YUFA 2004 AGM Summary

15 Dec 04 – YUFA's Annual General Meeting was held on November 8, 2004 in Curtis Lecture Hall M. Lunch was provided and roughly 70 people attended.

Members unanimously approved YUFA’s 2004-05 budget proposal as well as YUFA’s budget for the Jane-Finch Special Projects Committee, and a transfer of the funds that resulted from Sun Life’s demutualization to the YUFA-Jane-Finch Bursary Fund. Completing this transfer before the end of the year means that the money will be matched dollar for dollar. Members also voted in favour receiving this year’s Executive work plan reports.

Chief Stewards Ruthann Dyer and Marilyn Silverman led a discussion of workload. Continuing concerns raised by YUFA members included:

uncertainty about how many of the 250 new tenure-stream YUFA positions have actually been filled
workload discrepancies between Faculties in teaching what is effectively the same course
differences in course releases for certain tasks between one unit or Faculty and another
downloading of teaching and teaching-related workload to CLAs, CUPE instructors, and YUSA staff

Urgent concerns of YUFA members included:

the Employer's proposed creation of a health-related Faculty and the restructuring of Arts, Atkinson, and Science/Engineering which the Employer has advanced as a possibility
plans to increase minimum class sizes in FGS from 4 to 7-10

YUFA members were reminded that:

article 18.11 cannot be used against an entire unit by a Dean or Chair
members cannot be assigned to teach in more than 2 consecutive summers
Critical Times is very interested in articles on workload and faculty complement

Also discussed was the abolition of mandatory retirement. President Arthur Hilliker reported that the Employer is not proposing that faculty members be exempted from this abolition; instead, the Employer is seeking a 5-7 year phase-in period; YUFA would oppose such an implementation.

Issues that YUFA members raised in the ensuing discussion included the following:

there are groups of faculty members who cannot afford to retire at 65
PhDs are looking for jobs in the private sector because they anticipate faculty members will retire much later; however, it was also noted that the new legislation will probably only affect new jobs for 2 to 2.5 years
YUFA has a responsibility to ensure that replacement appointments are really made and jobs are not lost through attrition
provisions for people with reduced pensions could go back on the table
because faculty members with low pensions would try to keep working, what kinds of top-up incentive can be given to those who will have low pensions to get them to retire?

Everyone agreed that mandatory retirement should be abolished and that professors should not be exempt. (YUFA’s position on mandatory retirement has been submitted to the Ministry of Labour.)

As well, President Hilliker presented to YUFA members the Executive Working Group’s briefing notes concerning the Rae Commission. There was substantial agreement among members with regard to the Working Group’s position on the following issues:

opposition to the Commission’s idea that tuition fees be subject to income-contingent repayment over several years
the impracticality of the existing funding formula for graduate students
consequences of undergraduate enrolment retention
the social value of university research
the need for university autonomy, accountability, and transparency – both external and internal

In the meantime, YUFA’s position on these topics has been formally submitted to the Rae Commission, and has been published in Critical Times.