BUFA Collective Bargaining 2023

BUFA’s current Collective Agreement expires on June 30, 2023. In preparation for negotiations, BUFA has consulted members through a survey, thematic meetings, unit meetings, and individual communications in order to establish the key priorities for this round of bargaining.

On December 6, 2022, these priorities were presented at a BUFA membership meeting, and a vote was held, with over 99% of voting members supporting the bargaining mandate. To learn more about some of our key bargaining priorities, click the links bellow.

*Click on each image to view the full articles.

2023 BUFA Bargaining Mandate:

Preserve educational quality and improve the student experience

• • Push for renewal program that would increase the net number of permanent faculty and professional librarian positions and provide more attractive retirement options
  • Maintain the cap on courses taught by non-BUFA members
  • Introduce language to ensure adequate pedagogical supports for faculty members

Build up supports for research, scholarship, creative activity, and unscheduled teaching

• • Secure course releases to recognize significant levels of research, scholarly and/or creative activity, student supervisions, and/or other forms of unscheduled teaching
  • Increase university funding for conference travel and computer allowance
  • Simplify the annual review submission process
  • Secure minimum course releases for directors of research centres and institutes members

Provide greater scheduling protections for members

• • Resist push to allow Deans further discretion to schedule faculty to teach on weekends
  • Build in additional member protections in relation to Spring/Summer teaching

Work to address collective agreement issues as they relate to equity, diversity, and inclusion

• • Conduct an equity audit of the tenure and promotion process
  • Request collection of demographic data to better inform university policy on EDI
  • Integrate parameters for targeted hiring programs into the Collective Agreement
  • Revise Employment Equity clause to allow applicants to self-identify as Black
  • Add domestic violence as a category for leave
  • Support the establishment of gender affirmation benefit supports

Defend measures to preserve transparency, consultation, and collegial decision-making in the selection of senior academic administrators

Improve terms and conditions of work for professional librarians

• • Introduce a mechanism to address the need for leave replacement
  • Secure more flexible work arrangements for professional librarians

Explore ways to increase job security for limited term faculty

Maintain fair and reasonable compensation and benefit levels that preserve our relative position in total compensation compared to other Ontario universities

• • Explore ways to strengthen faculty and professional librarian rights and protections related to financial exigency

Other issues

• • In addition to these core goals, the Negotiating Team will streamline and clarify language where appropriate and engage in routine contract language housekeeping
  • We will also engage meaningfully with any issues the Administration brings to the table

In order to secure these priorities, and more, we need BUFA members to be active and engaged throughout the collective bargaining process. For information on how to get involved, please contact your unit’s Contract Action Team Representative. If you do not know your unit’s Contract Action Team Representative, please contact: Jonah Butovsky, Chair of the BUFA Contract Action Team.

Share your experience: Gabriel Velasco, BUFA’s Organizing and Mobilization Officer is collecting member feedback and details about how these issues affect BUFA members.

A better contract, makes a better Brock!

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