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AGM revamps YUFA leadership model

1. Thanks to Walter Whiteley!

Penni Stewart (Chair) opened the meeting with words of gratitude and gifts for Walter Whiteley, who has served hard time as Co-Chair of the Contract & Grievance Committee. Mary Kandiuk, Irene Henriques, and Monica Mulvihill praised Walter's commitment, collegiality, and immense know-how.

2. Budget Debate: The Budget and the Stipends for Officers Initiative

Pat Bradshaw (Treasurer) presented two possible versions of a balanced YUFA budget for 2001/2002. The crucial difference between them was that one would provide stipends/course releases to most YUFA officers, at a cost of $72 000. This proposal was developed by a Working Group on YUFA Executive Compensation, which Executive struck after an open space forum identified compensating officers as a priority for the union. The Working Group also proposed ways to make the work of YUFA officers more accountable, transparent, and effective (see Constitutional Amendments below).

This proposal was discussed with interest and passed after an amendment that cut the proposed stipends in half. Therefore, the YUFA Chair will receive a 1.0 course release or equivalent in addition to the traditional full teaching relief. The Vice Chair Organization, Vice Chair External, and Information Officer, who currently have one to two courses relief, will each receive an additional 0.5 course release or equivalent. The co-chairs of the Contract & Grievance Committee, who have three courses relief between them, will receive an additional 0.5 course release or equivalent.

Treasurer Pat Bradshaw also presented financial statements attesting to YUFA’s sound financial management and health.

3. Constitutional Amendments: Toward a More Accountable YUFA; Getting an Acting Chair

Brett Cemer (YUFA staff) presented the Executive's proposed constitutional and By-laws amendments, which are incorporated in full in the up-dated constitution, to be found at www.yufa.org/docs/constitution.html.

Most of the amendments arise from the report of the Working Group on Executive Officer Compensation and are oriented to making the officers more accountable. Specifically:

  • nominees for all officer positions are to provide a written statement of their objectives
  • nominees for the Chairperson and Chief Steward are to have relevant experience on YUFA committees
  • members are to be given the option to reject all candidates for a position (even if there's only one candidate)
  • the Chairperson’s first term is now two years, and the Past Chair is to have a two year term sitting as a non-voting member of Executive
  • should any officer position other than the Chair remain vacant after the nomination/election period, an officer may be appointed by the Executive for a specified period, subject to ratification at the next membership meeting.
  • officers and representatives may be recalled, not only at the initiative of the membership, but also at the initiative of the Executive Committee
  • by 1 July each year, the newly elected Executive is to develop a written work plan with its goals for the year, to be communicated to members
  • each quarter, the Executive is to report in writing on its progress

A second key area of constitutional change was the development of a “ranking officer” policy. In the case the Chairperson is vacant or the position vacant, there is to be an Acting Chair until the Chair returns or a new Chair is elected. The ordered list of ranking officers used to determine the Acting Chair is: Chair, Vice Chair Organization, Vice Chair External, Past Chair, Chief Steward, and so forth. This issue was more than academic, as YUFA had no Chairperson going into 2001/2002. The passing of these proposals meant that Penni Stewart (Chair in 2000/2001) becomes YUFA's Acting Chair.

A third area of constitutional change was the deletion of the appointed officer positions of Negotiating Officer, Organizing Officer, and Grievance Officer, which had become obsolete and which were inconsistent with the new leadership model.

4. Highlights from 2000/2001

The annual reports from the YUFA officers, which had been circulated to all members before the meeting, were adopted.

Here are a dozen highlights from these reports of YUFA's actions in the past year:

  • organizing an "Open Space" forum in March, which resulted in four priorities for the union: compensating offers, renewing the constitution, moving beyond whiteness, and building community.
  • preparing, with representatives from Senate and the Employer, a first draft of revisions to the  tenure and promotion procedures.
  • meeting with representatives of the Association for Retired Faculty and benefits consultants to explore the possibility of a pre-paid post-retirement benefits plan for YUFA members
  • undertaking constitutional change pertaining to negotiations and preparing, in the winter, bargaining positions for the 2001 negotiations
  • working with members of the Alternate Stream and with newer YUFA members
  • pursuing  Collective Agreement issues with the employer, including partnerships with colleges of applied arts and technology, conflicts of interest, teaching evaluations, and post-retirement benefits
  • working on 10 policy grievances against the Employer, which take up issues such as: inadequate computer support, the excessive workloads of members with contractually limited appointments (CLAs), women's pay inequities, post-strike remediation, the low pay of members with Special Renewable Contracts (SRCs), and some dubious office-space practices at Atkinson
  • providing support to CUPE 3903 during its October-January strike, including work with Unions@YorkU - the coalition of the five campus unions - the York Federation of Students (YFS), the Graduate Students Association (GSA), and a broad-based alliance of Ontario educational workers' unions and associations
  • addressing health and safety issues on campus in meetings with Unions@YorkU, the YFS, and the GSA
  • working with CAUT and OCUFA on significant issues in higher education, including academic freedom, equity, accessibility, and the faculty shortage crisis
  • preparing five issues of Active Voice, as well as a daily strike bulletin
  • getting YUFA's new improved website up and running

5. Appointments

The following members have been appointed to serve on key YUFA committees:

  • Joint Committee on Administration of the Agreement: Bob Macdermid, Amy Rossiter, Leslie Sanders, Penni Stewart, Walter Whiteley
  • Equity Committee: Peter Cole, Jody Warner
  • Affirmative Action Committee: Susan Ehrlich, Jan Rehner, Peggy Warren
  • Dispute Resolution Committee: Joy Cohnstaedt (Co-Chair), Mary Kandiuk, Jan Rehner

6. Last But Not Least

On behalf of the membership, Penni Stewart (Chair) expressed sincere thanks to the hard-working and capable members of CUPE 1281: Heidi Bishop, Brett Cemer, Brenda Hart, Oona Padgham, and Monica Mulvihill.