Please email us if you would like to set up an appointment with one of our Labour Relations Officers.
Please email us if you would like to set up an appointment with one of our Labour Relations Officers.
Workload—the increasingly overwhelming onslaught of deadlines, administrivia, course-preps, projects, supervisions, marking, reporting, writing, meetings, experiments, editing, and endless emails—is becoming close to unbearable for many of us. For most of us, workload is our top concern and burden.
Many academics have spent time on short-term contingent appointments; by some measures, academia is in fact one of the most highly casualized work sectors in Canada. This is unhealthy for our institution and even less sustainable for the scholars who fulfill UBC’s public mission with very little in return. We want to keep improving this situation for all of our sakes.
UBC’s Lecturers 400+ are the heroes of the undergraduate curriculum at UBC. Without their teaching expertise and important service, UBC’s curricular offerings would be unsustainable. And yet these academics remain precariously employed and lack many of the rights and benefits of their tenured and tenure-track colleagues.
There are three central issues that we have brought to the bargaining table this round related to our extended health benefits plan: (1) that any changes to our benefits plan must be approved by the Faculty Association; (2) an across-the-board increase to the specified coverage limits in our SunLife benefits plan; and (3) benefits for all!
Dear Colleagues,
The Canadian Association of University Teachers has published the following advisory regarding travel to the United States. The Faculty Association is in discussion with the University regarding whether a similar advisory will be issued on our campuses and will provide updates when available.
Sincerely,
Dory Nason
President
The UBC Faculty Association Executive Committee is deeply saddened by the unimaginable suffering and innocent human loss in Israel and Gaza. The Executive would like to acknowledge that many of our members have family, kin and colleagues directly impacted by the ongoing conflict and violence. Many are worried for their loved ones or in deep distress for all those who are suffering, making it difficult to fulfill faculty duties. These members may need information and assistance on navigating work at this difficult time.
Please reach out to the Faculty Association if you need information on supports available to you through the Employee and Family Assistance Program or about personal leaves and other supports available to all faculty in distress.
We hope for peace and healing for all our relations in the days to come.
Dory Nason,
On behalf of the Executive Committee
For those members needing assistance, please email the Faculty Association at [email protected].
