YUFA
Executive
Executive Officers' Work Plans 2003-04
As required by YUFA By-law 9(b), the following is the Executive Committee's work plans.
Having successfully negotiated a
three year renewal of the Collective Agreement between YUFA and the Board
of Governors of York University, I shall this year be concerned primarily
with implementing some of the new provisions in our Agreement and with the
overall administration of it. I
am also particularly concerned with issues of renewal within the
Association itself. Beyond representing the Association in its day to day
activities, and overseeing its activities by Chairing the YUFA Executive
Committee, I will continue to work with the other Officers, Stewards and
volunteers who are taking up the work of the Association, and overseeing
labour/management matters with the YUFA staff.
1. JCOAA
I am the co-chair of JCOAA, the
central labour/management committee under our Collective Agreement.
JCOAA’s primary responsibility is to bring into effect and
implement the provisions of our Collective Agreement.
Three subcommittees of JCOAA are expected to be particularly active
this year. First, the
standing Joint Subcommittee on Benefits will be taking up a number of
issues concerning benefits for both regular YUFA members and retirees.
In addition, two new Letters of Understanding have been signed
under our renewed Collective Agreement, whose business will fall within
the mandate of JCOAA. The first is a sub-committee on Accommodation for Persons
with Disabilities. The second
is a Joint Task Force on Conflict of Interest.
2. Presidents’ Task Force on Indemnification
As you know, last year a YUFA
member was threatened with two libel suits as a result of speaking to the
media about one of his areas of expertise.
After discussions with the Employer about this case, and the more
general issues it raises of libel chill, academic freedom, freedom of
expression and our right and responsibility to disseminate our research
and speak to those outside of the university community, President Marsden
and I established a Joint Task Force to explore the responsibility of the
Employer in providing legal and other forms of assistance for faculty and
librarians when speaking to the media, to clarify existing insurance
coverage provided for YUFA members when engaged in their professional
responsibilities, etc. The members of the Task Force met three times last year, and
we hope to conclude our discussions this year.
I will hold a series of meetings for the YUFA community once this
Task Force has concluded its business to inform members what protections
they have, or have not got, and to consult on developing a general policy
for YUFA members with respect to speaking to the media and other groups
that fall outside normal academic arenas of communication.
3. Senate
I will continue to represent YUFA
concerns at Senate. I will
continue to urge Senate to take an active interest in issues involving the
hiring of adequate numbers of tenure stream faculty, as a matter of
academic quality and integrity, and to press for information at Senate
which is relevant to monitoring President Marsden’s written commitment
to me, as President of YUFA, that the YUFA complement will be maintained
(i.e., there will be full replacements), plus an additional 250 new tenure
stream and 15 new CLA positions created between 2003-04 and 2005-2006.
4. Association Renewal
YUFA, like many other faculty
associations in Canada, is facing an unprecedented number of retirements
from its ranks in the coming few years and a consequent boom of hiring. Many of those retiring have been particularly active members
of the Association, from whom it has received much energy and strength. We
must find a way of ensuring renewal within the Association itself, in
light of these loses. This
will require a sustained strategy not only of attracting new faculty and
librarians to come and work in the Association, by demonstrating the
importance and interest of that work, but of ensuring that that work is
properly valued and recognized in units, on T&P committees, etc.
We need to develop a system of support which allows new faculty and
librarians to become engaged in the Association.
Such a system of support is even more pressing if we hope, as I do,
to make the Association a welcoming and vital centre of activity for
colleagues from equity seeking groups.
5. Transition
As you know, my term as President expires in May 2004. I will work with the new President in the spring to ensure that the transition is a seamless and efficient as possible.
2003-04 comprises both a challenge and an opportunity for YUFA's internal operations. Because YUFA now has a three-year renewal Collective Agreement, we have an extra year to prepare for the next round of negotiations (in 2006). Facing not only YUFA but also many other faculty associations in Canada is the immediate prospect of unprecedentedly many retirements and the hiring of even more new members. For YUFA this means engaging the concerns and participation of new faculty in greater numbers than previously. To this end, I will be working with President Susan Dimock, Communications Officer Bob MacDermid and Executive Associate Jill Flohil in hosting an additional three lunch-time sessions for new members to provide a relatively quick introduction to what YUFA can do for new members and what new members can do for YUFA.
A related issue will be increasing
the involvement of non-Executive members in various committees, working
groups, task forces, and other bodies of the Association. In 2002-03 YUFA
benefited from extremely energetic and committed Executive members who
worked far beyond the call of duty, and beyond the promises of their
individual work plans, to ensure that the Association's continuing
obligations and new initiatives were carried out expeditiously. On the
plus side, this has meant that the lines of communication between
Executive and others carrying out YUFA's activities have been remarkably
effective. For the future, however, it will be important to avoid
unnecessary duplication of Executive representation--lest individual
Executive members' energies be spread too thinly and in order to draw
greater numbers of non-Executive members into the more rewarding
activities of the Association.
Yet another related issue is the
fact that YUFA's new Constitution effectively prescribes a complete change
in the Executive every two years. In this way a potential crisis of
replacing just about every member of Executive every other year is
systematically built into YUFA's operations. Although there are no doubt
good arguments to be made in favour of ensuring an entirely new group of
Executive members every other year, and although the recent transition
year has resulted in an overlap in the terms our two Chief Stewards, I
believe the Association must consider seriously the possibility of
alternative rhythms for Executive members to serve and be replaced.
Whereas such questions can only be addressed in the format of a proposal
to amend the Constitution and though they are central to my own
responsibilities, I realize that they are, like the bylaw changes
introduced and ratified last year, more matters of 'form' than of
'content.' Accordingly, although I feel that the current year provides a
unique window of opportunity for developing and debating the sort of
proposal I plan to advance, I would hope that it not unduly distract the
Association's energy and time from more pressing matters.
As last year, I shall continue to
assist the President not only in YUFA's internal operations but also in
issues that involve YUFA and such agents of governance at York as Senate
and the various offices of the University's President and Vice Presidents.
To much the same end I shall be serving on the Joint Committee on the
Administration of the Agreement (JCOAA) and on the new Joint Subcommittee
on Health and Safety. If need be, I shall continue to serve as Co-Chair of
both the Joint Subcommittee on Student Electronic Contact (JSSEC) and the
Joint Subcommittee on the Impact of Technology (JSIT) and as YUFA
representative to the Centre for the Support of Teaching's Advisory
Committee and the York University Development Corporation (YUDC). I shall
also serve, again as need arises, on the Task Force on Conflict of
Interest that is specified in the new Collective Agreement (Appendix R).
Among priorities and projects that
arose among members toward the outset of negotiations this Spring is the
question of 'buying back' years of service for York's Pension Plan. Also
of continuing concern is the possibility of YUFA and the University's
administration taking a proactive role in lobbying the Federal Government
with regard to concerns of faculty generally, and of citizens more
generally, that are germane to the ongoing process of copyright reform.
During 2003-04 these issues, all too easily lost in the shuffle of
year-to-year Association activity, will remain among my priorities and
projects.
The question of
workload
The job
of V-P External includes more or less institutionalized links with two
external bodies, OCUFA and CAUT (along with NUCAUT). Within OCUFA I have
developed good internal links with the Executive Director and the research
officers and with some of my fellow directors. I see this as a good basis
from which to explore an issue of major concern to York, that of
student/faculty ratios at our university. This has already produced some
interesting figures and OCUFA promised, in response to a request from me
at the last Directors meeting, to produce a report on student/faculty
ratios at different Ontario universities by next spring. I intend to
pursue this matter - it is an important aspect of workload, for which we
need further protections.
The Coalition with CUPE 3903, GSA, and YFS
The
recently formed Coalition can be a source of great strength. We face some
common concerns about hirings, use of space, and restrictions on free
speech. At the same time, our interests are often complementary rather
than identical; they are on occasion opposed. It seems to me that the
Coalition has been a particular source of strength in three areas: the
publication of a new campus newspaper, The Critical Times; the
development of links with the Jane-Finch community; and the organization
of the Social Forum conference devoted to university education, the health
sector, and the Jane-Finch community. The newspaper, in particular, can be
a good source in which to debate questions of interest to the York
academic community, to defend union achievements, and to challenge
Administration decisions. During this year I shall be continuing to serve
on the Editorial Board of the paper, and to defend YUFA interests on the
Board. I realize that there will necessarily be certain responsibilities
for writing associated with this work. More broadly, I see myself as
exercising a moderating influence on the Coalition. There is a great deal
of life within it, and it has been a long time since campus groups have
been able to come together effectively to defend the university; the need
is for guidance, not discouragement of The Coalition.
Another
aspect of the Coalition work has been the strengthening of links with the
Jane-Finch community. Already in place are arrangements with Westview
Secondary School to bring students to York to take a university course.
This project was begun by Lorna Erwin and Brenda Hart. I have been lending
it routine support (and am standing for election as a Trustee to the YUFA
Foundation in order to better defend the project). It turns out that
Matthew Hayes, the GSA member of the Coalition, has been pursuing his own
discussions with members of the Jane-Finch community in order to find out
how York can make its resources available to the community. I have now
joined these discussions, and intend to continue to participate in them.
Chief Stewards - Ellie Perkins and Marilyn Silverman
As
the two Chief Stewards for YUFA, and in close association with YUFA staff
persons, especially Monica Mulvihill, our responsibilities include
assisting and representing YUFA members in contract-related matters vis-à-vis
the York University Administration. This
involves phone contacts and meetings with members and Administration
representatives and engaging in complaint stage meetings and dispute
resolution processes (mediation and arbitration proceedings).
All this requires background preparation and co-ordination with
other YUFA officers, staff, and members.
Advising and representing our members in tenure-related matters is
also a constant part of YUFA's business as is the not uncommon situation
in which YUFA members find themselves unable to resolve their own
differences and a member of the Administration has intervened.
In general, any problematic relations that members have with the
Employer form the basis for the work of the Chief Stewards.
As
Chief Stewards, we also chair the meetings of the Grievance Committee and
of the Stewards' Council. In
addition, we attend meetings of, and report to, the YUFA Executive
Committee. One Chief Steward also attends all JCOAA caucuses and meetings.
In
the coming academic year, a number of important contract-related issues
will be demanding our attention. Those
of particular interest include the Employment Standards Act grievance and
other avenues for seeking pay equity; practices related to Internet
courses; and various workload-related questions that are arising in
connection with the double cohort.
Now
that a new three-year Collective Agreement (2003-06) is in place, our
goals for this year are to use existing contract language to defend YUFA
members' rights, especially in relation to workload and academic freedom,
and to work to strengthen YUFA's capacity to advance equity at York.
Communications Officer - Robert MacDermid
The following are key communication messages for the next year:
1. Message: Moving YUFA beyond whiteness
- Audience: Membership
- Media: Website
- Goal: Keep equity issues prominent
- Time: Fall 2002
2. Message: Building community and participation in YUFA
- Audience: Membership
- Media: campaign to fill all positions on the Stewards Council
- Goal: Events that bring YUFA members together
- Time: Fall 2002
3. Message: Campus Coalition of Unions
- Audience: YUFA and other campus union membership
- Media: Critical Voice newspaper
- Goal: Provide a critical voice about union matters on campus.
- Time: 2003-04
4. Message: Welcoming
New Members
-
Audience: New Members
-
Media: Luncheon meetings for new members
-
Goal: Make sure that all new members speak with a YUFA member and learn about YUFA
-
Time: Late 2003 and early 2004
5. Message: YUFA is accountable
-
Audience: Membership
-
Media: Website reports on committee meetings. We need to expand beyond regular Executive Reports to information on other committees
-
Goal: Short, regular and timely reports on committees’ activities
-
Time: Continuous
6. Message: Know your rights
- Audience: Membership
- Media: Website FAQs / Handbook;
- Goal: Get as much information into members' hands as possible in a way that they are likely to use. Review FAQs and make sure that they are current.
- Time: Continuous
7. Message: Keeping members up to date
- Audience: Membership
- Media: YUFA website
- Goal: Regular addition of new information to the website
- Time: Continuous
As the Equity officer I have a broad mandate to make York an
inclusive and welcoming institution for all YUFA members. I will be
working closely with YUFA staff, especially Monica Mulvihill, chairing
monthly Equity Committee meetings. As the Equity Officer I am a member of
the YUFA Executive and sit in the Stewards Council. Below is a description
of Equity activities on the horizon thus far for 2003/2004.
Equity Workshops
A
major focus of the Equity Committee this year will be to organise equity
workshops for the Executive and for the Steward’s Council. To this end,
the Equity Committee will be working in conjunction with the Executive,
Council and the different caucuses to determine the format of the
workshops.
These
workshops are seen as part of a larger discussion on developing a broader
set of workshops on equity. In the past year the Equity Committee has
discussed the need for workshops for a variety of offices; Senate T&P
committees, affirmative action and employment equity joint committees,
departmental hiring and T&P committees. A focus of my activities will
be to continue the dialogue on equity workshops within YUFA.
Second Equity Officer Position:
During the summer, a proposal was made to the Executive
and the Council to develop a second Equity Officer position. Part of my
activities this year will be to examine this proposal and make
recommendations to the Executive and the Council. In this examination, we
will review the Equity Committee mandate, and strategies to promote equity
within YUFA. Through these discussions, I will develop proposals to expand
and formalize the representation of the Equity Committee on Executive and
within YUFA.
Equity
Audit
A
third major focus of the Equity Committee this year will be to organise an
equity audit of YUFA. It is hoped that such an audit would lead to the
preparation of a proposal for a University-wide audit of York. I will be
working closely with the Equity Committee and the caucuses in establishing
the criteria/format for an equity audit of YUFA.
Caucuses
Both
the Race Equity caucus and the DisAbility caucus have had meetings in
October. Both caucuses have broad agendas to explore the kinds of ways in
which members of these groups experience discrimination. The DisAbility
Caucus is taking up the complex set of issues around accommodation. The
Race Equity caucus is taking up a variety of issues. I am hoping that the
Queer caucus and the First Nations caucus, which have met in the past,
will also meet this year. My intention is to work closely with the
Caucuses on issues to be taken up by the Equity Committee. As part of the
equity audit, we will also be examining ways of further integrating the
caucuses into the Equity Committee and YUFA. As officially recognized
caucuses can have a seat on the Stewards council, we will be looking into
organizing this.
Budget
for Equity Committee
Last
year, discussions were initiated within the Executive and the Council to
allocate a budget to the Equity Committee so that it could carry out its
mandate. This year, a temporary budget of $5,000 was allocated. As the
Equity Committee is examining its mandate, as well the second equity
officer position, part of the assessment will be an examination of a
budget. Based on this discussion, I will make a formal proposal that a
budget be allocated to the Equity Committee.
Following
up on initiatives taken up in past years
In the past years,
the Equity Officer has taken up a number of important projects that range
from the Curriculum Diversity Transformation Project, Bias in Teaching
Evaluations, and the Taskforce for Inclusivity and Diversity. I will be
following up on these projects, and working towards their completion.