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| Department Chairs & Coordinators “Everyone understands that becoming Chair means giving up on research, and giving up on promotion” – FA Member |
| As part of last Fall’s bargaining consultations, we spoke to department chairs and coordinators to get a better sense of their unique vantage point and specific concerns. What we learned is that chairs and coordinators often experience significant obstacles to advocating on behalf of FA members and supporting students. These obstacles include: – Increased workload resulting from downloading of administrative tasks – Significantly reduced administrative support – Greater responsibility but less discretion in administrative matters – Insufficient resources for maintaining programs – Inadequate backfill for course releases – Little recognition of their work in tenure/promotion processes Taken together, these factors clearly introduce significant obstacles to an already challenging situation. Moreover, they make it increasingly difficult to develop a robust succession plan which is absolutely vital for maintaining existing programs and supporting our students. But it doesn’t have to be this way! The working conditions of our chairs and coordinators has a significant impact on our working conditions and our students’ learning conditions. Standing together, we can demand adequate resources and reasonable workloads for our chairs and coordinators. We can secure supports and working conditions that incentivize rather than dissuade FA members from taking on these important responsibilities. We can create an environment that prioritizes our students’ education rather than an ever-increasing managerialism and bureaucracy. You are UPEI As we head into bargaining for our next Collective Agreement, we have an opportunity to make sure that UPEI Administration hears our concerns and acts on them. The key to success is collective action: there has never been a better time for us to work together on issues that affect academic staff, students, UPEI workers, and the entire Island community. Here’s how you can do your part: Talk to us: Tell us how these issues have been affecting you HERE. Get involved: Join us for regular meetings and consider joining an FA committee or serving as a grievance officer. Show your support: Use our downloadable logos as your photo for online meetings and lectures. Download them HERE. Stay in the loop: to prevent communications disruptions as we head into negotiations, share your personal email address HERE. Stay social: share social media content to help spread the word. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook by clicking on the icons below. Together, We Are UPEI. Collective Bargaining 101 In a non-unionized environment, workers negotiate their working conditions with their employers on an individual basis. In this environment, individual workers often have more difficulty negotiating favourable terms and little recourse should an employer decline to adhere to the negotiated terms of an employment contract. In contrast, in a unionized environment workers are in a position to bargain collectively to improve their working conditions. At UPEI, our collective agreement is between the UPEI Board of Governors and the UPEI Faculty Association which is recognized under the PEI Labour Act as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all UPEI academic teaching staff (Bargaining Unit #1) and clinical veterinary professionals (Bargaining Unit #2). The negotiated terms of our collective agreement outline the obligations of both parties in our working environment and provides robust mechanisms (grievance/arbitration) for addressing collective agreement violations for the duration of our agreement. Our collective agreement also identifies specific timelines and procedures for renegotiating our collective agreement. In anticipation of our collective agreement expiring on July 1, 2022, the UPEI Faculty Association has been busy preparing for the next round of bargaining. The following provides a rough timeline of preparations up to the present: March 2021 FA participates in CAUT Chief Negotiators Workshop April 2021 FA members appoint the UPEIFA Bargaining Team July 2021 FA Executive Committee / Negotiations Team participate in CAUT Collective Bargaining Workshop August-October 2021 FA Strikes a Bargaining Committee and begins Member Consultations November 2021 FA sends out the Bargaining Survey to all FA Members December 2021 FA Members vote unanimously in support of FA Bargaining Mandate December 2021 – Present FA Bargaining Team drafts bargaining language in consultation with FA Members |
Week 4 – Chairs & Coordinators
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Latest news
- 2023-2024 Awards and Scholarships Committee Report
- The UPEIFA is inviting applications for the position of Executive Director
- UPEIFA is participating in @CAUT_ACPPU’s Parliament Hill Day
- Nomination received for Member at Large position on the Faculty Association’s Executive Committee
- UPEIFA Office Closed from August 18-28
Other news
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CBC – “Faculty Association says COVID-19 case linked to UPEI not properly communicated”
Case was announced Saturday, link to UPEI only confirmed publicly on Tuesday. CBC News · Posted: Sep 28, 2021 8:27 PM AT | Last Updated: September 28 The UPEI Faculty Association says staff members are concerned about the lack of information from the university about a recent COVID-19 case connected to the school. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather…
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2023-2024 Awards and Scholarships Committee Report
The Awards and Scholarships Committee oversees awards and scholarships that are sponsored and co-sponsored by the Faculty Association, as well as the events celebrating FA award recipients. I would be remiss if I did not mention the hard work and efforts of the Chair of this committee from May 2023 – February 2024, Nadja Bressan.…
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The UPEIFA is inviting applications for the position of Executive Director
The UPEIFA is inviting applications for the position of Executive Director. Members are invited to share this posting through their networks. Review of applications will commence February 26, and continue until the position is filled. Please contact Simon Lloyd ([email protected] / 902-566-0536) with any questions regarding the search process. Link to Full job posting available here:…
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UPEIFA is participating in @CAUT_ACPPU’s Parliament Hill Day
November 23, 2023 UPEIFA is participating in @CAUT_ACPPU’s Parliament Hill Day to advocate for accessible and affordable PSE in Canada, better protections for public PSE institutions and stronger supports for research and science. #CAUTLobby2023 #cdnPSE #canlab UPEIFA President Michael Arfken met with PEI Senator Jane MacAdam, Charlottetown MP Sean Casey, Senator Percy Downe, Senators Brian…