Fact Sheet #1. March 2005

Faculty Association or Faculty Union?

The University of Guelph Faculty Association represents faculty and librarians in collective bargaining with our employer – but it is not a certified union. Our Special Plan is a hybrid form of contract, that falls somewhere between the collective agreements of unions and a system of individual contracts with each employee. This agreement is not covered by the Labour Relations Act, which governs relations between unions and employers. As such, the only recourse we have when the collegial governance structure established in the Special Plan Agreement does not work is to go to court. We do not have the right to strike, or carry out work slowdown or other concerted actions designed to restrict or limit our output.

Faculty Unions

Faculty Associations began unionizing in the 1970’s, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) favours this approach for its member associations. Most are single unit, independent unions, rather than being “Locals” of a large union. Four university faculty associations in Ontario are not unionized – Guelph, Toronto, McMaster and Waterloo. The major reasons faculty associations unionize are for salaries, a role in university governance, and a dispute resolution mechanism.

Faculty Unions represent a “community of interest” in a university, which may include academic librarians, contractually-limited faculty, professional staff and part-time teachers, as well as tenure-stream and tenured faculty. Departmental Chairs are usually members of the faculty union, with “Deans and up” being considered as Management.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Faculty Unionization

A major advantage of unionization is the enforceability of collective agreements, so action is less dependent on the participation and goodwill of the employer. Under contract law, the only real recourse is to go to court, which is expensive and time-consuming. A union represents members and negotiates for all terms and conditions of employment (e.g. workloads, study leave, intellectual property, grievance procedures). We currently deal with these issues outside collective bargaining, through the Joint Faculty Policies Committee and Joint Consultative Committee. A certified (unionized) Faculty Association would not appear or act very differently from UGFA, and CAUT offers additional assistance and training. (UGFA is already a member of CAUT). As a faculty association, we already have a “duty to represent”, however, the members expectations and the workload could increase in a certified faculty union. Potentially, the increased load might translate into a fee increase. We would also need to build a strike fund, in case that ultimate weapon was required at some point.

There is a reasonable argument that faculty unions shouldn’t be required in universities, and that a collegial relationship should be sufficient to resolve issues and ensure the institution functions well, for the students as well as for the academics. Indeed, the senior administrators are often academics who have chosen –or been persuaded – to undertake certain tasks for the benefit of the institution. There are concerns that unionizing faculty may rupture collegial relations, and that an important aspect of participation in governance of the institution may be lost. However, in the end, “collegial relations” are what the employer and employee group make them, whether the faculty are unionized or not. As terms and conditions of employment would be part of collective bargaining, some current practices (e.g. research leaves, distribution of effort) might change.

How Unions Form

A union is formed to be the bargaining agent for “a community of interest” by having members sign cards indicating they wish to be represented by a union. (There can be issues about who is –or should be- part of constituent group, but we would likely be dealing with the present UGFA group.) The Employer can’t interfere with or attempt to influence opinion during this process. When 40% of the group have indicated agreement, an application is made to the Labour Board for a vote. (The Harris government eliminated automatic certification when 60% of a group had signed cards.) If the vote is in favour, the union forms. The process can take anything from 4 months to a year to complete following an application to the Labour Board. Until the first collective agreement is negotiated, the terms of the present contract – i.e. Special Plan and Faculty Policies – would still apply.

This UGFA fact sheet has been prepared by the UGFA executive and is solely intended to provide general background information to ugfa members about their association, to allow them to understand it better and to encourage active participation.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.