News Archive
Spend Unused Credits!
November 24, 2023 | All News
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 …
October “Unions Working Together” Meeting
November 24, 2023 | All News
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 …
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CAUT Weighs in on University Council Election Irregularities
November 23, 2023 | All News
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 …
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Mind the Gap: Divergent Perspectives on Faculty Workload
November 17, 2023 | All News
Read the November 15, 2023 issue of VOX here.
APEF Grievance Minutes of Settlement
November 17, 2023 | All News
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, …
Celebrate with the Afghan school girls who escaped the Taliban
November 9, 2023 | All News
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 …
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No Merit in Professors Emeriti
September 14, 2023 | All News
Read the September 12, 2023 issue of VOX here.
Bargaining update
June 30, 2023 | All News
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 …
Important Report: Joint Workload Committee
June 15, 2023 | All News
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 …
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Laurentian Fired Faculty Distress Fund Appeal
May 31, 2023 | All News
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 …
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Collectively Speaking May 2023 – Involvement Matters
May 9, 2023 | All News
Whether its involvement in the USFA or involvement in our university, it matters. In this issue of Collectively Speaking, USFA Chair Geraldine Balzer offers suggestions on ways you can become involved. She provides one member’s take on the benefits of being involved in university governance and offers insight into why more and more faculty association …
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Let’s Join our PhD students and Postdocs in their National Walkout Campaign 11:00 a.m. on May 1 in the Bowl
May 1, 2023 | All News
Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers across Canada are planning to walk out at 11:00 a.m. on 1 May in protest at government-funded salaries that have remained flat since 2003. Support our Science, a grassroots group, is organizing a national student walkout hoping to get the attention of decision makers in Ottawa. “Federal scholarships – $17,500 for a master’s …
Workers Day of Mourning April 28th
April 25, 2023 | All News
Because the day is “important as a means of mourning for the dead while fighting for the living,” professor and graduate chair Liz Quinlan with the Department of Sociology will lay the USFA wreath at the Saskatoon & District Labour Council’s ceremony as she has for the past 5 years. Show your support for workers …
Important Event: General Academic Assembly April 6 at Noon, Convocation Hall
April 4, 2023 | All News
The USFA Executive Committee encourages members to get involved, not just in the USFA but in the governance of the University. One of the easiest ways to be involved is to attend the annual meeting of the General Academic Assembly (GAA). This year, the GAA meeting is at Noon this Thursday, April 6 in Convocation Hall. The GAA is established …
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Council Elections: still murky
March 20, 2023 | All News
There is no reason to object to Deans as College Representatives on University Council. In fact, Council Bylaws, and the Act, are written to allow Deans to be a College Representative when there are no nominations under the appropriate section. There is, however, every reason to object to an impromptu reinterpretation of the Bylaws of …
Your Council: It’s not over yet
March 15, 2023 | All News
On Monday the University Governance Office sent an email to faculty members, specifying that, “Upon recommendation of the Governance Committee of Council, in light of interpretations of The University of Saskatchewan Act, 1995, and University Council Bylaws (2022) that occurred after the original call for nominations was open, nominations for University Council will remain open until March …
Collectively Speaking – March 2023 Teaching Evaluations
March 9, 2023 | All News
Our latest issue of Collectively Speaking is about teaching evaluations. Anxiety inducing for faculty, particularly untenured faculty and faculty seeking promotion, the Association regularly receives questions about teaching evaluations from members. This issue of Collectively Speaking poses some of those questions and offers information and advice in response. Download Collectively Speaking
USFA Members, Take Back Your Council!
March 6, 2023 | All News
This week we heard some disturbing news from USFA members who had chosen to run for University Council as college representatives. Questions are being asked as to whether there is an attempt to manipulate council elections. There are 28 college representative position vacancies (two for each of the 14 colleges), as defined under article 53(2) …
Be the voice of experience and change
February 22, 2023 | All News
The University Secretary recently emailed an invitation for nominations to replace 46 faculty members of University Council whose terms expire on June 30, 2023. Deadline for nominations is February 24th at 4:30 p.m. If you wish to nominate yourself or have been nominated by a colleague, you can go to the following link to fill out …
Sessional Lecturers Bargaining Update: USask admin forcing vote on final offer
February 21, 2023 | All News
We learned last week that members of CUPE 3287, which represents sessional lecturers at the U of S, are in the midst of a forced vote on an “Employer Best and Final Offer to Settle Tentative Agreement.” Voting concludes March 7. The union’s bargaining team is not recommending acceptance of the offer. In fact, it …
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