The University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association represents more than 1,000 full-time academic employees at the University of Saskatchewan.
e-Letters are brief but timely communications about workplace issues.
Claims for reimbursement for any expenses from any of the benefit plans must be submitted to Sun Life within 90 days of the end of the calendar year in which the expense is incurred. This deadline applies to 2015 claims made under the Dental Plan, Health Plan or Flexible Spending Program (Health Spending Account or Personal Spending Account). Because this is a leap year, the deadline for submitting claims incurred between January 1 and December 31, 2015 is March 30, 2016 not March 31.
The deadline for nominations for the Peter C. Dooley Legacy Award, the Peter T. Millard Award and the USFA Academic Freedom Award has been extended to March 14.
Nominations for these Awards can be made by any current USFA member or by any USFA committee. Who could you nominate?
The nomination process is simple. In a letter, not more than 1,000 words, explain how the nominee is deserving of the award. Nominators must also include a written agreement from the nominee that the nomination will be accepted.
Send nominations to:
USFA
Room 20 Education Building
28 Campus Drive
Saskatoon SK S7N 0X1
Or usfa@usaskfaculty.ca (Please reference the award in the subject line.)
Terms of reference for the Awards can be found on the USFA website. Past recipients, current USFA Executive Committee members, members of the Selection Committee and USFA Staff are not eligible.
Awards will be presented at a celebration dinner on the evening of April 7.
The Peter C. Dooley Legacy Award is intended to recognize and celebrate champions of collegial self-governance and to ensure that the role Peter Dooley played as such a champion in making the USFA what it is today is not forgotten. The Dooley Award is given to a person, persons or an organization who has, through a long-term, cumulative contribution or a single, particularly important event or action, championed collegial decision-making and collegial self-governance in Canada.
The Peter T. Millard Award is meant to provide a means for USFA members to acknowledge and recognize other USFA members who, through their activism and involvement in the USFA and with the administration of the Collective Agreement, have been champions on behalf of USFA members and faculty at the University of Saskatchewan. The Millard Award is given to individuals who have assisted and/or supported a USFA member or members, or faculty generally through their involvement in the work of the Association. This assistance and support could be a long-term, cumulative contribution or a single, particularly important event or action.
The USFA Academic Freedom Award is intended to recognize distinguished contributions to understanding and defending Academic Freedom – the freedom of faculty members to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment. The USFA Academic Freedom Award is given to a person, persons or organization who has contributed to the understanding and advancement of the concept of academic freedom at the University of Saskatchewan or elsewhere in Canada through the promotion, defence or exercise of academic freedom.
Senior administration at the University of Saskatchewan appears to be poised to undergo a marked transformation. Of 73 senior administrative positions covered by MoA 2 of the Collective Agreement, 3 are TBA, 11 are Interim, 5 are Acting and 32 have terms that will conclude in 2016. Combined, this represents more than half of all senior administrators at our university.
USFA members have not only a vested interest but also the right to participate fully in the processes of appointing and reappointing senior administrators. The Collective Agreement confirms that the University is committed to follow the Search and Review policies issued by the Board of Governors, and to allow the full range and extent of consultation envisioned by these policies.
If you participate in the search process, you are not powerless.
Especially important, the committee establishes its own procedures. If you serve on a committee that is not given that option, you are within your rights to contact the USFA for advice. Your committee might consider, for example:
Before the process begins, committee members should not be compelled to sign sweeping confidentiality statements that require their silence on all matters related to the process. Once the process is underway, be mindful of the fact that the role of a search consultant, if hired, is advisory. Search consultants are retained to assist with searches. They should not exert undue influence on the process and they should never make decisions for a search committee.
To find out more about faculty’s roles in appointment and review of senior administrators, download the most current issue of Collectively Speaking here, or read the full Search and Review Procedures document here.
Claims for reimbursement for any expenses from any of the benefit plans must be submitted to Sun Life within 90 days of the end of the calendar year in which the expense is incurred. This deadline applies to 2015 claims made under the Dental Plan, Health Plan or Flexible Spending Program (Health Spending Account or Personal Spending Account). Because this is a leap year, the deadline for submitting claims incurred between January 1 and December 31, 2015 is March 30, 2016 not March 31.
The unions on campus are increasingly troubled by labour relations at the University of Saskatchewan. Recent labour updates brought to your attention in the “YouSask Faculty and Staff Newsletter” (email January 26 and February 23, 2016) do not fully describe the situation.
Labour relations extend well beyond the bargaining table. In fact, most of the labour relationship takes place outside of bargaining and the “University’s” approach to it appears to be moving from bad to worse despite notable changes in Administration.
The following has been prepared by some of the unions representing workers at the U of S to provide you with a labour update from their perspectives:
ASPA – Roadblocks & Delays
Over these last few years ASPA seems to be encountering a common theme or themes in our dealings with Human Resources. ASPA has found that the University delays or throws up roadblocks to individual member issues, collective bargaining, or larger joint efforts between the employer and the union.
We’d love to share some examples with all the employees on campus so you can see why it seems to us like nothing ever gets resolved here in a timely fashion:
Grievances
Resolutions to grievances have been hard to obtain. Grievances take a significant amount of time to get to a Stage 1 meeting, if ever. Many of the grievances end up being forwarded to Arbitration prior to a resolve happening. ASPA filed a grievance for members who were denied benefits back in April of 2015, we are still waiting for a Stage 1 hearing. It has been almost a full calendar year and no formal meetings have been offered from the employer to find a resolve. Roadblocks and delays do nothing to help the employees on this campus and they only cost the union and the institution exorbitant amounts of money.
Collective Bargaining
ASPA has just recently achieved a tentative agreement with the employer after one of the longest negotiating periods in ASPA’s history. Negotiations formally began with the employer in November of 2014. ASPA has been without a collective agreement since May 1st 2014. The University used the ultimate delay tactic, by refusing to negotiate and talk with the union bargaining team for months and months on end.
Jurisdictional Review
The longest outstanding piece ASPA finds itself in is the eternal jurisdictional review that began in partnership with the employer, CUPE 1975 and ASPA back in 2008. All three parties have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars in legal bills and mediation over the last 8 years to fix a problem that is largely only that of the employer’s. After countless last minute roadblocks from the employer, all three parties seem to be no closer to a resolve.
These are just a few examples of what we are experiencing in our dealings with the employer.
CUPE 1975 – On September 24, 2015 the University of Saskatchewan chose to file a grievance against CUPE Local 1975 to challenge our right to have a say on the future of our pension plan.
The Employer’s grievance essentially seeks a third party arbitrator to determine if the University can make unilateral changes to the pension plan. In the past, pension changes have been negotiated, as is required by our collective agreement. The Union will respond to the Employer’s grievance to advocate that any changes to the pension plan will continue to be negotiated at the bargaining table. This grievance will be heard by an arbitration panel – NOT the Labour Relations Board as has erroneously been reported on the University of Saskatchewan website.
The Union’s own outstanding pension grievance has also now been referred to arbitration. The Local’s grievance was filed in May of 2013 and had been held in abeyance while pension discussions were ongoing. It asserts a history of improper employer “contribution holidays” (where pension plan surplus was used to reduce the amount the University paid into the plan).
To be clear, the Union’s position is that any changes to the pension plan must be negotiated at the bargaining table. We strongly disagree with both the spirit and substance of the University’s grievance. In our view, this is a time-consuming and wasteful proceeding that can only damage labour relations on campus. As we’ve told the University many times: we remain open to discussing the pension plan in the proper forum: the collective bargaining table.
CUPE Local 1975 will continue to work to protect our members’ pension plan, and to hold the University accountable.
Sessional Lecturers’ Union (CUPE 3287) – Negotiations resumed between the employer and CUPE 3287 on February 3rd after a long hiatus. Progress was made on a number of issues and further bargaining is planned. CUPE 3287, which has been without a contract for a year and a half, is hopeful that negotiations will be concluded and a new collective agreement ratified in the next few months.
Public Service Alliance of Canada – More than 1,100 academic workers at the University of Saskatchewan have joined the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). The bargaining unit was certified by the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board on April 23, 2015 and comprises all registered graduate students, including teaching assistants, teaching fellows, student assistants and research assistants. The academic workers voted 96 per cent in favour of joining PSAC.
In October 2015, a full slate for a local executive was elected as well as bargaining team members. In preparation for bargaining, an online survey was conducted. Student workers and teaching fellows have expressed concerns ranging from unpaid overtime and low or stagnant wages to discrimination on campus and a lack of professional training. The bargaining team and negotiator have finalized a package of demands and will be exchanging the demands with the employer in early March.
While first agreements are always more difficult, we are committed to ensuring a basic level of protection and compensation for our members. We have also filed for certification for post docs at the U of S and are awaiting final decision from the Board.
We look forward to working with other unions on campus to ensure fair working conditions for all.
USFA – The deadline for College of Medicine clinical faculty to confirm acceptance of the voluntary severance package has been extended to May 31, and members still need clarity about future terms and conditions of employment before making such a significant decision. The USFA has serious concerns that the employer has not yet provided appropriate information and we will continue to meet with members, individually or in groups, to ensure they get that information.
Grievance matters are difficult: resolution of grievances internally has been next to impossible and the result is costly arbitrations. As a result, we are proceeding to arbitration on issues to do with the assignment of duties, including the violation of assignment of duties guidelines, discrimination with respect to the assignment of duties, unilateral changes to credit unit values for courses, the combining of two courses into one assignment, and retaliatory actions by a Dean against a member who raised issues with respect to the assignment of duties. In addition, the employer’s inquiry of members about reporting of outside consulting will also proceed to arbitration. We continue to be frustrated that the employer will not expend more effort to find a mutually satisfactory resolution to these issues.
A further labour update for USFA members will be part of the Spring General Membership Meeting, scheduled for April 22, 2016.
Tuesday, March 1
2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Neatby-Timlin Theatre (241 Arts)
Come hear firsthand what each of the provincial parties plan for the immediate future of post-secondary education in Saskatchewan.
The Government of Saskatchewan holds tremendous sway over the state of post-secondary education in our province. The governing party allocates the operating funds post-secondary institutions receive. It chooses which capital projects it will fund. It chooses which research it will support. And, it chooses the majority of appointees to boards that govern post-secondary institutions in Saskatchewan.
What are the provincial parties’ plans for post-secondary education in Saskatchewan? This forum is an opportunity to pose questions of your own about where we are headed and why.
Representatives from the Saskatchewan Party, the New Democratic Party of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative Party and the Green Party of Saskatchewan will be in attendance.
This event is hosted by the Saskatchewan Association of University Teachers (SAUT) in conjunction with the St. Thomas More Faculty Union and the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association. It is not a debate between parties and is open to anyone interested in attending.
SAUT is the voice for more than 2,300 academic and professional staff at Saskatchewan Universities.
Nominations are now open for the Peter C. Dooley Legacy Award, the Peter T. Millard Award and the USFA Academic Freedom Award. In April we will be presenting these awards at a celebration dinner and we encourage you to submit nominations.
Nominations for these Awards can be made by any current USFA member or by any USFA committee. The nomination will take the form of a letter, not more than 1,000 words, from the nominator explaining how the nominee is deserving of the award. Nominators must also include a written agreement from the nominee that the nomination will be accepted. Terms of reference for the Awards can be found on the USFA website. Past recipients, current USFA Executive Committee members, members of the Selection Committee and USFA Staff are not eligible.
Send nominations to:
USFA
Room 20 Education Building
28 Campus Drive
Saskatoon SK S7N 0X1
Or usfa@usaskfaculty.ca (Please reference the award in the subject line.)
The deadline for nomination is 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 7, 2016.
The Peter C. Dooley Legacy Award is intended to recognize and celebrate champions of collegial self-governance and to ensure that the role Peter Dooley played as such a champion in making the USFA what it is today is not forgotten. The Dooley Award is given to a person, persons or an organization who has, through a long-term, cumulative contribution or a single, particularly important event or action, championed collegial decision-making and collegial self-governance in Canada.
The Peter T. Millard Award is meant to provide a means for USFA members to acknowledge and recognize other USFA members who, through their activism and involvement in the USFA and with the administration of the Collective Agreement, have been champions on behalf of USFA members and faculty at the University of Saskatchewan. The Millard Award is given to individuals who have assisted and/or supported a USFA member or members, or faculty generally through their involvement in the work of the Association. This assistance and support could be a long-term, cumulative contribution or a single, particularly important event or action.
The USFA Academic Freedom Award is intended to recognize distinguished contributions to understanding and defending Academic Freedom – the freedom of faculty members to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment. The USFA Academic Freedom Award is given to a person, persons or organization who has contributed to the understanding and advancement of the concept of academic freedom at the University of Saskatchewan or elsewhere in Canada through the promotion, defence or exercise of academic freedom.
In response to mounting frustration expressed by members, in 2013 the USFA Committee on University Administrative Practice consulted faculty about the extent to which university administrative practices supported their teaching and research.
The committee’s report noted that an increasing number of practices impeded or encroached on faculty success as engaged teacher-scholars.
Recently, Service Design and Delivery has proposed a model of support services for faculty that could potentially improve some of these administrative procedures.
This model aims to address some of faculty’s larger concerns, such as the time sink of administrative software (e.g., UniFi, Concur), the onus on faculty to find expertise and information (e.g., “Who do I talk to about this?”), and the disconnect between policy and reality (e.g., when faculty are told “this can’t be done,” when in fact it can).
While these steps may show welcome progress, they do not address another problem flagged in the USFA report of top-down paternalism. Imposing new responsibilities for accountability without providing resources or authority makes work disproportionately harder for faculty, despite promises of improved efficiency.
Will we see an alignment of administrative services culture that truly supports and facilitates the academic mission of the university? (Post TransformUS Priority 8) It might be possible, but only if administrative services are useful, do not impede faculty success as engaged teacher-scholars, and do not turn out to be solutions in search of a problem.
The process of assigning duties for the next academic year will be soon—if it is not already—underway. As a reminder, the Collective Agreement stipulates that duties are to be assigned by your Department Head or Dean following consultation and discussion at a meeting of the faculty in your academic unit (Article 11). This provision is in place to ensure transparency and fairness in this collegial process.
If you are assigned a teaching load that is more than your unit’s normal assigned duties (Article 18.5.1), you are entitled to a stipend—currently $5,500 for a 3-credit course.
Article 11.2.2 specifies that teaching during your designated non-teaching term is overload teaching. In this case, you can negotiate to reduce your teaching load proportionally in other terms instead of receiving the stipend.
Article 11.2.2 also identifies teaching off campus as overload teaching; other examples, however, may not be quite so clear. Duties must be assigned equitably among all members of your academic unit according to the Guidelines for the Assignment of Duties agreed upon by your unit. Assignment of duties must take into consideration the full range of your academic responsibilities, your rank and type of appointment, and your unit’s standards for renewal, tenure and promotion (Article 11.4). In the case of teaching, the process must also take into account priorities for academic programs as well as the individual preferences of employees. For all these reasons individual teaching loads may differ, but it is always worthwhile to ask yourself if you are teaching more than your fair share.
What is your experience with overload teaching? Let us know in a reply to this email.
If you have questions or concerns about assignment of duties or the assignment of teaching duties, simply let us know in a reply to this email and someone will contact you.
To read more, see our “Assignment of Duties Fact Sheet” and our “Equitability in the Assignment of Duties Fact Sheet”.
A new mechanism for faculty performance evaluation is emerging at the U of S under the guise of goal setting. Members are being asked to provide an accounting of their planned achievements for the upcoming year including desired research output, number of publications, and grant applications.
For the most part, the use of this information is unclear. However, some units have been advised that there are plans to use it in the salary review process for awarding merit. We see a real risk for it to be used as a means to discipline when plans fall short.
While it is a valuable exercise to set goals, there is no obligation for members to provide a list of planned achievements for an upcoming year to be used in performance review (whether in terms of salary review or any other collegial process). With the exception of Assignment of Duties, which does not prescribe what members are to achieve, processes in our Collective Agreement are retrospective. Other than a CV update, it is your choice as to what information goes before salary review committees (Article 17.5.6(ii)). This information and salary review standards consistent with Article 17.2 of the Collective Agreement are the means for evaluation in the salary review process (Article 17.1.3.1); not the contrast between what you would like to achieve and your actual output.
The USFA Executive strongly encourages members to clearly understand the purpose for providing this information and how it will be used. And, contact the USFA immediately if it is being used as the basis for evaluation in the salary review process.