YUFA
Executive
The Equity, Grievance, and Bargaining Priorities subcommittees promise to be YUFA’s most important working groups for the coming year. They are described in detail below. They present excellent opportunities for members with interest or expertise in one of the areas to invest their service energies without overwhelming time commitments. Terms begin on the 1st of June. Please consider applying by the 15th of March.
Grievance Subcommittee
The Grievance Subcommittee of YUFA is co-chaired by two Chief Stewards. Its primary responsibilities include assisting the Chief Stewards in handling individual and group grievances; advising the YUFA Executive on possible policy grievances; recommending to Executive whether or not to proceed to arbitration on specific grievances; assisting the Stewards in dealing with complaints and grievances of members of the bargaining unit; monitoring and advising Executive regarding the application and implementation of the Collective Agreement.
The work of this Subcommittee is concerned with the protection of the rights of YUFA members under our Collective Agreement. Such a document stands in need of continual interpretation and implementation. And, when it its terms are violated, resort to grievance mechanisms is necessary to ensure that its terms are respected.
Members of the Grievance Subcommittee are appointed by the YUFA Executive. The term of membership is one year, beginning 1 June 2002. The YUFA Executive wishes to ensure the greatest possible breadth of representation and expertise among the members of the committee. Members who wish to be appointed to this committee are, therefore, requested to provide a brief statement of their expertise and background in contract and grievance issues and their particular interest in serving.
Members wishing to be appointed to the Grievance Subcommittee are invited to submit their names and statement of interest to Susan Dimock, Vice Chairperson–Organisation, YUFA Office, Rm 241 Schulich School of Business. Members may also indicate their willingness to serve by email: dimock@yorku.ca. Nominations are invited before 15 March 2002.
Equity Subcommittee
The Equity Subcommittee is chaired by the Equity Officer of YUFA. It is responsible for identifying and facilitating the reduction or elimination of inequities at York University, with regard to such issues as hiring, tenure and promotion, salaries, and retirement. Inequities based on gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, age, ethnicity, religion, political belief, language, culture and other sources of discrimination fall within the scope of the work of the Equity Subcommittee.
Responsibilities of the Equity Subcommittee include drafting contract proposals on equity issues; analysing the current Collective Agreement for biases and anomalies; working with the Grievance Subcommittee on the resolution of individual and policy grievances dealing with equity issues; ensuring that equity issues are addressed within YUFA and working to achieve more diverse representation in YUFA and on joint committees; education of YUFA members and others at York on equity issues; developing strategies for fostering greater understanding of equity issues at York and how they might be addressed.
Members of the Equity Subcommittee are appointed by the YUFA Executive. The term of membership is one year, beginning 1 June 2002. Given the wide ranging responsibilities of the Equity Subcommittee, and the diverse sources of inequities that it is mandated to explore and work for the reduction of, the YUFA Executive will make appointments to this committee based upon considerations of the breadth of representation and expertise of applicants. Members who wish to be appointed to this committee are, therefore, requested to provide a brief statement of their expertise and background in equity issues and their particular interest in serving.
Members wishing to be appointed to the Equity Subcommittee are invited to submit their names and statement of interest to Susan Dimock, Vice Chairperson–Organisation, YUFA Office, Rm 241 Schulich School of Business. Members may also indicate their willingness to serve by email: dimock@yorku.ca. Nominations are invited before 15 March 2002.
Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee
The Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee is an ad hoc subcommittee of the YUFA Executive. It will be chaired by a member selected by and from the Committee. Members will be appointed by Executive. The term is seven months, beginning 1 June 2002.
The purpose of this subcommittee is to begin preparations for the next round of collective bargaining between YUFA and the Employer, which will commence in the spring of 2003. More specifically, the Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee will solicit information about the priorities of members in the next round of negotiations, using a wide variety of forums for collecting information (membership meetings, open information sessions, email response site, mail surveys and the like). The Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee will also engage in education activities as priorities come to be identified among the membership. The Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee will also be responsible for reviewing the current Collective Agreement to identify problems in its language, areas where it should be improved or clarified, etc. In fulfilling this task, its members will consult widely with other Subcommittees of YUFA, such as the Grievance and Equity Committees, as well as the YUFA representatives of relevant joint committees such as the Joint Committee for the Administration of the Agreement, in order to ensure that difficulties encountered by those committees with respect to the administration or implementation of the Collective Agreement are identified as possible bargaining issues.
The Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee will meet once a month on average, in addition to holding various meetings with the membership. The Vice President Internal will be a member of the Committee and will report regularly to Executive on its activities and progress. The Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee will submit a final report to Executive no later than 15 January 2003. The report will contain recommendations of bargaining priorities and identify any issues within the current Collective Agreement that ought to be improved in subsequent negotiations. It will also include a brief summary of the methods employed by the committee and its activities.
The YUFA Executive invites applications for the Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee. Members are appointed by the YUFA Executive. The term of membership is seven months, beginning 1 June 2002. The Subcommittee will have no more than five members, plus the Vice President Internal. The YUFA Executive wishes to ensure the greatest possible breadth of representation among the members of this committee. Members who wish to be appointed to this committee are, therefore, requested to provide a brief statement of their particular interest in serving, as well as any particular expertise or experience that might aid the committee in its work.
Members wishing to be appointed to the Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee are invited to submit their names and statement of interest to Susan Dimock, Vice Chairperson–Organisation, YUFA Office, Rm 241 Schulich School of Business. Members may also indicate their willingness to serve by email: dimock@yorku.ca. Nominations are invited before 15 March 2002.