDI-related courses overall, are being chopped, citing “low enrollment”. No answer to this question was immediately forthcoming.
We asked what metrics are used beyond student demand (in a year of notably low student enrollment overall), while so many programs are being cut. President Lenton continued to assert that the employer considers enrollment declines as the primary motivator for program cuts rather than academic planning and curriculum considerations. The Provost added that we must respond to the AGO’s report, which the York administration has, in other public venues, called “misinformed”.
The Association estimates that the administration is spending $10 million or more a year on legal fees related to labour relations. This includes the arbitration costs associated with the employer’s recent termination of four YUFA members with Special Renewable Contracts (SRCs) which the employer has justified as a cost cutting measure and which YUFA is fighting. The parties have had six arbitration dates on this case in 2024 and at least four more scheduled for 2025 which costs both parties significant legal fees.
Furthermore, the Association noted that while the employer has terminated four YUFA members, the employer has recently announced hirings in at least five managerial positions, some entirely new. In fact, the managerial group of employees at York, known as the Confidential, Managerial and Professional (CPM) employee group, has increased significantly more in numbers than any other employee group at York over the last ten years.
The Association also noted that the employer is cost-cutting by urging staff to retire and nickel-and-diming by denying unionized staff members three vacation days at Christmas while hiring more managers and upper-level administrators. We asked for the source of the $1.8m figure that administrators have cited as representing the “savings” embodied in those 3 vacation days, and the reply was that if staff members use up their vacation days or lieu time on those days, this would be less of a liability for the university.
We asked for an update on the number and dollar value of promised reductions in CPM (Confidential, Professional, and Managerial) staff positions, and were told this is coming soon.
The time allotted for the meeting, as usual, ended before the issues we raised could be fully discussed. President Lenton did agree to another meeting soon to continue talking. That meeting is being scheduled.
- SunLife drug cards for prescription drugs
YUFA members and retirees are encouraged to use the drug card available from SunLife that allows pharmacists to submit claims electronically to SunLife when you purchase/obtain a prescription. Not using the drug card could result in SunLife reimbursing less than when using the drug card as the insurance company may in some cases add additional charges. YUFA recommends that members and retirees use the drug card for prescriptions whenever possible to avoid additional charges.
More information on the drug card can be found here.
- Seeking adjudicators for Special Equity Initiatives Fund
YUFA is seeking two members to act as adjudicators in the 2025 Winter semester for the new Special Equity Initiatives Fund that provides teaching release to support teaching, service, and/or research for YUFA colleagues who self-identify as members of a racialized group, Indigenous persons, and/or persons with disabilities. The new Special Equity Initiatives Fund is different from the existing EDI Course Load Reduction Program.
The Special Equity Initiatives Fund was established as part of the current (2024-27) Collective Agreement and is to be adjudicated by YUFA Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour (BIPOC) members who are knowledgeable about decolonizing, anti-racist, anti-Black racism initiatives on campus. The adjudication committee ideally will be made up of one YUFA Executive Officer, one racialized (BPoC) faculty member, and one Indigenous faculty member. YUFA also invites members who self-identify as persons with disabilities to consider joining the adjudication committee.
YUFA is seeking one racialized (BPoC) faculty, and one Indigenous faculty to act as adjudicators. YUFA also invites members who self-identify as persons with disabilities to apply.
Adjudicators for this fund would not be eligible to apply for the fund.
Appointments to the adjudication committee need to be approved by the Executive Committee and ratified by Stewards’ Council.
If you wish to be considered for these positions, kindly submit a written statement describing your reasons for wishing to serve and any relevant experience. The deadline to submit your written statement is January 8th, 2025, at 12:00pm. Statements should be submitted to [email protected].
- YUFA Wednesday drop-in meetings for Winter semester
During the Winter term, YUFA will continue with Wednesday drop-in meetings. These are held over Zoom from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. The dates and topics are listed below. The Zoom link for all meetings is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86781192358?pwd=6V5B5DITARrYREmAxnRWR2KsFaqR9C.1
Jan 15 – Updating YUFA’s Code of Conduct
Jan 29 – Security on campus
Feb 12 – Faculties of the Future? Alternative visions for York
Feb 26 – Markham campus: How is it going?
Mar 12 - Teaching Stream and SRC colleagues: Support campaign and updates
Mar 26 – York’s Board of Governors and the York University Act
Apr 9 – York’s presidential search
- Health and safety on the York University campuses
YUFA has been monitoring a number of serious health and safety incidents that have impacted members while on York University campuses. YUFA encourages its members to be proactive by reporting incidents. More information can be found here.
- Verification of students during midterms and exams
The Employer has put in place a new process to verify student identity during midterms and exams. For YUFA’s advice and concerns on this matter, please see here.
- YUFA members who are Principal Investigators (PIs) employing Post Doctoral Visitors (PDVs)
For YUFA members who are Principal Investigators (PIs) employing Post Doctoral Visitors (PDVs), YUFA is collecting information about the distribution of PI funds toward the Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) of PDV members.
Currently, PIs are expected to allocate $1200 each calendar year (prorated if the contract is for less than a year) towards a YUFA PDV member’s HCSA. YUFA is interested in knowing if any PI has received reimbursements of monies from the Employer in the event that the YUFA PDV member did not fully use their HCSA monies by the end of their contract. If you have information on this issue, please email [email protected].
- Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) courses
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) offers virtual courses of interest to YUFA members. The courses are designed to help academic staff associations, like YUFA, to build their capacity for effective collective action. Course descriptions and registration details can be found here: Education and Training.
YUFA members who are interested in taking a course are encouraged to write to [email protected] indicating the course they wish to enrol in. If you are interested in the ORGANIZING SCHOOL 101 course, please write to [email protected] no later than December 18.
- Leave Fellowship (Sabbatical) Fund
Our Leave Fellowship (Sabbatical) Fund of $500,000 is available to provide peer-adjudicated additional grants of up to 10% to supplement the reduced academic base salary of sabbaticants who are taking their second or subsequent sabbatical. Some conditions apply; please see the guidelines and the application which can be accessed here: https://www.yufa.ca/leaves_and_fellowships
Leave Fellowship Grants are subject to an absolute maximum of $15,000 on any one grant. Comments from your Chair or Director are required as part of the application. The deadline for applications for sabbaticals next year is January 15, 2025.
- Voting for YUFA officer positions
Voting is underway and will close on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 10:00am. If you have not yet voted, please check the email sent to you on December 12th with a link to the vote.
Should you not have received the email on December 12th, please contact YUFA at [email protected].
The names of the candidates for each YUFA office and their respective statements are below. To access a PDF version of a candidate's statement, click on the candidate's name.
Open Positions and Written Statements:
- Chief Stewards (1 of 2 positions)
- Equity Officers (1 of 2 positions)
- Recording Secretary
- JCOAA Co-Chair
Only dues-paying members of YUFA are eligible to vote. Eligible voters who are not reflected on our dues list for some reason are asked to contact the Returning Officer, Minoo Derayeh (by emailing [email protected], stating “Returning Officer verification” in the subject line), to update your eligibility by sending a copy of a photo ID and a current York University pay slip. Thank you.
YUFA wishes all members a joyful winter holiday season that is both restorative and peaceful.
Showing 1 reaction