Bargaining Updates: ULFA

The parties met once again to move bargaining forward and continue to work on a new collective agreement for the academic staff.  The parties exchanged 20 proposals for review and consideration.  This led to positive and productive conversations. The parties resolved two articles during these sessions and the Board looks forward to continued discussions with ULFA on the larger outstanding articles in the meetings to come. 

Between now and the Winter Break, the parties have 7 upcoming meetings scheduled. The parties are now working to schedule additional negotiation dates in the Winter term in order to continue to work towards a mutually beneficial collective agreement that serves the needs of the University community.  

As you know from earlier communications, we believe that interactions between ULFA and the Board’s teams have been positive and constructive. We were surprised to see a communication from ULFA on October 9, 2024 referencing “a lengthy interval of inaction” regarding an Essential Services Agreement (ESA).

Both ULFA and the Board have been regularly engaged in numerous communications back and forth related to the process. If you have any concerns about the timeliness of communications, we encourage you to reach out to the Board Team for more information. In the spirit of constructive dialogue seen so far, we have reached out to ULFA to ask that if they have any concerns they first raise them with us directly.

We are committed to constructive interactions to reach agreements on each step in the process.

On September 9 and 10, the Board team and ULFA continued to work collaboratively on the development of a collective agreement that will serve the university community well.

In our commitment to an interest-based conversation and with the goal of building momentum, the Board team sought helpful details and clarity on the rationale surrounding the objectives of some of ULFAs proposals. Both parties shared interests underlying some of the proposals and found significant common ground between them.

Flowing from the two-day series of discussions, the Board team reviewed then responded to articles 6 (Communication and Information), 25 (Personnel Committees), 26 (STP Committee Procedures), 28 (Promotion of Members), and 29 (Appeals of Recommendations by STP Committees and Appeal Committees) to accompany the seventeen proposals exchanged previously; some of which are the subject of continued discussion. The ULFA team modified then accepted Article 36 (Professional Librarians). Several cross proposals are being reviewed by each party respectively.

We will be meeting again October 17 and 18 to continue the process. Between now and then, the Board team will consult with a variety of parties, gather necessary information to support decision making, draft a mutually beneficial teaching professoriate proposal, and research and review labour market standards. The Board team is working diligently to reach a substantive and beneficial collective agreement.

We look forward to receiving proposals from ULFA that will advance the process.

As we begin a new academic year, we would like to provide an update on bargaining with ULFA. ULFA and the Board’s Bargaining Team have met six (6) times since May 21, 2024. By July 25, the full non-monetary packages were tabled by both parties.

Most recently, we met on August 27 and 28. While proposals have been exchanged on a number of items, the main focus was developing a better understanding of the interests surrounding the creation of a teaching professoriate. Informed by the recommendations made by the Working Group on a teaching professoriate, the parties had a fruitful interest-based discussion.

The Working Group Report recommended the negotiating teams consider the feasibility of starting with the conversion of five Instructor III positions from across the University to full teaching professors. The Board’s Bargaining Team shares the belief that a Teaching Professoriate is desirable at the University of Lethbridge. We are considering the viability of creating a new stream of ranks for a Teaching Professoriate that would apply to all Instructors IIIs. That rank structure would mirror the existing rank structure typically found in a research stream. We believe this approach will create a strong foundation for the development of a teaching professoriate that meets the interests of the University community.

The discussion has informed our thinking, and we are undertaking further review with the goal of coming back to the table with a response in due course. Our focus is on how to accommodate the desire of some instructors to engage in scholarly work related to Scholarship of Teaching and Learning or educational leadership, the redistribution of workload on a fixed term basis, and the fiscal implications of such a proposal. It was fulsome discussion and number of issues were raised that require further consideration. The Board's Bargaining Team has committed to providing a written proposal on a teaching professoriate as soon as possible.

We thank ULFA for raising these thoughtful and important considerations and we look forward to getting back together on September 9 and 10.

On July 24 and 25, 2024, ULFA and the Board’s Team met to bargain collectively. The conversations were constructive and productive. Both parties have tabled their remaining proposals, except for Schedule A (Salary Schedules and Stipends). These newly tabled substantive proposals frame the decision-making process moving forward and can be found here .

We want to draw to your attention to two of the Board’s proposals in particular, Article 23 (now proposed as Performance Evaluation) and Article 24 (now proposed as Merit Awards), which are found here. Jennifer Copeland, a member of the Board’s Team, undertook a scan of career progress and merit award provisions within the Canadian Post Secondary sector. The Board’s Team then developed a thoughtful and comprehensive redesign of Articles 23 and 24, that we believe significantly improves the performance evaluation and merit process and will better serve the interests of the academic staff and other stakeholders.

The proposal includes:

• Separation of career progress and merit.
• Pathways for Instructors/Academic Assistants to be eligible for career progress increments and merit awards.
• Alignment of the processes for career progress and merit between Faculty Members/Professional Librarians and Instructors/Academic Assistants.
• Collegial governance and peer review in the context of academic merit.
• A more straightforward and transparent process that is intended to reduce the workload of academic staff, staff and administrators.

We invite you to review the proposals and if you have any questions, feel free to contact Jennifer Copeland or Lisa Starr.

We hope to continue working collaboratively using an interest-based approach to develop the best process for the University of Lethbridge.

On May 21 and May 22, 2024, the Board’s Team met with ULFA at which time we presented our objectives. You will see that in this round of negotiations, amongst other things, the Board’s presentation is framed by the following objectives:

• We shared our commitment to reasonable pay and benefits. We have a mutual interest in attracting and retaining a strong academic staff.
• Flexibility to ensure the University can respond to the challenges we all face in an uncertain and evolving operating environment.
• Nimble and reasonable processes and procedures to reduce time spent in unproductive activities that do not add real value and reach quicker decisions without any discernable impact on outcomes.
• Long term labour stability.

The Board’s Team is committed to accommodating shared interests throughout the process. We had positive and productive conversations and found there is more that unites us than divides us.

The Boards team also tabled our ingoing proposal which you can find here. We took two approaches. First, we provided language in some places outlining proposed changes to the collective agreement aligned with our four main objectives. Second, we initiated a productive, interest-based conversation regarding Article 23 Evaluation Procedures, Article 9 Grievance and Interpretation, and Article 19 Supervision and Discipline. We were pleased with the positive discussions and shared interests expressed regarding these articles. We have committed to table proposals regarding benefits and Articles 23, 9, and 19 in upcoming meetings.

The Board’s Team has not tabled adjustments to Salaries and Stipends (Schedule A) at this time. We are adopting a common approach used in collective bargaining and will table our proposed economic adjustments once we understand whether any of ULFA’s proposals add costs to the operations. As we say, this is a typical approach, one we are using productively in our other negotiations with AUPE, ULGSA, and ULPA.

ULFA has not yet tabled its substantive ingoing proposal.

We will be meeting further throughout the summer. We are pleased with the tone and tenor of negotiations to date and look forward to next steps.

The Board’s Negotiating Team and ULFA met on April 22, 2024, and began the process for negotiating a renewal of the Collective Agreement covering the Academic Staff’s terms and conditions of employment. A bargaining protocol was settled with a timeline for identifying the items that will be opened for negotiation and the exchange of proposals. It is clear we all share an interest in ensuring the interests of all the stakeholders in our community are fairly and reasonably addressed.

We will be meeting on May 21 and 22, 2024, and look forward to open and candid discussions.

On Thursday March 28, 2024, the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors received a notice to bargain from the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA). As part of the collective bargaining process, the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors has now officially responded to ULFA and asked for suggestions for opening dates to begin discussions.

Arriving at a new collective agreement that supports the work of our faculty and allows the University of Lethbridge to thrive as one of Canada’s leading academic and research institutions is our primary objective. The University Board is committed to negotiate in a positive, constructive and transparent manner.

Our university community understands that an agreement will only occur when meaningful dialogue occurs between parties. The Board negotiating team believes that there is nothing that can’t be resolved through mutual hard work and honest conversations at the bargaining table.

The U of L has undergone historic leadership renewal since the ratification of the current agreement and they bring a renewed commitment to arriving at a deal with a focus on shared interests.

As this campus community knows too well, the last round of bargaining was extremely difficult and led to a labour disruption. Late in that process the Board added Dwayne Chomyn to its bargaining team, and he was critical to reaching an agreement. Through that experience, the Board learned the value of drawing upon an experienced labour relations professional to bring a steady, constructive, and productive approach to bargaining discussion. For that reason, the Board has communicated to ULFA that Dwayne will serve as chief spokesperson for the Board negotiating team throughout this round of bargaining.

As progress is made in this current round of negotiations, the University will share updates with the community as part of its commitment to transparency. These can be found on the labour relations section of the new Human Resources website that was recently launched.