Faculty Bargaining Bulletin: Vol. 9, No. 4

UWOFA and the Employer met for bargaining on July 9, 10, 13 and 14. These were our last days before pausing negotiations for a few weeks over the summer. During these sessions, both parties tabled compensation proposals, completing the initial exchange of almost all proposals that will shape the remainder of this round of bargaining.

UWOFA’s compensation proposal reflects the priorities for which you, our Members, have mandated us to bargain. It is designed to address not only the pay gap between Western and comparator universities but also, more importantly, the erosion of Members’ purchasing power. Over the life of the recent collective agreement, salary increases have not kept pace with inflation, leaving Members worse off in real terms as the cost of living has risen sharply.

Our proposal recognizes that a renewed collective agreement must do more than simply close the gap with comparators and keep up with the rate of inflation forecast for the next few years. It must also contribute to restoring the purchasing power Members have lost in recent years, while recognizing the value of their teaching, research,  scholarship, and service. For Part-Time Members, UWOFA’s proposal includes not only a raise to the minimum rate of pay per course, but also a substantial increase in pay in lieu of benefits.  For Full-Time Members, in addition to base salary increases, UWOFA’s proposal includes improvements to the breakpoints and salary point values in the merit-pay component of the compensation structure, a larger allocation to the career trajectory fund to address salary anomalies,  and elimination of the sabbatical leave pay cut. For all Members who are in the Academic Pension Plan, it includes a significant increase in the percentage of pay the Employer contributes. 

The initial proposal presented by the Employer does not sufficiently address the problem of Members’ lost buying power. As we demonstrate in the Every Budget is a Choice report, Western’s solid financial situation allows it to do better in funding the academic mission,  and UWOFA’s proposals reflect the view that investing in faculty is an investment in the teaching, research, scholarship, and service that are at the core of that mission. 

Beyond compensation, considerable work remains to be done on other issues at the table when bargaining resumes. This includes clarifying the definition of the scholarship activities performed by Teaching Scholar Track Members, meaningful improvements to the workload article, job security for contract faculty, guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence, advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and accessibility, and ensuring that instructional labour performed at the Western International College, an entity established by the Employer through a partnership with the private firm Navitas, is properly governed by the collective agreement.

Several matters have been clarified in discussions at the table, and we have been able to sign off on some revisions to articles pertaining mostly to administrative aspects of the collective agreement. While bargaining is progressing more or less as expected and all but a few proposals have been exchanged, there remains considerable work ahead to reach an agreement that addresses the priorities that you, our Members, have mandated us to negotiate. Your negotiating team has communicated clearly to the Employer what we need for an agreement and we are hoping for movement in that direction on the major issues when the teams return to the table later in the summer. 

Negotiations will resume on August 24 And we will keep you informed as bargaining progresses.