Dear UTFA Colleagues,

Welcome back to campus. Whether this is your first year as an UTFA member, or you have been a member for many years, I wish you a successful new academic year. 

As we kick off the new term, I would like to remind you that the UTFA team is here to support you and answer questions about your working conditions at the University. To that end, UTFA is developing a series of “Know Your Rights” guides with important information about the issues our members ask about most often. We have developed a guide on what to do if you have been called to a meeting with a University Administrator to discuss a complaint or concern, and a guide on how to request a workplace accommodation due to a medical condition or disability.

In the upcoming academic year, UTFA will publish additional guides on other important topics for our members.

Of course, if you are facing a situation in which your rights may have been violated, please contact advice@utfa.org. 

Finally, the UTFA leadership team has been working hard to prepare for our next round of bargaining, which will begin later this fall. Please look out for our bargaining survey, which we will email to the membership next week. I would encourage you to complete that survey at the earliest opportunity. Your input is critical to shaping the upcoming round of bargaining and ensuring our bargaining priorities reflect our members' needs. 

Important dates to hold in the upcoming academic year

• The 2026 C.B. Macpherson Lecture will take place on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.). This year’s lecture features Professor Nancy Fraser speaking on The University under Assault: A Democratic-Socialist Perspective.

• UTFA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is on Tuesday, April 20, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. A post-AGM Social is scheduled from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. 

UTFA will provide more details closer to each event date. 

Sincerely,

Jun Nogami
UTFA President