February 1, 2024
Dear Members,
We are writing to inform you that Emily Carr, a fellow member of The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE), achieved regularization (called Continuing Faculty) in their latest round of bargaining. Congratulations to them on this landmark victory!
Like UFV, Emily Carr relied extensively on the use of sessionals whose compensation rarely increased over the decades and who were never placed on a pay scale with the ability for wages to increase with years of experience. Simply, sessionals are underpaid, have no job security, and no health benefits, despite their years, and sometimes decades of service to their institutions.
In this round of bargaining, we at UFV have just improved health benefits for our LTAs. They will now have full benefits paid for by the employer in 2024, instead of opting to co-pay for health benefits at a 50/50 split. We have succeeded in getting sessionals a three per cent stipend which is a pay increase that can be used to help sessionals pay for their own health benefits. It’s not where we want to be, but it’s a step in the right direction.
What we have yet to achieve is regularization. Emily Carr, with support and solidarity from their permanent faculty, did not back down and achieved their biggest goal. With job action as a possibility, they fought hard at the table and have profoundly changed the lives of more than half of their faculty.
We at the FSA raised the issue of regularization in this round of contract negotiations, and the employer agreed to continue a joint committee focused on compensation for sessionals and LTAs. We will continue to raise the issue of regularization at this table. Currently, only UFV and two other locals (Local 02 and 11) out of 19 FPSE members don’t have regularization. It is beyond the time that we reinstate regularization at UFV to achieve pay equity, job security and health benefits for all. We at the FSA encourage you to speak the word “REGULARIZATION” over and over as we create an energy around this incredibly important issue.
In solidarity,
Toni Latour (she/her)
Your Non-Regular Rep
