YUFA is fighting to protect the jobs of the 18 YUFA members who hold a Special Renewable Contract (SRC). All these members were appointed in 2019 and 2020 following a rigorous application process of CUPE 3903 Unit 2 members in the Affirmative Action pool who have taught at York for a minimum of 15 years, with a teaching intensity of at least 2.5 FTEs a year in the 5 years before the SRC appointment.

The purpose of these appointments is two-fold:

• To create improved job security/stability and a stable path to retirement for long term members in Unit 2
• To recognize the continued contributions of long-term members of Unit 2 in meeting the teaching needs and priorities of the units in which SRCs were appointed.

In July 2024, the Employer denied the contract renewal requests of four YUFA SRC members for another five-year term. The YUFA Collective Agreement states that such unit and member renewal requests "shall not be unreasonably withheld." As stated by the employer’s own representatives in a 2002 arbitration regarding SRCs, the renewal of YUFA members with Special Renewable Contracts has been historically considered pro forma and perfunctory.
The remaining 10 other SRC members will submit renewal requests between now and December 15, 2024. Decisions by the Employer on these 10 members are to be made by February 1, 2025.

In response to the Employer's denial of four SRC renewal requests, YUFA has filed individual grievances, two policy grievances and an Unfair Labour Practice complaint. Given that this is a termination of employment case, YUFA pushed the employer to agree to a mediator/arbitrator with arbitration dates available this fall and early next year for the case to be heard as quickly as possible.

The Association’s position is that unit and member requests for contract renewals of YUFA members with SRC contracts should be approved in the normal course as has been the case since the inception of the SRC program 25 years ago. All the units with SRC members who have requested renewals have identified that these members fulfill valuable teaching needs and help in meeting teaching priorities identified by their respective units.
Collectively, all 18 SRC members have provided decades (verging on 30 years, in some cases) of dedicated teaching, service, and research work to the university and these services continue to be needed.

The YUFA Executive Committee and Stewards Council have been developing various campaigns in support of YUFA member colleagues with SRCs. More information will be forthcoming from unit stewards. General members are always welcome at the YUFA Stewards Council meeting scheduled for the first Friday of every month.