December 31 is the deadline for spending at least some of your Health and/or Personal Spending Accounts under the Flexible Spending Plan. Amounts remaining in the fund will carry over for only one year, and allocated funds left unspent after two years are returned to the Employer. Make sure you spend the credits that are… Continue reading Spend Unused Credits!
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October “Unions Working Together” Meeting
The “Unions Working Together” monthly meetings of the five unions representing university workers, ASPA, CUPE 1975 and 3257, PSAC, and USFA provide an opportunity for sharing news regarding negotiations, grievances, experiences and approaches to better support their members. Shared concerns of interest to USFA members were discussed during the October monthly meeting. USFA representative Julita… Continue reading October “Unions Working Together” Meeting
CAUT Weighs in on University Council Election Irregularities
Following University Council elections last spring, the USFA Executive decided to ask CAUT to review a summary of the election process. After reviewing the summary, the University of Saskatchewan Act, and University Council’s by-laws on elections procedure with CAUT’s legal staff, Executive Director David Robinson concluded: The short answer is that we are of the… Continue reading CAUT Weighs in on University Council Election Irregularities
Mind the Gap: Divergent Perspectives on Faculty Workload
Read the November 15, 2023 issue of VOX here.
APEF Grievance Minutes of Settlement
The Employer and the USFA have negotiated a settlement to the USFA grievance related to cell phone and home internet costs incurred by faculty when they were required to work from home during the COVID pandemic. This recent grievance settlement will provide eligible employees with an opportunity as of November 15 and ending December 31,… Continue reading APEF Grievance Minutes of Settlement
Celebrate with the Afghan school girls who escaped the Taliban
The 30 Birds Foundation is holding a special event to acknowledge Saskatoon’s support of over 450 Afghan schoolgirls and their families who fled the Taliban in 2021. USFA contributed $10,000 to help the young women escape the Taliban’s violence and prohibition of education for girls and young women. We invite members to meet some of… Continue reading Celebrate with the Afghan school girls who escaped the Taliban
No Merit in Professors Emeriti
Read the September 12, 2023 issue of VOX here.
Bargaining update
The USFA negotiating committee began bargaining the new collective agreement with the employer on May 26th. Member perspectives gathered over the past two years under the themes of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access will inform issues being brought by the committee to the table, in addition to other work-related issues brought forward by faculty while preparations… Continue reading Bargaining update
Important Report: Joint Workload Committee
As part of the December 2021 agreement to extend the 2017-2022 Collective Agreement, the Employer and the Association established a Joint Workload Committee to gather information about workload from the Employer and Association members across campus, and to make recommendations for procedures, criteria, and mechanisms that could be put in place to address concerns expressed… Continue reading Important Report: Joint Workload Committee
Laurentian Fired Faculty Distress Fund Appeal
As you may know, administration at Laurentian University filed for insolvency protection on February 1, 2021. Over 200 faculty and staff lost their jobs and over 69 programs were eliminated. With the support of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the Laurentian University Faculty Association, a Laurentian Fired Faculty Distress Fund has been… Continue reading Laurentian Fired Faculty Distress Fund Appeal