YUFA
Executive
Executive Officers' 2003-04 Work Plan Progress Reports
10 May 04 - As required by YUFA By-law 9(b), the following outlines Executive Committee Officers' work plan progress.
In my Work Plan
for 2003-04 I outlined five major activities that I anticipated would
occupy the bulk of my time, beyond representing the Association in its
day-to-day activities and chairing the YUFA Executive Committee, during
the past year. The first involved co-chairing JCOAA, and over-seeing the
implementation of two Letters of Understanding that were new to our most
recent Collective Agreement. The work of JCOAA proceeded productively for
the most part during the past year, though the pace at which information
is provided by the Employer remains painfully slow at times, making
progress on many issues difficult. The sub-committee on Accommodation for
Persons with Disabilities (a YUFA initiative in the last round of
bargaining) has been established, however, and significant progress was
made on moving forward this item. Ruthann Dyer deserves special mention
for her work on this Committee. The Joint Task Force on Conflict of
Interest, which was the second new initiative introduced in the last round
of bargaining (in this case by the employer) has failed to meet, though
YUFA has had its representatives in place for many months. I am pleased to
report that the Long Range Planning sub-committee met this year, and at
that meeting Vice-Presidents Brewer and Embleton made it clear that they
believe they are on tract to meet the commitment made by President Marsden
to me that the Employer would hire 250 new tenure-stream / continuing YUFA
members to meet projected growth enrolment. Although the original
commitment was to have done so by 2005-06, Vice-President Brewer indicated
that there was some lag between authorizations and hires, and so not all
of the positions will be filled by that date. Most are expected to be
filled by 2005-06, however, and the remainder will be in place within a
short time thereafter. This represents a major victory with respect to
complement renewal. I would like to thank my fellow caucus members on
JCOAA: Ruthann Dyer, Arthur Hilliker, Jay Rahn, Marilyn Silverman and YUFA
staff person Brenda Hart.
The major
political activity in which I have been engaged in the past year concerned
the Employer’s refusal to recognize speaking to the media on matters
within the scope of their academic expertise as falling within faculty
members’ professional responsibilities. A Presidents’ Task Force on
Indemnification, discussions at JCOAA and a grievance have all failed to
resolve this issue, which I see as a very significant threat to academic
freedom at York. I have tried to make both YUFA members and other
Associations aware of the threat, and hope that YUFA will continue to work
to resolve this matter.
I have also
been particularly concerned with a general sense of apathy and
disempowerment that I have seen at Senate. Accordingly, I spent a
considerable amount of time in the past year trying to raise the level of
debate at Senate, and to hold the Administration accountable for their
academic and financial decisions. I believe that I have been fairly
successful at raising a number of critical issues at Senate, and for
keeping Senators focused on the relation between tenure-stream complement
and the academic quality and integrity of our programmes.
Finally, I
anticipated that I would spend some time this year involved in activities
designed to strengthen YUFA itself, and work toward renewal of the
Association during these imminent years of change and growth in our
membership. A number of activities were undertaken, including a series of
lunches for new faculty and librarians at York, and the YUFA Executive
held a retreat to discuss concrete strategies of strengthening members’
involvement in YUFA. I believe these activities will see YUFA
well-positioned to continue its vital work in our community. These
activities dove-tailed into may final task, as the out-going President of
YUFA, which was to provide support to those who were seeking to ensure
that the transition to a new President was as seamless and efficient as
possible. As evidence that our commitment to renewal of the Association is
working, I am pleased to report that we will again have a full YUFA
Executive for the new term of 2004-06. Our new Executive will be a
terrific mix of continuing and new members, and once again it will
represent our diverse members in terms of its composition, including
members from six equity seeking groups on campus.
It has been my
great privilege to have had the opportunity to serve my colleagues and
institution in the capacity of President of YUFA. Through this experience,
I have had the pleasure of meeting colleagues from a large number of
academic units whom I might otherwise not have had a chance to meet. I
have worked on such interesting issues as academic freedom and equity. And
I have had the great good fortune to have worked with a tremendous group
of people on the YUFA Executive: John Bell, Ena Dua, Peter Harris-Jones,
Arthur Hilliker, Margaret Knittel, Nick Lary, Robert MacDermid, Alex
Murray, Ellie Perkins, Jay Rahn, Narda Razick, Perry Sadorsky, Marilyn
Silverman, Penni Stewart and Jody Natasha Warner. I thank them all for
their generosity of spirit, their political good sense and their unfailing
commitment to YUFA, as well as for their tremendous support for me as I
learned the ropes and tried my best.
No final report
from an out-going President of YUFA would be complete, of course, without
taking special notice of the extraordinary service provided to all of our
volunteers by our permanent professional staff. They are the heart of the
Association, and I thank them all for more than I can articulate: Heidi
Bishop, Brett Cemer (who is in our prayers), Jill Flohil, Brenda Hart and
Monica Mulvilhill. Thank you! And now, sabbatical….
According to
YUFA's Bylaw 14 (http://www.yufa.org/docs/bylaws.html#14),
the Vice
President Internal a) assists the President in ensuring YUFA’s internal
operations are running smoothly and in accordance with the Constitution
and By-laws; b) recruits members to contribute to the Association; c)
chairs YUFA’s staff relations
committee; d) is a member of Executive and Stewards Council; e) develops
and carries out priorities and projects as part of the work plan.
a)
As I did last year, I have substituted from time to time this year for
President Dimock in her capacity as Chair of the Executive Committee.
Additionally this year, I served occasionally as President Dimock's
alternate as Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on the Administration of the
Agreement (JCOAA). A further unusual development this year has consisted
of meetings of selected members of YUFA's Executive with various
combinations of President Marsden, the Vice Presidents, and a variety of
Deans. Called by the Employer, these meetings have provided a forum for
broaching emerging issues outside such regular venues as JCOAA. Attended
by President Dimock, myself, and one or more other Executive members, the
most notable of these meetings resulted in a considerable clarification of
the Employer's understanding of its complement commitments.
This
year, as it did last year, the process of operating in accordance with the
Constitution and Bylaws has led to a reconsideration of both documents. As
a continuation of bylaw changes first introduced in 2002-03, Bylaws 9, 17,
and 18 were proposed to, and approved by, Stewards Council. These concern,
respectively, Executive Officers' accountability, procedures for dealing
with an individual Member's appeal of a decision concerning her / his
grievance, and YUFA's policy on funding and endorsing other organizations.
Of these, a significant amendment to the proposed changes was made by
Stewards Council: namely, that YUFA provide financial assistance to groups
from the York University community or its immediate neighbourhoods for
social justice. As well, in response to a concern that has been raised in
2002-03 by the Subcommittee on Equity, Executive proposed a new position,
namely, a second Equity Officer, that was approved by Stewards Council and
the General Membership.
Although a planned Constitutional change to officers' terms was not brought forward in 2003-04, a partial resolution of the ongoing organizational problems that can arise from replacing all officers every 2 years has been realized de facto for the time being. Specifically, three Executive Committee members (the Communications Officer and one each of the two Chief Stewards and two Equity Officers) will be vacating their positions at the end of 2004-05, thereby enhancing Executive's continuity, though not yet realizing the goal of having half of Executive replaced annually.
At this point,
all positions except one have been ratified for the incoming Executive,
which begins its next term in June. A nomination for the remaining
position has been circulated to members for ratification. In this respect,
the incoming Executive has a much longer head start than was the case two
years ago.
b) As
anticipated in the 2003-04 Work Plan, Communications Officer Bob
MacDermid, President Dimock and myself worked with Executive Associate
Jill Flohil to host three lunch-time sessions for new members. The purpose
of these was to introduce new faculty members to YUFA, emphasizing what
YUFA can do for new members and what new members can do for YUFA. For each
session, each new member was contacted individually by hard-copy
invitation and by phone. The three officers' presentations focused on
York's new tenure and promotion procedures, financial resources available
to members through the Collective Agreement's provisions, and constraints
on academic freedom at York. Although all three were well attended -- some
new members attending two or three sessions -- a Glendon venue turned out
not to be feasible, preempted as it was by a General Membership meeting
precipitated by recent episodes of libel chill.
As the
Executive's member on the 2003 Negotiating Team, I served, as planned, on
JCOAA this year. Although it was anticipated that the Employer might
strike the Joint Task Force on Conflict of Interest specified in the new
Collective Agreement (Appendix R), this has not yet occurred. Similarly,
neither the Employer nor individual members have not brought forward
issues of consequence to the Joint Subcommittee on Student Electronic
Contact (JSSEC) or the Joint Subcommittee on the Impact of Technology (JSIT),
though YUFA remains ready for such an eventuality.
By
contrast, as Provincial law and the 2003-06 Collective Agreement require,
the Joint Committee on Health and Safety has finally been launched. Ably
Co-Chaired by Paul Grayson, with Tony Wallis as YUFA's Designated /
Certified Worker, JCHS now meets regularly and the YUFA Caucus has begun
to report to Stewards Council and the General Membership. As well, through
my membership on JCHS this year, Executive has been made regularly aware
of Health and Safety issues. All the same, that there has been no JHCS
representative from Glendon remains troubling. Nonetheless, that the great
variety of groups mandated by YUFA and its Collective Agreement are so
well staffed is continuing testimony to the efforts of YUFA's Returning
Officer, Brenda Hart.
Too
late to be included in the 2003 Bargaining Proposals were YUFA members'
growing concerns with the University's Pension Plan. Of these, 'buyback'
of years of service has emerged as a matter of particular importance to
current YUFA members who worked effectively on a full-time basis for York
as putatively part-time CUPE / CUEW employees before 1989. As a result of
my participation in YUFA's Pension Caucus, Executive is now regularly kept
abreast of pension-related initiatives, which have been spearheaded by Al
Stauffer, YUFA's representative to the All-University Committee on
Pensions, and by Walter Whiteley, who heads YUFA's Pension Caucus.
As had been anticipated, Executive's largest organizational concern in 2003-04 has been member participation. With a view to developing a coherent strategy to enhance member participation, Chief Stewards Ellie Perkins and Marilyn Silverman and myself, with the help of Executive Associate Jill Flohil, organized an Executive Retreat this spring. Participants in the Retreat agreed that specific sectors of YUFA's membership should be the most urgent focus of efforts to improve participation in the Association: in particular, new members (as in 2003-04) and Chairs of Departments / Schools. To this end, Executive will be announcing a series of 2004-05 initiatives in September. Further, in contrast to previous years, there should be a single Executive Work Plan for 2004-05, to which will be adjoined special projects of individual officers and groups of officers.
c) Although issues concerning benefits and office space during the renovation of the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building have arisen during 2003-04, none of these has yet required activation of the Joint Labour Relations Committee.
d) In general, Executive has functioned increasingly smoothly as its members have become more fluent in working within the framework of the new Bylaws and Constitution. Executive has had increasingly direct access to concerns that have arisen in the Association's various subcommittees, caucuses, and other mandated groups. Efforts to increase the effectiveness of Stewards Council have included discussions of key parts of the Collective Agreement, led by President Dimock, Chief Steward Silverman, and myself. Nonetheless, YUFA members' participation in Stewards Council remains a concern.
e) By way of summary, my priorities and projects for 2003-04 have been to provide continuity between the process that resulted in the 2003-06 Collective Agreement and the deliberations of this year's JCOAA, continued renewal of the Constitution and Bylaws, introducing new YUFA members to the Association, and helping the new Health and Safety Committee get under way. As none of these has been fully realized in a single year, I hope the incoming Vice President Internal will be able to facilitate progress along these lines during the coming year. In this regard, the Association should be well served by the fact that a Bargaining Priorities Subcommittee is already in the process of being struck, i.e., a year earlier than usual.
1)
On campus:
The portfolio of V-P
External includes liaison and coordination with other campus unions. The
relationship with CUPE 3903 this past year has been particularly
productive, and has lead to work with the Graduate Students Association as
well and, for a time, with the York Federation of Students. Together we
brought out a coalition newspaper, The Critical Times, of which six
issues have appeared. In it we have raised some common concerns,
approaching them from our various perspectives, at times complementary, at
times differing and even conflicting. These concerns included faculty
complement, student / faculty ratios, the impact of the double cohort,
quality of education, technology in education, freedom of expression,
workload, equity, the decision-making process at York, and York’s
responsibilities to the Jane-Finch community. The paper provided a forum
in which issues raised in Senate by the YUFA President, Susan Dimock, and
the graduate student Senator, Matthew Hayes, were further publicized and
discussed. For YUFA, the paper has had a role in announcing and discussing
the work of its various committees. More generally, it has proved its
usefulness as an alternative to the Administration’s view of the
University, and as a forum in which parallel and complementary initiatives
pursued by different groups on campus can be presented.
The results of the
Critical Times project have been interesting. On the plus side, it
fills a need; YUFA members have been very willing to write for it, and it
is clear that we are read widely (even by members of the high
Administration). Moreover, the coalition has access to great amounts of
information from our member groups. On the minus side, the editorial
collective had difficulty devoting major attention to editorial policy, on
one hand, and, on the other, to the nitty gritty of editorial work, such
as deciding whether or not to run a piece or to ask an author to make
revisions. The editorial collective has not addressed the question of how
we are to handle disagreements within the coalition. Too much of the work
has amounted to a last-minute work of assemblage of the paper. Moreover,
many readers of the paper have been unhappy about perceived biases,
particularly in the coverage of Mid-East issues. In defense of the
project, I would argue that the paper is open to diversity of opinion; it
has invited criticism and is willing to publish it and it has published
views that cannot readily be expressed elsewhere on campus. The YSF has
withdrawn its support, but other student bodies have expressed interest in
joining the coalition. The experience of the past year has shown that the
challenge ahead is to attract to the paper more writers who will develop
their alternative viewpoints, to devote more energy to investigative
reporting, and to make the paper itself a forum for debate.
2.
Community-related projects:
The
project initiated by Lorna Erwin and Brenda Hart to bring students from
Westview Secondary onto campus to take a university course has gone ahead,
with strong YUFA support. A March break day camp bringing students from
the Jane-Finch community to the York campus has gone ahead with a
contribution from YUFA. A more ambitious summer camp building on this
experience is under consideration. The Community Projects Committee
recently approved by the YUFA Executive offers prospects for better
coordination of projects such as these.
3. OCUFA and CAUT:
These
organizations have been willing to devote their resources to address
questions of particular interest to us: student / faculty ratios; libel
chill; transparency of University budgets.
4.
Social justice:
YUFA has a tradition of supporting issues of social justice that go beyond union issues or issues of concern to York and the immediately surrounding community. I was pleased to secure this tradition by moving an amendment to a motion at a meeting of the Stewards Council that would have restricted the ability of the Vice-President External to support issues of social justice and welfare. Contributions within this broad category were made inter alia to the Summer Literacy Program (from the YUFA Foundation), the National Action Committee (to help them to discharge debts), to the Student Working Centre (which acquaints students with their rights in the workplace), and the Yonge St. Mission.
Chief Stewards - Ellie Perkins and Marilyn Silverman
Chief
Stewards and Co-Chairs of YUFA’s Grievance Committee and Stewards’
Council.
The
work of the two Chief Stewards, both constitutionally and as it has
evolved over the immediate past, is:
- to
assist and represent YUFA members in contract-related matters vis-à-vis
the York University administration as these move from meetings with
the Employer’s representatives through the various stages of the
dispute resolution process (Article 9);
- to
grieve any policy issues which may arise out of the work of YUFA’s
various committees and / or the encounters which YUFA members may have
with the Employer, and to handle the grievance process which ensues;
- to
chair meetings of, and expedite the work of, (a) the Grievance
Committee and (b) the Stewards’ Council;
- to
liaise with, and attend meetings of, YUFA’s Executive Committee and
the Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement (JCOAA);
and
- to
disseminate information through the Chief Stewards’ webpage.
In
carrying out these tasks, our general goals have been to defend YUFA
members’ rights and the integrity of our Collective Agreement and to
work to strengthen YUFA’s capacity to advance equity at York University.
Since
our last Workplan report in October 2003 and, indeed, since our work began
for the current year during the summer of 2003, we have been engaged in
all these tasks.
Members
from virtually all Faculties have come forward with various difficulties
and complaints relating, inter alia, to tenure and promotion
proceedings, concerns about Affirmative Action Plans, harassment, access
to benefits, the need for TAs to have training for internet courses
(Atkinson), the loss of support staff (Glendon), contact hours in courses
(FFA), criteria for membership in FGS (FPAS), workload problems (FES) and
overload work (FPAS), entitlements to computer purchases, technical
support in FFA, entitlements to LTD, accommodations for faculty with
disabilities, the scheduling of on-campus meetings for internet courses
(Atkinson), banking course releases (Arts).
The
policy issues with which we have been concerned have also been numerous.
They include the duration of SRC contracts for those over age 60, the
scheduling of weekend exams, workload, merit pay and outside professional
activities, deviations from tenure and promotion procedures, libel
insurance and the scope of professional employment, health and safety
during renovations to the old Schulich building, HRDC regulations re
hiring procedures, surveillance protocols for equipment safety. YUFA’s
grievances over gender inequities in salaries, and hence pension payouts,
under the Employment Standards Act, has had several days of arbitration
hearings and is ongoing. At the moment, we are awaiting a decision on
whether the grievances can be made retroactive.
The
Grievance Committee has met periodically to offer advice and suggestions
on complaints and grievances. The Stewards’ Council has met monthly. The
Grievance Committee has also produced a research protocol for exploring
the implications of the ESA grievance and the stewards on the Stewards’
Council have spent time exploring the various unit practices in relation
to particular articles in the Collective Agreement, such as tenure and
promotion (Article 13), workload (Article 18), and the HRDC hiring
regulations (Article 12). Both the Grievance Committee and Stewards’
Council have also spent time discussing the implications of the
Employer’s policy on the limited applicability of its liability
insurance to YUFA members. Among its other work, Stewards’ Council has
approved the various workplans of Executive Committee members; endorsed
the proposal of the Equity Committee to hold an equity workshop for
stewards; approved an Executive motion to release the numbers for all
general membership votes (save strike votes); amended several of YUFA’s
by-laws (relating to the definition of YUFA caucuses, how YUFA allocates
monies to external groups and causes, the addition to Executive of a
second Equity Officer, and the accountability of YUFA officers).
All
this work has been made possible by the excellent work of Monica Mulvihill
(Chief Stewards’ aide; Grievance Committee; Stewards’ Council), Brenda
Hart (Stewards’ Council) and Jill Flohil (website). Ultimately, it is
upon YUFA members that the success of this work depends: when they bring
forward any contractual difficulties which they encounter and when they
join YUFA committees and councils in order to support the work of the
Chief Stewards.
Communications Officer - Robert MacDermid
1. Communicating with members
New Faculty Lunches. Along with YUFA staff, the President and the VP Internal, I helped to organize three lunches for new librarians and faculty at York – YUFA members in their first or second year of employment. About 25-50 members attended each lunch and heard members of the Executive speak on tenure and promotion, benefits, and academic freedom. Members of the Executive called all of the new members or left messages urging attendance at the lunches. While one would always like to have more people attend these meeting, turnout was quite good and feedback on the meetings was positive. The lunches provided the opportunity to talk to new YUFA members and plant the seed of later participation.
Website. YUFA’s website continues to log large numbers of visitors. Since YUFA moved to communicating with members largely through its website and email, the number of visitors to the site has been increasing. On occasion, there are over 250 visits to the website in a single day. The interest in the site has been increasing in the past year. The most popular page requests are for sections of the contract. Pages of advice for people offered tenure track positions were also frequently accessed suggesting that our newest and prospective members are taking advantage of the great advice YUFA is offering.
You can see the website usage figures at http://www.yufa.org/stats/index.html.
The website also features regular stories on issues of importance to members at particular points in the school year such as examination periods. Regular email messages go out to members advising them about their obligations under the Collective Agreement and notifying them about different disputes.
The website also communicates with members about topical issues such as pensions, academic freedom, and workload.
The website has regular summaries of Executive meetings and notices of other committee meetings. The amount of information available to members through the website far surpasses what has been readily accessible to members in the past.
YUFA members receive frequent email messages alerting them to new content on the website or alerting them to important contractual issues and regular Association events.
The YUFA Handbook. The second edition of the YUFA Handbook, a plain language guide to the Collective Agreement is very close to completion. The first edition, prepared by Kathy Bischoping, Brett Cemer and Monica Mulvihill, drew praise from YUFA members and the academic community outside York as an outstanding example of communications with members. The second edition is being prepared by Kathy Bischoping and Jill Flohil.
Recruiting Handbook. As part of the Executive’s important role in recruiting new members to YUFA service, a handbook detailing the opportunities for YUFA service is now being compiled. The handbook lays out the many ways in which members can serve YUFA and the types and level of commitment required of each position.
The Communications Officer also attends all meetings of the YUFA Executive and participates in the collective governance of the union. In the past year this has included a day long retreat to discuss promoting equity through YUFA and another day long session to discuss strategies of recruitment to the union.
The Communications Officer, as member of the Executive, also attends Stewards Council Meetings and is a member of the Personnel Committee that is the employer side of the joint committee with CUPE 1281 that represents YUFA’s employees.
2. Communicating with the York Community
Critical Times. As part of the outreach mandate, I worked with the VP External to build a coalition of unions at York that together launched the first year and six issues of Critical Times, a small newspaper that features stories about work and life at York. It brought a missing critical voice to affairs on campus and took up a number of important issues including the privatization of higher education, the University policy on controversial speakers, campus housing policies, the corporate connections of the members of the Board of Governors, the growing disparities between the quality and extent of space and facilities available for different Faculties and corporate sponsorship of the business school, students who work in residences, welfare rules and students, reports on Senate meetings, the fair trade movement on campus, an interview with Ward Churchill, a leading aboriginal academic and the financing of the University, to mention a few of the many articles written by faculty, librarians, graduate and undergraduate students.
The YUFA website has also contained a number of stories that are of interest to the wider York community.
The Communications Officer also wrote an article for the OCUFA Bulletin.
My term as
Equity Officer began mid-term, January, 2004, succeeding Ena Dua. The
Equity Officer has a rather broad mandate to make York an inclusive and
welcoming institution for all YUFA members and especially to examine the
needs of those belonging to the designated equity groups. There was a
change in YUFA staffing in January and Brenda Hart is now the YUFA staff
member assigned to this Committee. A second Equity Officer position will
come into effect June 1, 2004. I attended YUFA Executive meetings, which
are held twice monthly, as well as monthly Stewards Council, Race Equity
Caucus and other meetings, deemed necessary under this portfolio. Below is
an outline of the work of the Equity Committee over the past year.
Second
Equity Officer:
The rationale
for a second Equity Officer was discussed at both YUFA Executive and
Stewards Council. Both these Committees voted in favour of this position.
The rationale for this position was discussed at the General Membership
meeting in March 2004 and members were overwhelmingly supportive. The
position was subsequently announced to the all YUFA members and Didi
Khyatt was nominated and the members ratified the position through a
ballot. This position is effective June 1, 2004.
Equity
Workshop:
A workshop on
equity was held with the members of the YUFA Executive in December. Two
facilitators, Rosemary Morgan from CAUT and Anwer Salooje from Ryerson
facilitated the session. The feedback was positive and recommendations
included having further discussions on equity issues. I discussed the
matter of holding a similar workshop with Stewards Council and a
suggestion was made to have a series of one-hour discussions on particular
issues. This matter continues to be on our agenda to promote an
understanding of equity issues at all levels of YUFA and with other joint
committees.
Dialogue
on equity:
The Equity
Committee organized a forum “a dialogue on equity” with key people
from the YUFA community to discuss issues regarding equity and to
strategize for the work ahead. This forum will help to guide the Committee
on issues that are of primary importance to YUFA members.
Equity
Audit:
An equity audit
was on our agenda last year. This topic continues to be discussed at our
meetings and will be duly considered at the forum to decide if such an
audit would be the most appropriate plan of action for the Equity
Committee.
Caucuses:
I have attended
The Race Equity Caucus meetings, which are held monthly. The Caucus has a
core group of committed members who discuss issues pertaining to speaker
security matters, tenure, promotion and hiring policies and procedures. I
and some other members from this Committee have formed the program
committee for the Critical Race Conference at Founders College, April
29-May 1, 2004.
I also met with
a member from the DisAbility Caucus and an invitation has been issued to
the caucuses to attend and participate in the Equity Committee. The Queer
Caucus and First Nations Caucus have not officially met as a group.
Recruitment
and representation:
I attended a
YUFA retreat where recruitment and representation on YUFA committees and
other initiatives were the main topics. Apart from the Equity
Committee’s ongoing efforts to make links with the caucuses, I also
offered to organize an event for new faculty members especially those from
the designated equity groups in the fall to discuss matters pertaining to
equity and to seek their support for our activities.
We continue to
actively recruit members to the Equity Committee, to be representatives on
Stewards Council, and the caucuses, where feasible. We have discussed how
Equity Committee members can become more visible, not only within their
departments, but in their interaction with other colleagues. These efforts
will help to bridge and make links between members and the YUFA Executive.
The Treasurer prepares YUFA's budget, monitors YUFA's financial position and provides financial advice regarding spending and investing matters. This year I conducted the duties of the Treasurer.