Briefing Note – Building a Bargaining Mandate for 2019

Collective bargaining is slated to begin in February 2019. This briefing note will outline what our bargaining preparation process looks like and how we will engage with all Members to work towards final ratification of the Bargaining Principles document (bargaining mandate).

A bargaining mandate backed by strong and united Membership support will amplify our negotiating power at the table. As we develop the 2019 Bargaining Principles document, it is crucial for us to engage with you to identify the issues that affect you most. It is our hope that robust preparation for bargaining will provide the clarity and unity we need to develop a strong mandate.

Our Process to Date

Preparations for bargaining started in January 2018 with the first meeting of our Collective Agreement Committee (CAC). The CAC identified research priorities for bargaining issues, and began the work of laying out the pre-bargaining preparation process from January 2018 through February 2019. In order to address the diversity of Member issues and the complexity of the Collective Agreement, the CAC established a number of working groups focussed on various constituencies and issues, including:

• Compensation (Salary, Benefits, Leaves)
• Equity
• Evaluation (RPT, CES, Merit)
• Membership Services (Discipline, Grievance, Arbitration)
• Research Support
• Chairs & Directors
• Teaching Faculty
• Librarians
• Early-In-Career Faculty
• Approaching Retirement

These working groups are tasked with identifying research priorities, developing survey questions, engaging with Members, and reporting back to the CAC.

During the Winter Term, our first phase of Member consultation began with departmental presentations, Faculty Feedback Cafés on issues of merit and workload, and pre-bargaining workshops for Teaching Faculty and Chairs & Directors. The following key priorities have emerged from your feedback so far:

• Salary
• Workload
• Evaluation
• Benefits
  • Paramedical (chiropractor, physiotherapy, etc.)
  • Tuition Waivers
  • Study Leave

During the Summer Term, the CAC worked on research, survey development, and planning for Member engagement events in the Fall Term.

Next Steps

Our focus this fall will be to continue to develop our Bargaining Principles through consultation with you. The next step is targeted Member bargaining surveys (see schedule below) as well as Faculty Feedback Cafés and drop-in sessions to discuss the bargaining mandate. At the Fall 2018 Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) on December 6, 2018, Members will be invited to comment on a draft of the bargaining mandate. The mandate will be presented for ratification in early 2019.

Collective bargaining surveys will begin in mid-September. These will be a series of short, participant-friendly surveys covering specific topics. This approach will enable us to report on the survey results in time for the Fall 2018 OGM. The results of these surveys will inform the bargaining mandate, as well as specific contract proposals.

Survey	Estimated Start Date	Estimated End Date
Teaching Faculty Teaching Faculty Only	September 21, 2018	September 30, 2018
Workload All Members	September 27, 2018	October 9, 2018
Evaluation All Members	October 4, 2018	October 14, 2018
Librarians Librarians Only	October 15, 2018	October 25, 2018
Research All Members	October 15, 2018	October 25, 2018
Retirement All Members	October 31, 2018	November 10, 2018
Compensation All Members	November 13, 2018	November 23, 2018
Chairs & Directors Department Chairs & Directors Only	November 15, 2018	November 25, 2018

The Fall 2018 series of Feedback Cafés are another key element in our consultation process, and will help us to refine the draft Bargaining Principles document. These cafés are an opportunity for specific groups of Members to meet with us and have a more nuanced discussion of issues they face.

September 2018		October 2018		November 2018
When:   Where: Topic:	September 26, 2018 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM U-Club Member Lounge Bargaining Issues: Teaching Faculty	When:   Where: Topic:	October 24, 2018 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM U-Club Member Lounge Bargaining Issues: Indigenous Faculty	When:   Where: Topic:	November 28, 2018 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM U-Club Member Lounge Bargaining Issues: Early-in-Career Faculty

 This is the first in a series of briefing notes that will provide all Members with comprehensive information about bargaining preparation, specific bargaining issues, and the collective bargaining process itself. All briefing notes and survey results will be available in the Members-only portal of the Association website. If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for access to the portal at www.uvicfa.ca.

 If you want to provide feedback on the pre-bargaining process as laid out in this briefing note, please email Ben Johnson at [email protected].

ATTACHMENT: UVICFA – Building A Bargaining Mandate for 2019