It has been another busy year for the grievance portfolio! More members have been seeking UTFA’s assistance, and we have been handling more files internally, than has historically been the case. We have also been engaged in drafting, revising, and bargaining a greater number of substantial policies, detailed below.
I hope this report finds you well on your way to productively wrapping up your Winter 2019 term. Below I will touch upon the negotiations and work I have contributed to or undertaken this year on your behalf.
Mediation
UTFA’s Retired Members Committee represents approximately 600 retired faculty and librarians of the University of Toronto. The Committee met twice in the fall of 2018 and once in the spring of 2019. As Chair of the Committee, I also served on the Board of Management of the Senior College Centre, UTFA’s UPP/SAP Bargaining Team, and the UTFA Executive Committee and Council.
The Equity Committee advises UTFA Council and Executive on all matters pertaining to equity and diversity—includ-ing gender, race, sexual orientation, and ability—and assists UTFA in developing policy and approaches to pay equity, employment equity, sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, personal safety, and accessibility.
In 2018–19 the Appointments Committee focused on three main areas: part-time appointments, cross-appointments, and age-related issues.The Policy and Procedures on Employment Conditions of Part-time Academic Staff, which was last revised in 1994, is out of date and no longer believed to reflect adequately the terms and conditions that our more than 300 part-time members require.
Members of the teaching stream faculty convened at a social on February 2, 2017, to mark the newly created rank of full professor in the teaching stream and to celebrate the successful SJAC negotiations. While the gathering served to build community amongst the teaching stream, it also afforded members the opportunity to share their experiences and to help plan future advances.
The ongoing contribution of the retired constituency, which is several hundred strong, can be found on UTFA Council, in various UTFA committees, and in other University committees.
This has been a year of renewal and outreach for the Membership portfolio. The Membership Committee initiated an UTFA speakers series, focusing on the topic of intellectual freedom and academic rights, and is engaging with the membership on the vital topic of pension reform.