Bargaining Update and Employer Communications
Dear Members,
Thanks to those who attended our Bargaining Kickoff on May 1st. It was wonderful to see you all there, and I am very grateful to Adam Con, our wonderful staff and the enthusiastic and hard-working members of our Membership Engagement Committee for organizing this inspiring event. It sent a clear message to the Administration about our members’ support for the FA’s Negotiating Team. It also gave members of your Negotiating Team more energy and strength as we returned to the bargaining table that afternoon for our exchange of “issues lists” with the Administration.
Recently, you received a “bargaining bulletin” from the Deputy Provost that provides data giving a very positive picture of our current situation, suggesting that UVic has competitive salaries, reasonable workloads, and excellent support for faculty. This does not reflect the on-the-ground experience of many FA members. In response to the Admin’s May 8th communication update, the FA Negotiating Team worked over the weekend to develop a more detailed and nuanced analysis of UVic workload and salary issues, based on a broad range of sources. It is attached, and available at this link. We hope you find it to be of value.
Bargaining Updates
The “issues lists” were exchanged on May 1st. The lists contain a brief summary of the proposals that each side will be presenting in bargaining over the next few months. We look forward to hearing more about these issues when we receive concrete proposals from the Administration over the coming weeks. As you know, the Senior Administration does not yet have a financial mandate from the provincial government, which they require before they can bargain on any monetary matters. As a result we can only bargain non-financial matters at this time. The BCGEU, the large public sector union whose bargaining with the province generally helps to set the financial mandate, has not yet even received a financial offer from the province, and so is nowhere close to coming to a settlement. If the BCGEU bargaining goes well into the fall, we may have to pause our bargaining until their bargaining is concluded and the provincial government has confirmed a financial mandate for the broader public sector.
Since the Administration’s bargaining team wasn’t available to come to the table last week, we return to bargaining this Thursday, May 15th, to begin exchanging concrete proposals. We will keep the membership updated regularly as bargaining proceeds.
Concerns About Employer Communication
We are troubled that the Senior Administration is continuing to communicate directly with you about bargaining-related matters. As I have noted, the employer is legally permitted to communicate with union members during bargaining, but there are a number of limitations on what they can communicate. Thus far, the communication about their plans for summer bargaining was particularly concerning. We informed Helga Hallgrimsdottir and Pamela Richards, co-lead negotiators for the employer, that this communication, which told our members about the employer’s plans before discussing them with the FA’s negotiating team, “contravene the confines of permissible employer communications under the Labour Relations Code.” We trust that they will not cross this line in future communications with FA members.
If you have any concerns about Helga’s communications, we encourage you to contact her directly at [email protected]. If you have any questions about bargaining, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Final Notes
As we move into summer, we recognize that many of you are shifting from grading to research or teaching, often without much pause. Our surveys have shown troubling levels of overwork, with potential impacts on members’ health. Our goal at the bargaining table is to address these issues meaningfully: academic work should be fulfilling, not damaging to your health. In that regard, I also hope that you are planning restorative vacation time over the summer.
If you’d like some of our great new FA posters and buttons, drop by the FA office at University House 2, or email us, and we can have some sent to you. It’s been encouraging to see them popping up across campus.
I look forward to sharing more information about bargaining soon.
All the very best,
Lynne Marks
President, and Chief Negotiator, University of Victoria Faculty Association
