YUFA M Updates and Reminders April 7, 2025

Dear colleagues:

Please see below for eleven (11) important updates, reminders and information items.

1. Wednesday members’ Zoom drop-in April 9 on “York’s Upcoming Presidential Search” at 12:00 noon

2. Next week Zoom drop-in for colleagues affected by program enrollment suspensions is Thursday, April 10 at 12:00 noon

3. Talk by CAUT President Peter McInnis on “Consulting for Dysfunction: The Corporatization of Collegial Governance in Canadian Post-Secondary Education” on Monday April 14th from 12:30 pm to 2:00pm

4. Please contact YUFA if… (see below)

5. Reminder about the motion of non-confidence in the York University President, Provost, and Chair of the Board of Governors passed April 10, 2024

6. Please register to attend the YUFA Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, April 23 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm

7. York University Psychology Clinic - Building Blocks for Family Well Being: A Multi-Family Parent Skills Group

8. Please sign the petition supporting YUFA members who hold Special Renewable Contracts.

9. New Special Equity Support Initiative Fund (deadline to apply is April 17)

10. Deferred maintenance on campus

11. Résolution sur la défense de l’autonomie institutionnelle, des libertés universitaires et de la gouvernance collégiale

***

1. The next Wednesday members’ drop-in this term is on April 9 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm, on the topic of “York’s Upcoming Presidential Search”.

The Zoom link is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86781192358?pwd=6V5B5DITARrYREmAxnRWR2sFaqR9C.1

2. Colleagues affected by program enrollment suspensions are invited to join a drop-in meeting every Thursday at 12:00 noon. The next drop-in is on April 10. All are welcome.

The Zoom link is:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88685236236?pwd=RSGmfdriSdSMFQb2wp2RjJxoIdyxtd.1

3. As part of the YUFA Senate Caucus Series, Professor Peter McInnis (St. Francis Xavier University) will give a talk titled “Consulting for Dysfunction: The Corporatization of Collegial Governance in Canadian Post-Secondary Education” on Monday April 14th from 12:30pm-2:00pm.

Professor McInnis served as faculty association president at his university as well as on the executive of the Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers. His activism with Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) began in 2010 and includes Chair of the Academic Freedom & Tenure Committee, and Vice-President. He has written on academic freedom and related issues in Canadian post-secondary education.

The Zoom link to his talk is: https://yorku.zoom.us/j/99949340804?pwd=yAo7cXphz1ib7tZ7Vzbud3W3sTyNjm.1

4. Please contact YUFA at [email protected] if:

-- you are taking up an Appendix P academic administrative position -- don't negotiate this on your own!

-- your work is hampered by short-staffing in the Dean's office

-- you are having problems posting information on your unit website

-- you are asked to teach two different courses at the same time in the same room

-- you face problems scheduling or holding exams for students who have accommodations due to short staff in Student Accessibility Services

-- you are told that you 'owe' classes

-- your class size is increased, or your mode of delivery is imposed (e.g. online vs. in person)

-- your course is cancelled due to enrollment

-- you are contacted by Sunlife or anyone at York regarding a health claim you submitted

-- you haven’t yet received the annual statement of your unit’s teaching load. As per the YUFA Collective Agreement, by March 15 all YUFA members should have received from their Dean/Principal a statement of their unit's teaching load as a whole, and the teaching load of each member for this year. If you haven't received this, please contact YUFA at [email protected].

5. A reminder: At a Special General Membership Meeting on April 10, 2024, which was attended by 469 YUFA members, two thirds (67%) approved a motion of non-confidence in the President, Provost, and Chair of the Board of Governors. https://www.yufa.ca/two_thirds_of_yufa_members_at_special_general_membership_meeting_support_non_confidence_motion_in_the_university_s_senior_leadership

6. The spring YUFA Annual General Meeting will be on Wednesday, April 23 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Members can register now using THIS LINK to allow membership status to be quickly confirmed at the start of the meeting. Please mark this date and register early using the link above.

7. The York University Psychology Clinic is offering a 6-week online program for caregivers of children 16 years and under. The program uses the latest evidence from family science is to help caregivers build on their ability to:

Recognize family members unique needs and strengths
Help children regulate emotions & behaviours
Manage challenging sibling dynamics
Support one another in caregiving roles
Pinpoint the tools and practices that work for your family

The program is hosted by YUFA members Dr. Madison Aitken and Dr. Heather Prime, Tuesdays from 12:00-1:00pm (virtual) starting April 29, 2025.

The cost is $250.00 for one person or $400 for caregiving pairs. There are spaces reserved at lower costs for those who would benefit from financial support. Sessions are reimbursable through extended health plans for psychological services.

Contact [email protected] for more information or to register.

8. YUFA continues to fight for members who hold Special Renewable Contracts, and whose contracts have not been renewed.

All YUFA members are encouraged to stand up for collegial governance, pedagogical integrity, and the protection of valued long-term academic workers at York University and pledge support for these colleagues and the renewal of their contracts.

Please join the hundreds of YUFA members who have already signed the petition here.

9. New Special Equity Support Initiative (deadline to apply is April 17)

For the duration of the 2024-2027 renewal collective agreement, the Employer and YUFA have agreed to use monies from the Educational Leave Fund (Article 19.19) for a Special Equity Support Initiative to be adjudicated by YUFA.

This Special Equity Support Initiative will grant teaching release to employees who self-identify as members of a racialized group, Indigenous persons, and/or persons with disabilities to support teaching, service, and/or research.

Course load reductions through this fund are intended to provide recipients with additional time within normal workload to engage in activities in support of or relating to Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEDI). Advancement or implementation of aspects of anti-racism, disability justice, equity and decolonization, including but not limited to the York University Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, including the Indigenous Framework for York University; Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism; and/or Faculty/School/Department equity, diversity, inclusion initiatives.

This initiative will award up to eight (8) 0.5 FCE course releases in each of the 2025-2026 and the 2026-2027 academic years. The maximum award that an applicant may receive is 0.5 FCE.

Please note that faculty and librarians/archivists will not be simultaneously awarded a release from both the Article 19.33 “Support for Service in Respect of EDI” and this Initiative.

In its assessment of applications, the committee within YUFA charged with adjudicating these funds will consider how a 0.5 FCE teaching release under this initiative will assist the applicant in support of their teaching, service, and/or research.

Application Procedures:

Please refer to the “Leaves and Funds” page of the YUFA website for the guidelines and application form.

To be considered for this Initiative, applicants must:

self-identify as members of a racialized group, Indigenous persons, and/or persons with disabilities
submit a completed application form

Within six months after completion of the teaching release granted through this Initiative, the faculty member will file a report on their Equity Initiatives Leave with the YUFA committee that adjudicated the fund via email to: [email protected]

Adjudication Criteria:

All applications will be considered, with highest priority given to the proposed activities below, in the following rank order:

Those engaged in service activities that pose additional (especially onerous) time commitments.
Those who through their teaching responsibilities or in their units carry out additional (especially onerous) mentoring, advising and support of students or those who have been asked to develop a new course dealing with an equity issue in an area which is emerging and thus especially labour intensive.
Those who are engaged in research on anti-racism, decolonization, disability but who have not been able to secure internal or external research funding.

Please note that documenting engagement in multiple of these activities will also be considered. The crucial criteria will be the potential for broader impact of the activity, or activities, combined with the time commitment to engage in these activities.

Applications are to be submitted by Thursday, April 17th, 2025, to: [email protected]

Please note: We have moved to email submission. All supporting documents are required and applications will only be accepted by email.

Please compile all your supporting documentation and send it as one single PDF document to [email protected] with “Special Equity Support Initiative” in the subject line.

10. At its October 1, 2024, meeting the York University Board of Governors discussed deferred maintenance heat maps (diagrams that show data values in colour).

These heat maps depict “the current Facility Condition Index (FCI), providing a visual overview of the campuses. FCI refers to the cost of the outstanding DM [deferred maintenance] for a building versus the CRV [current replacement value] of the building and is useful to establish when it may no longer be viable to invest in an existing infrastructure repair as the facility may be prohibitive to repair and should be decommissioned. The committee noted that approximately 40% of building assets are greater than 60 years old.” (Board of Governors agenda package, Oct. 1, 2024, p. 56).

The Association filed a formal request with the Employer to obtain a copy of these heat maps. Vice-President Labor Relations Dan Bradshaw formally denied the request in March 2025.

For context, the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario Value-for-Money Audit for York University, released in December 2023, highlights very serious issues with the way deferred maintenance is being mishandled by the senior administration at York University:

“We reviewed facilities condition information collected by the university and found that, as of January 2023, the FCI [Facility Condition Index] rating for the university as a whole increased from 19% (fair) in 2019 to 36% (critical) in 2023. When reviewing the conditions by campus, we saw that both campuses had worsened over time but that the Glendon campus was in slightly poorer condition. The FCI for Keele campus has increased from 18% to 36% and the FCI for the Glendon campus has increased from 34% to 40%, over the last five years.” (OAG report, p. 30)

The same report explains what a “critical” Facility Condition Index rating means: “Critical (above 30%)—Facilities will look worn with obvious deterioration and equipment failure occurring frequently. Health and safety issues could be present.” (emphasis added)

Members have also expressed very serious concerns about the way deferred maintenance has been mishandled. It remains one of the main concerns captured in the Budget Consultation Fall-Winter 2024-25 (slide 12). Despite this, in its February 13, 2025 Enrolment / Budget Update presented at Faculty Council, the Dean of LA&PS indicated that renovation and deferred maintenance were being paused as part of its “Cost Reduction Plan” (slide 27). The issue identified by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario is not only being ignored, but is worsening under the current conditions.

YUFA is monitoring this situation and we will share any further information we are able to obtain. If you are affected by the conditions of your workplace, let us know at [email protected].

11. Colleagues at l’Université de Montréal have passed this motion which mentions York’s program suspensions. Merci bien!

Ce message est envoyé à l’ensemble des membres du SGPPUM

Résolution sur la défense de l’autonomie institutionnelle, des libertés universitaires et de la gouvernance collégiale

Chères et chers membres,

Nous vous transmettons cette autre résolution adoptée à l’unanimité le 28 mars 2025 par le Conseil syndical :

Attendu	que l'enseignement supérieur constitue un bien public, essentiel à la vie démocratique, à l’épanouissement des sciences et à la prospérité sociale;
Attendu	que l’autonomie institutionnelle, les libertés universitaires, et le principe de gouvernance collégiale sont les piliers fondamentaux d’un service public essentiel : l’université;
Attendu	que de nombreuses universités aux États-Unis font actuellement face à des attaques politiques systématiques menaçant la liberté d'enseignement et de recherche, notamment par des lois visant à restreindre l'enseignement de sujets jugés controversés, par la mise sous tutelle ou la dissolution de départements entiers pour des raisons idéologiques et par la censure imposée aux professeur·e·s ou par le climat de peur qui paralyse ces derniers ou les poussent à s’autocensurer;
Attendu	que ces attaques aux États-Unis, dénoncées par l’American Association of University Professors (AAUP), ont des répercussions sur l’ensemble du monde universitaire et inspirent déjà des initiatives similaires au Québec et au Canada, mettant en péril l’intégrité de nos propres institutions d’enseignement supérieur;
Attendu	que les interventions récentes de la ministre de l’Enseignement supérieure du Québec aux CÉGEP Dawson et Vanier visent à limiter l’expression académique et à censurer des thématiques d’enseignement et de recherche;
Attendu	que la réduction radicale du nombre d’étudiant·e·s internationaux imposée par le ministre de l’Immigration du Québec et l’absence de mesures financières compensatoires expose de manière critique le sous-financement structurel de l’université publique;
Attendu	l’interférence politique sans précédent dans l’histoire universitaire canadienne, du projet de loi 12 de la Nouvelle Écosse, qui permettrait au gouvernement, entre autres, de nommer jusqu’à la moitié des membres des conseils d’administration des universités et d’interférer dans le choix de certains programmes et dans le financement de certains projets de recherche;
Attendu	que les suspensions ou suppressions draconiennes de programmes (par exemple, à l’Université York, en Ontario) et de postes (comme à l’Université McGill, au Québec);
Attendu	que l’ensemble de ces types d’action constituent des dérives politiques et représentent une menace directe pour l’intégrité et la qualité de l’enseignement supérieur, dénoncées par l’Association canadienne des professeurs et professeures d’université, la Fédération québécoise des professeurs et professeures d’université, l’Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers, la Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, entre autres.

Il est résolu que le SGPPUM :

1.	Exige des gouvernements le respect des droits protégés par les libertés universitaires;
2.	Condamne toute tentative, qu’elle soit politique, idéologique ou économique, de restreindre l’indépendance intellectuelle des professeur·e·s et des chercheur·e·s;
3.	Exige des gouvernements un financement à la hauteur de la mission de l’université publique afin d’en garantir l’autonomie;
4.	Soutienne et initie des collaborations intersyndicales à l’échelle provinciale et nationale, en lien avec la défense des libertés universitaires et l’accès à l’éducation supérieure pour toustes.

Nous vous invitons à contacter le Syndicat pour toutes questions sur le sujet à l’adresse [email protected].

Cordialement et solidairement,

Le Comité exécutif

Syndicat général des professeures et professeurs de l'Université de Montréal

[email protected] · www.sgppum.org

YUFA M Updates and Reminders April 7, 2025

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