October 29th, 2021

The Association Executive is only as effective as its ability to connect with members, respond to issues as they arise, and develop positions that accurately reflect the real concerns of SFU faculty. We are working on strategies to improve member communications, build stronger informal networks, and enhance member engagement and consultation. We hope that the following three initiatives – two of them new – will help us become a stronger and more effective organization as we move into the next round of collective bargaining and beyond:

These ad hoc groups will meet periodically as required and subject to member availability – that is, no particular time commitment is required, and all will operate on the basis of their members’ availability and interest. We hope that these initiatives might help us to become stronger and more effective, and we invite all members to join us in any of the following.

Please email [email protected] to register interest or for further information.

Chairs and Directors Network:

This group brings together Chairs and Directors and those in similar positions in non-departmentalized Faculties and the Library and Archives to share information, identify ways to better support one another, and help the Association better represent members in administrative positions. Faculty administrative positions are critical to the maintenance of collegial governance, but unit-level administrators too often are overworked and under-recognized. We invite anyone serving as a Chair or Director, or in a similar administrative role, to join the SFUFA President for periodic discussions of how University decisions or proposals are impacting units, and how SFUFA can better serve Chairs and help to foster strong and effective academic units.

Departmental Contacts Network:

As mentioned in our last bulletin, SFUFA would like to form a network of contact people in each unit to facilitate information sharing (both to and from the Association and across units) and help us to better understand local issues and more proactively address problems at the earliest possible stage. It would also be incredibly helpful to have a group with which to brainstorm or check ideas, and to hear on a more regular basis what is happening directly in units. Volunteers have found in the majority of academic units, and more are always welcome, but we are particularly seeking people from the following departments:

Bargaining Advisory Committee:

The Bargaining Advisory Committee works with SFUFA’s negotiating team to brainstorm items for collective bargaining, edit and amend our bargaining survey, establish priorities (based on the survey results and member consultations) and review specific proposal ideas before they are crafted for presentation to the University. The committee meets on an ad hoc basis in the months leading up to bargaining. This cycle, we would expect the committee to be formed in November of this year, and remain active in March or April of 2022.

Please email us at [email protected] regarding any of the above. We look forward to hearing from you.