YUFA

Executive

 

 
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Executive Officers' Workplan
2007-08

13 Sep 07 - As required by YUFA By-law 9 (b), the following is the Executive Committee's Workplan.

President - Arthur Hilliker

  1. Perform the duties of President as outlined in the YUFA Constitution and By-laws.

  2. Inform members of specific YUFA activities and facilitate participation of YUFA members in YUFA activities by meeting with units.

  3. Review of the 2006-2009 Collective Agreement with the 2006/2007 Bargaining Team and Executive and develop proposals for the next Collective Agreement renewal.

  4. Serve on Senate as YUFA Senator.

  5. Serve as chief fiduciary officer of the Association.

  6. Work with staff and officers to consider revisions to the Constitution and By-laws.

  7. Continue to participate in the organization of the new members' lunches in collaboration with staff, the Vice-President Internal and the Communications Officer and to make presentations at the lunches.

  8. Serve as Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Teaching Load and Class Size (Article 18.14 of the Collective Agreement) and in that capacity facilitate the acquisition by York academic units of relevant data from cognate units in Ontario and elsewhere.

VP Internal - Joan Allen

As per the YUFA By-laws, the Vice-President Internal:

  • assists the President in ensuring YUFA’s internal operations are running smoothly and in accordance with the Constitution and By-laws;

  • recruits members to contribute to the Association;

  • chairs YUFA’s personnel committee;

  • is a member of Executive and Stewards' Council; and

  • develops and carries out priorities and projects as part of the workplan.

In addition to the above-mentioned duties, the activities of the Vice-President Internal will focus on the following priorities in the coming year: Association Renewal / Building Participation in YUFA, specifically:

  • work to fill current and future vacancies on YUFA committees (with Brenda Hart) and to recruit for succession in Executive positions;

  • continue to participate in the organization of the new members’ lunches in collaboration with staff, and the Communications Officer and to make presentations at the lunches;

  • as a member of JCOAA, assist with the administration and implementation of the Collective Agreement;

  • meet and discuss with particular interest groups to help formulate their interests for the next round of bargaining; and

  • participate in the initiation and development of meetings to facilitate members’ interests in the restructuring exercise.

VP External - Livy Visano

Perform the duties of Vice-President External as outlined in the YUFA Constitution and By-laws (italicized):

-- develop and carry out priorities and projects as part of the workplan

I believe that external development is integral to YUFA’s mission. As VP External, I will build on our past accomplishments and further strengthen proactive advocacy, coalition-building and ongoing consultation with our various constituencies on and off campus; enhance YUFA’s external profile and presence; expand YUFA’s engagements with community based groups / organizations; promote greater inclusivity with respect to CAUT and OCUFA; and, facilitate more strategic and operational partnerships among inter and intra-University unions. The above activities reflect three interrelated themes that characterize external relations: relationship building, representation, and recognition (3 Rs).

 

Relationship building

 

-- liaise with campus unions, student organisations, OCUFA, CAUT, NUCAUT, and other labour and education groups

Continue to nurture and expand the well-developed links that my predecessors initiated with CUPE 3903, YUSA, Graduate Student Association (GSA) and YSF. My first priority is to collaborate with CUPE 3903 and the GSA re immediate issues such as the current process of University restructuring, FGS proposed changes, quality of education, etc. A strengthening of YUFA’s links with all campus unions and student associations enables a more active, ongoing, mutual and progressive consultative process guided by a joint commitment to political engagement. This open, accountable and accessible set of relations in pulling together reflects an authentic spirit of community collaboration. The following will be implemented: promote an understanding of the interests of all campus unions and student associations; increase the flow of information; encourage proactive consultation; invite a wider degree participation in the planning and development of various community projects. I will encourage a collaborative public education orientation (consciousness-raising) within York University (especially an outreach to the general student population) and the wider community regarding YUFA’s role and responsibilities as a union.

Off-Campus Activities:

I will liaise with appropriate provincial and national faculty associations as well as non-academic unions in terms of action and lobbying on such matters as labour relations, education, health and safety, retirement, transportation, and housing (e.g., OCUFA, CAUT, NUCAUT, OFL, Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Action Education Toronto, Ontario Health Coalition, Laborers’ International Union of North America, and local teachers' unions).

Representation

I will seek to ensure i) YUFA’s active representation and recognition on provincial and national faculty associations and ii) YUFA's representation of the external interests of its members. These interests inter alia include: responding to prevailing “market” pressures, government benchmarks / targets, workload, erosion of union consciousness. As a leading unionized faculty association, YUFA’s active representation on these bodies is critical. Clearly, sustained communication beyond York University enhances YUFA’s profile, credibility and capacity to be effective.

-- track external affairs pertinent to members’ interests and co-ordinate involvement in associated actions

Recognition

YUFA recognizes and promotes the commitment of its members to social justice. I will work towards supporting existing community projects and facilitate the development of community-related initiatives (the input from the wider community and YUFA’s outreach activities). Building on the leadership shown by Lorna Erwin, Brenda Hart, and many others, I will seek to strengthen YUFA’s links with the Jane-Finch community in an effort to make York an accessible public space. Given my experience in working with a number of community-based organizations, I will further pursue YUFA’s tradition of supporting issues of social justice and equity. I will work with members in promoting YUFA’s role and responsibility vis-à-vis social justice - notably external political, economic, educational, social, and health issues.

-- member of Executive and Stewards’ Council.

Chief Stewards - Penni Stewart & Walter Whiteley

The shared work of the two Chief Stewards in the coming year will include:

  1. Providing informal and formal advice to YUFA members in all contractually-related matters and representing members in any meetings with the Employer.

  2. Representing members in all stages of the grievance and arbitration process.

  3. Bringing potential policy grievances to the attention of the YUFA Executive and carrying subsequent grievances forward.

  4. Organizing and chairing meetings of the Grievance Committee and Stewards’ Council. In the coming year, Walter Whiteley will Chair Stewards’ Council.

  5. Participating in the work of the YUFA Executive and the Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement (JCOAA). Both Chief Stewards attend Executive and Penni Stewart will participate in JCOAA.

  6. Specifically assisting units with the application of the Collective Agreement in restructuring, working with the Long Range Planning subcommittee of JCOAA.

  7. Providing information to members periodically through the Stewards’ Information webpage or otherwise.

  8. Consulting where appropriate with the Bargaining Committee.

  9. Recruiting stewards and members of the Grievance Committee where needed.

Communications Officer - Louise Ripley

My workplan as Communications Officer for 2007/08 consists of my regular activities as outlined in the By-laws, including soliciting and editing contributions to YUFA publications, determining and implementing the communications implications of the workplan, developing and carrying out projects as part of the workplan, and serving as a member of the Executive Committee and of the Stewards’ Council.

I also will write as appropriate for Active Voice Reactivated, for the YUFA Website, and for YUFA-M email publication, including summaries of the regular monthly Executive Committee meetings, notices of and reports on meetings of the General Membership, and other events that may be deemed to be of interest to the YUFA membership.

I will continue the past practice of Communications Officers in helping to organize and participate in YUFA’s New Faculty Lunch series.

This year a major focus of my work as Communications Officer will be soliciting and editing contributions to the newly revived union newsletter, Active Voice Reactivated.

I intend to spend time reviewing the 2006-2009 Collective Agreement with that Bargaining Team with an eye to volunteering to serve in some capacity in the next round of negotiations.

I also intend to spend time visiting YUFA members in various venues to talk about what they want to hear from their union and what they want to be able to communicate to Executive.

In order to accomplish my goals as Communications Officer, I will, to the best of my ability, attend all Executive Committee, Stewards’ Council, and General Membership meetings, and other relevant meetings, and generally make myself as available as possible to YUFA members / Officers / staff who wish to communicate with / through me. I am always available by email at lripley@yorku.ca, or I may be reached at 416-736-5236 (leave a message), but email is a much faster way to reach me.

Equity Officers - Didi Khayatt & Joy Mannette

Ongoing work of Equity Officers entails regular attendance at the Executive Committee and Stewards’ Council meetings where we maintain a watching brief on equity issues of the current Collective Agreement and equity issues which arise out of YUFA business.  Equity Officers also liaise regularly with equity-seeking constituencies, such as the YUFA Race Equity Caucus, Access York, etc.  Equity Officers also organize one meeting per term with the Equity Caucus, concerns from which we bring forward to the Executive Committee.

Of particular interest this year is focus on two initiatives: the participation of Didi Khayatt in the preparation and institutionalization of the Task Force on Inclusivity and Diversity (Article 7.10); offers of consultation and advice as units engage in Workload Committee deliberations (Article 18.08.2).

Further, Equity Officers will seek assistance from unit Stewards in identifying unit persons who could facilitate the collection of quantitative and qualitative data on the situation of equity-seeking groups in their respective units. Of concern is how equity issues are taken up in deliberations concerning hiring, and tenure and promotion. This work will be co-coordinated by Joy Mannette in order to provide the kind of evidence necessary to extend YUFA equity provisions for next round of bargaining. Further, the equity-identified unit persons will be asked to facilitate regular submissions on equity issues for publication in Active Voice Reactivated.

Mannette has also begun to assemble data on equity initiatives institutionalized at other Canadian universities, particularly those in Ontario. We wish to determine how the ex post facto emphasis of the York Office of the Ombudsperson and Centre for Human Rights has individualized equity issues, and positioned the Employer as reactive, as opposed to proactive, with respect to equity issues.

The Equity Officers will organize a discussion about faculty equity at York in the Spring of 2008. The “Diversity Dialogues” are a forum that allows the Equity Officers to hear from various interested YUFA members-at-large regarding concerns that could be taken up in the future.

Both Equity Officers will also attend the New Faculty Lunch series organized by the Executive and will speak to equity concerns when introduced by President Arthur Hilliker.

We will continue existing educative work on equity issues with respective constituencies.

Treasurer - Mary Kandiuk

The Treasurer prepares YUFA’s annual budget and financial reports, monitors YUFA’s financial position, provides financial advice regarding spending and investment matters, and participates in the work of the Executive Committee. In addition, in the 2007-08 year, I intend to continue to work to implement the auditor’s recommendations arising from the YUFA Financial Statements with respect to the previous year’s budget, conduct a review of internal accounting controls, as well as look for cost savings within the budget in light of increasing expenditures.