Dear UTFA Colleagues,
Following the presidential election, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you, the membership. We extend sincere gratitude to all the members who invested time and energy into the two presidential election campaigns. Articulating different visions and possibilities for the future of our membership and institution sparked vital dialogue and helped open new paths and possibilities. You demonstrated what issues matter most to you and why, and you helped others articulate their values and priorities. Regardless of what team you stood with, now is the time that we resume our work together, unified, in the face of the significant challenges and exciting opportunities before us. Over 60% of our membership voted (that is a significantly higher voter turnout than the last federal election!) and this speaks to the vitality of our organization. As a democratic Association, UTFA gains its strength from having an informed, engaged, and active membership, so let’s continue building the momentum!
As the winter term begins to wrap up, our attention turns to the Annual General Meeting. We are delighted to formally invite you to UTFA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, April 25, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Register here. As always, we encourage you to write to us with any questions you may have ahead of time, as part of the registration process.
This year’s AGM will highlight breaking news from UTFA’s Chief Negotiators on the advances made on faculty and librarian housing, retiree health benefits and access to software, PTR, and the wider current negotiations with the Administration. Perhaps most importantly, the AGM will feature a panel discussion on “The State of Play of Academic Labour” in Canada and the U.S. with a focus on certification and other responses to the current challenges by faculty associations in research-intensive universities. It will feature colleagues from McGill, Michigan State, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), who will inform our ongoing inquiry into how to strengthen our current Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). Join us as we explore how we can redefine a relationship with the Administration to enhance our rights within a collegial context and learn more about the different possibilities for institutional governance from the panel members. Also on the AGM agenda is the much-anticipated presentation of the Academic Citizenship Award.
More details, including the UTFA AGM Newsletter containing important reports from Executive members, will follow. Register for the AGM here.
Sincerely,
Deborah Cowen
Chair, UTFA Membership Committee
Terezia Zorić
UTFA President
On behalf of the UTFA Executive