May Newsletter – Bargaining Update + Request and More

May 2026

With deep gratitude for his contributions to UVic and the greater community, the Faculty Association wishes to acknowledge the recent passing of an important and highly respected Elder from the Songhee’s Nation. His great work and impact on the community have been acknowledged in other announcements and conversations in recent weeks. The Faculty Association would specifically like to acknowledge his support of our work through his wise words at the opening of bargaining during the last two rounds of collective bargaining as well as his attendance at the 2024 Western Regional Conference, hosted by UVic.

In respecting community protocols, we have not included the name of this Elder, so that his spirit may move on peacefully.

Bargaining Update & Request

Dear Members,

In bargaining with the administration we are continuing to make progress. This week we have been able to come to agreement on one equity-related issue, and are closer to agreement on other issues, including a proposal to provide librarians with the same appeal process regarding promotion as is available to faculty. At the same time, a significant number of issues remain unresolved. Workload remains a major issue, and we are aware that it is a central concern for many of our members. We have been told that we are likely to receive the administration’s latest proposal regarding workload this week. We hope that it will recognize the need for workload relief for those facing unreasonably high workloads, as well as increased tangible supports for those dealing with dramatically increased student accommodation requests.

One other issue where we have had as yet no meaningful response from the admin is tech change. We are therefore seeking your assistance in encouraging the admin to recognize the importance of this issue for our members. We are requesting that any members who are able and willing to send us information about any experiences you have had with technological change in your workplace to do so.

More information on this request can be found here.

Thanks very for your support. It gives us much more power in advocating on your behalf at the bargaining table.

We will be entering into mediation on May 20th, and hope to make more progress in bargaining prior to that date.

Thanks again and all the very best,

Lynne