Since the senior administration’s May 6th communication directing units to plan for Fall 2021 in-person course delivery, YUFA has brought members’ questions and concerns about health and safety, workload, and collegial decision-making processes to the Employer at several meetings, including to an emergency COVID table meeting on May 13, a regular COVID table meeting on May 26, and at recent meetings of the Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement (JCOAA).

The Association has expressed willingness to work with the Employer on developing reasonable and expeditious protocols for colleagues with health concerns, as well as for those who live with immune-compromised individuals, including young children currently ineligible for vaccination. The Employer has committed to work with existing internal systems to prepare them for increased requests for accommodations and streamlining the process to reduce delays.

It is not clear what the public health guidelines will be when Fall term begins, nor has the Employer provided clear information regarding under what public health guidelines it will order faculty members back to work on campus. Thus, YUFA is advising that members requiring workplace accommodations on the bases of disability, illness, or injury to contact the Employee Well-Being office ([email protected]) or on the basis of family status to contact their Dean’s Office immediately to start the process of securing workplace accommodations. If members would like the assistance of YUFA with this process, please contact us at [email protected].

YUFA will continue to support colleagues’ oversight of the academic and pedagogical integrity of their courses, and to challenge any exceptional increases to workloads and attempts to erode the rights of units to determine mode of delivery. YUFA will vigorously defend the rights of units and individual members, including to refuse work deemed to be unsafe, and continues to work in coalition with other groups and unions on campus to ensure a safe return.