About Us

The UBCFA acts as the bargaining agent of all faculty, librarians and program directors employed by the University of British Columbia and regulates relations between our members and the University through collective bargaining.

The Faculty Association of the University of British Columbia was formed in 1920 for the purpose of facilitating members’ social and employment relationship with the University. The Faculty Association is a registered non-profit society incorporated under the Societies Act in British Columbia. Since 2000, we have also been a voluntarily recognized union and the sole bargaining agent for our more than 3,700 members under the protection and rules of the Labour Relations Code of British Columbia. We are responsible for representing our members in matters arising out of the Collective Agreement, including matters that form most of the terms and conditions of the employment relationship between a member and the University more generally.

The Faculty Association also represents the interests of the faculty at UBC beyond matters in the Collective Agreement. Article 16 of our Collective Agreement states: “Nothing in the Collective Agreement shall be interpreted as restricting the role of the Faculty Association in representing the interests of its members at the University. The University recognizes that this role traditionally has extended, and will continue to extend, beyond the matters to which the Collective Agreement relates.” Whatever your concern or request, the Faculty Association will do its best to assist you.

100 Years of History

The Faculty Association celebrated its 100 Year Anniversary in 2020. Not surprisingly, the issues we’re dealing with currently would not be unfamiliar to our predecessors – academic freedom, equity, salaries and fairness, among many others. We’ve attempted to condense the Association’s century of service to faculty into a brief presentation that provides an overview of our history. Although it contains only a fraction of the material from our archives, we hope that it serves to represent the years of hard work and dedication of the membership. View the presentation.

Interested in Volunteering?

The Faculty Association relies on the volunteer efforts of its members. As a member you can run for elected office, volunteer on a committee, assist us with expert research or advice, or provide support in a variety of other ways. If you are interested in helping with the work of the Association, please contact us.