We are now on a summer break from bargaining with the UBC administration. You have questions, we have answers:
- Does this mean we’re past the end of the contract? Yes, as in almost all of the bargaining rounds since 2006, we weren’t able to conclude our negotiations before the end of the contract (June 30th). The University negotiators were not able to meet with us before late April/early May.
- Can we still rely on the terms of the Collective Agreement? Yes, the general terms of the Collective Agreement remain in force while we negotiate.
- Will we have to wait until there’s a new Agreement to get our salary increases? Merit, PSA and CPI, as well as the 1% lump-sum payment, are now given out regardless of whether or not we have a new agreement in place, so these will come to you on time. General salary increases will be applied retroactively once we have a tentative agreement ratified by you, the members, or once we have an Arbitration award, should we fail to reach agreement at the table.
- Are some of the proposals already agreed upon yet? We have some agreement in principle on a few matters, but these are contingent on the whole process, which likely won’t conclude until late in the fall term.
- How are negotiations proceeding? They are proceeding about as expected; without a clear sense of the province’s final input on general wage increases yet, many issues are unresolvable at this point. We work at finding win-win solutions where we can, though of course not at the expense of your interests.
- What have you achieved so far? Here’s what we’ve done to date:
- We have exchanged what are called Day Ones: the specific (or broad) issues we want to bring to the table. These lay out the general contours for this bargaining round. The Faculty Association has also tabled specific proposals on a number of issues: improvements to the tenure and promotion process; working conditions for Sessional Lecturers; student experience surveys; improvements for Librarians and Archivists; equity and inclusion commitments; improvements to leaves. Aside from monetary issues (salaries and benefits), we have key workload proposals and improvements for Lecturers that we will present in the fall.
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- We have also spent time on “counters,” suggested revisions to the University’s proposals.
- At the bargaining table, we take time to ask questions, seek clarification, and understand each other’s intentions, so that we can more productively (where possible) find common cause or appreciate what is at stake for the other party. Such understanding is crucial in bargaining.
- Communication: We are drafting bargaining posts so that we can share the rationales for proposals we have tabled with all of the FA membership and respond to your comments and questions. Watch for these over the summer, and please feel free to write us with information, expertise, ideas, experiences, or questions. These are all very helpful to us.
7. What are you doing over the summer? We will be organizing our fall bargaining
sessions in advance. We will also be researching any issues for which more
information, more precedents, or more perspectives might be useful. We will be
tracking the provincial landscape as other public-sector unions work toward
possible settlements. We’ll be publishing bargaining posts. Lastly, we will lay
the preliminary groundwork for arbitration, should we need that option.
8. Do you know yet when you expect to finish negotiations? No, we don’t know yet
when we will have a tentative deal or reach impasse. We are available to be back
at the bargaining table in September, hopeful as always that we can reach
agreement.
Thank you as always for your support, suggestions, and queries.
