September Bargaining Update, Faculty Social Event and Accommodation Petition
Dear Members,
I hope all is well with you. I wanted to let you know that your Negotiating Team met with the administration’s team yesterday afternoon for our first bargaining session since early July.
We have been working hard over the last two months on developing bargaining proposals. Yesterday we presented a significant proposal about maintaining and improving our collegial governance rights, as well as proposals to provide librarians with collegial governance rights that more closely parallel those of faculty members. We firmly rejected earlier proposals that would have significantly reduced our consultation rights on new policies and policy changes that directly impact our members.
The other major proposals we presented yesterday were primarily related to workload. We have presented a proposal that would ensure that Members have appropriate institutional supports required to maintain or improve the quality of teaching and learning expected at the University. We have put forward a number of proposals that would provide greater fairness and equity in workload within units, including ensuring that those who teach a more intensive courseload than the average for their stream and unit should receive additional course credit. We also put forward proposals that would limit the extent to which member workload can be increased without consultation or member agreement.
All of these, and other related proposals are intended to ensure that a Normal Workload of 40 per cent (research stream faculty) or 70 per cent (teaching stream faculty) teaching actually means that, in terms of a reasonable work week, and not an infinitely expandable one, with damaging impacts on member health and family life, as well as on the quality of education we can provide to our students.
We look forward to positive responses to our workload proposals from the administration, given the centrality of these issues to our members. There appears to be some recognition from the administration’s team of the workload pressures facing members.
We are bargaining again next Thursday, and will keep you posted in the coming weeks on how things are going.
If you want to hear more about bargaining, have some snacks and a drink on the FA, meet new colleagues and reconnect with current ones, I encourage you to join us at:
UVicFA Meet, Greet, and Bargaining Beat! Wednesday, September 24th from 3 to 5 pm at the Grad House.
I hope that those of you who have been at UVic for a few years (or moreJ) would consider bringing one or more newer colleagues with you, to introduce them to the FA.
And lastly, I’d like to remind you about the petition to push the administration to improve accommodation supports for students, which would have a positive impact on faculty workload.
If you haven’t had a chance to sign it, I’d encourage you to do so.
Thanks and hope to see you next week at the Grad House.
All the very best,
Lynne Marks
Lead Negotiator, University of Victoria Faculty Association
