Message from the President

With the start of a new term, the UWFA Executive Council and UWFA’s various committees are also starting work again. Over the summer, an agreement was reached in Collegiate negotiations. However, although the Main Unit negotiating team has been busy preparing proposals, there have been no MU negotiating sessions to date, due to the University’s lack of a Vice President Academic.  We anticipate that negotiations will have begun by the time you receive this message. It’s been great to see substantial member involvement in preparations for Main Unit bargaining. Substantial numbers of people participated in the activities of the Collective Bargaining Committee, which prepared a negotiating mandate. There also was good turnout at the consultation meetings that led up to its preparation and at the Main Unit general meeting that endorsed the mandate. It’s good to know that as we proceed to the table, we can expect a good proportion of our members to be involved. As we know from the experience of our Collegiate negotiators and from the discussions we held with the Employer last spring, this is likely to be a very difficult round of bargaining – one that probably will require substantial resolve on our part to achieve the bargaining mandate. 

In other areas of the Association’s operations, we are looking forward to positive consultations with the new Vice President Academic, John Corlett.  Also, the Main Unit LMC will be meeting regularly again. It sometimes takes a while to get LMC decisions implemented, but in general, the committee has been a good mechanism for addressing various problems. The Collegiate settlement included the establishment of a Collegiate LMC as well, and it will meet before long. Members are reminded to bring to UWFA’s attention any problems with adherence to the Collective Agreements – it’s only due to your vigilance that we become aware of many of the issues that need to be addressed.

I wish everyone all the best for the term in teaching, research, and administrative work.  The faculty and librarians are the permanent core of the University, and what we do is essential to its existence. Let’s keep that in mind as negotiations proceed.

More information about the status of Main Unit bargaining is available in this issue of the UWFA News. The Association will do its best to keep you updated throughout the bargaining process – watch your email and www.uwfa.ca for updates.