David Porreca, FAUW President, 21 June 2023

The Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo is at an important moment in its history. During a long and difficult policy negotiation process with the university administration regarding lecturers’ terms and conditions of work, our association Board passed a motion on June 9 “that FAUW supports the unionization of Lecturers within FAUW and will commence a certification drive to that end.”

By way of providing a clear picture of how we came to this decision, and how we can move forward together, I have written a series of blog posts. I want to begin this series of blog posts with a reminder of what FAUW has managed to accomplish for its membership over time, lecturers and regular faculty members alike in most cases – note that some items are more recent than others:

• For lecturers: A reduction in course load from seven to six per year, at substantial cost to the institution
• For lecturers: “Two-years-less-a-day” contracts have been abolished, such that those on two-year contracts are now eligible for benefits
• For lecturers: Salary floors and thresholds raised substantially (à two negotiations ago)
• For lecturers: A two-week vacation carryover that does not expire until the individual has a non-teaching term
• For all: A 5% raise over two years, during an economic downturn, at substantial cost to the institution (this is on top of the regular salary negotiations that will resume this Fall and into next year on their regular schedule)
• For all: Eye care benefit of $85/yr, which is infinitely better than nothing (which is what we had until the last round of bargaining). Moreover, because it’s tax-free, amounts to +/- 2x that amount; other higher ed institutions have other deals that may look better on this particular item, but our benefits package is likely better than theirs in other respects (FAUW’s benefits negotiations have focused on ensuring that members are protected against the costs of catastrophic illness – it has chosen to prioritize members who have the greatest medical needs)
• For all: Better compassionate care and bereavement leaves, with no waiting period for new hires
• Better parental leave benefits
• Better access to retirement benefits
• A pension plan that is among the most robust in the province
• A better process for disability accommodations
• Better dental benefits than previously
• A regular salary anomaly review process

But is it enough? No, because you are telling us it’s not, and we are listening. Stay tuned for Part II: What Does “certification within FAUW” Involve?