The Failures of a Faculty Association
Jody Berland and Ricardo Grinspun
Challenging times require strong collective action to defend values of fairness, integrity, and democratic accountability. It is deeply disappointing to see the York University Faculty Association failing to stand up to the task. We are responding to egregious anti-democratic practices in the Executive of that Association, most recently in the election of Steward Council Representatives to YUFA Executive. In this article we offer context and commentary on this event.
York’s 50th anniversary has arrived at a time of unprecedented institutional crisis. We have lived through a devastating strike and a dramatic economic downturn. We face an unprecedented drop in enrollments and the prospect of wrenching budget cuts and “do more for less” restructuring. Tenure is an endangered institution as the administration accelerates the long term trend toward casualization of academic work. Most retirees are not being replaced, CLA positions are being cut across the board, and the teaching gap is being filled by a rapidly growing precarious workforce of part-time faculty. York’s traditional areas of strength in liberal arts and professional studies are starved for resources while President Shoukri focuses on building areas such as science, engineering and medicine, despite the oft-referred to budgetary context. Academic freedom and collegial governance are being diminished as York’s highly paid administrators embrace a top-down corporate executive style, while Senate and faculty councils are become gradually devoid of content. Intellectual exchange and critical debate are being displaced by message control and expensive public relations.
It is hard to think of a time when a strong, effective and democratic faculty association would be more crucial to the long term sustainability of our university.
The reality of YUFA stands in stark contrast to that need. Their policies and activities have been cemented but also obscured by their anti-democratic practices. There has been mounting evidence in recent months of such practices by the YUFA executive. There are troubling signs of forces at work in YUFA as well as in the administration intent on undermining collective bargaining. It will be difficult to make our voices heard in upcoming contract negotiations if members do not take charge of their union.
It takes pages and pages to detail the evidence on irregularities in recent YUFA Executive processes. Colleagues have provided such evidence in articles posted in the York Democratic Forum website, http://www.yorkdemocraticforum.org/. We provide here a glimpse into irregularities in one particular realm, election procedures. The election of the YUFA Executive in Winter 2007-2008 was called off and re-run due to undisclosed irregularities. More recently, inconsistencies have been noted in elections of Stewards to Stewards Council. YUFA President Arthur Hilliker refuses to revisit these, in spite of repeated requests from YUFA members.
The most recent problem arose during the election process for Stewards Council representatives to the YUFA Executive. Midway through the election the procedures were altered in defiance of election policies approved twice by Stewards Council. These actions allowed members of YUFA Executive to vote for Stewards Council representatives to YUFA Executive. It is likely that these decisions, supported in an Executive vote by YUFA’s President, changed the outcome of the elections. This represents a theft of the election. (For further details, read: http://www.yorkdemocraticforum.org/node/55).
Election irregularities are just the tip of the iceberg. YUFA’s leadership appears to be more mindful of the employer’s interests rather than of its membership’s. This is a sampling of other recent events:
• YUFA President Arthur Hilliker informed members at a General Meeting that salary was the first priority in a survey of members. After repeated requests by members, survey results were circulated to members. The first priority expressed by members was in fact workload.
• In early May, members of YUFA Executive floated and withdrew a proposal that attacks an individual’s right to file and pursue grievances. (See http://www.yorkdemocraticforum.org/node/56)
• Most recently the union leadership has tabled a provocative proposal that we become the only faculty union in the country that volunteers to take a wage freeze, and ask the employer to assign the money for new complement. Unless amended, this proposal would mean that new complement will likely go to “areas of growth.” In other words, a salary freeze for FLAPS faculty would likely be paying for additional complement in Science and Engineering, while permanently damaging long-term incomes of women, visible minorities, disabled faculty and others covered by equity concerns.
• There was then a ratification of the executive’s 2009 bargaining proposals which was arguably unconstitutional since some members of Stewards Council were not permitted to vote.
• YUFA’s President has been painfully silent as some members of our Association, closely aligned with the employer, have been musing about decertifying our union. They have presented motions (defeated by members), calling for YUFA to give up our right to strike, a calculated first step in that direction. Several of them are now running for office in YUFA. President Hilliker has proposed postponing the budget until after that election.
We need members to become aware of and involved in the affairs of YUFA. In the last twenty years, YUFA has enabled us to gain important rights and benefits, salary increases, workload protection, and equity measures that we would not otherwise possess. At no time in YUFA’s history have there been such strong pressures to overturn these rights and benefits. YUFA is an essential collective voice in an institution, York University, going through enormous turmoil.
An active, alert, involved membership is our only defense. Please attend YUFA membership meetings. Please lend your support to the representatives and principles of collegiality, democracy and fair play that make our faculty association a union that can defend its members during difficult times.
This is not going to work well. I am not sure what you can do.
palm beach cosmetic dentist
I really like this site.Thanks for sharing.
rocky boots
One good linux hosting option is the package offered by ucvhost , which not only provides the best in terms of hosting packages windows hosting but also believes in truly being there for the customer, 24x7. Moreover cheap vps , they offer unlimited bandwidth as well as nearly 1GB storage along with database maintenance, email facility along with storage, availability of sub domain and many other important features for a very low price windows vps . Thanks ucvhost
ucvhost is a leading web site hosting service provider that is known to provide reliable and affordable hosting packages to customers. Cheap Hosting company believes in providing absolute and superior control to the customer as well as complete security and flexibility through its many packages. Forex Vps Moreover, the company provides technical support as well as customer service 24x7, in order to enable its customer..thanks ucvhost
damar sozler
ilan ver ilan ekle Reklam
cam mozaik havuz
cam mozaik
Ask ve Sevgi
Yabanci Biyografiler
msn nickleri
bebek arabalari
tedarik firmasi
site ekle
web hosting
canli radyo dinle
oto cam
sohbet
istoc
turizm
siva ustasi
digiturk
oto center
irc komutlari
video
bilgisayar
sohbet
radyo dinle
turkey chat
cam mozaik
kuruyemis
pendik satilik daire
oto kiralama
web tasarim
dis cephe
mozaik
reklam
isi yalitim
alan sorgulama
The employer to assign the money for new complement. Unless amended, this proposal would mean that new complement will likely go to “areas of growth.” In other words, a salary freeze for FLAPS faculty would likely be paying for additional complement in Science and Engineering, while permanently damaging long-term incomes of women, visible minorities, disabled faculty and others covered by equity concerns. infant car seat | Portable external hard drive
generic levitra online
This is very interesting post.Professional Logo Design
Thanks for sharing this information.
Logo Design
order generic viagra online
This is one of the best post I have ever read,I would love to read more in future.Keep up the good work.thanks ucvhost
purchase sumycin online
order accutane online
Yeah that's true!
one day detox
buy zithromax online
ucvhost
buy propecia online without prescription
There are certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration.I read and understand the entire article and I really enjoyed it to be honest.
ucvhost
buy generic zithromax online
amoxil no rx
cheap propecia order online
cheap propecia order online
strattera order generic
Cool.. Iin fact many universities are too busy with their own recognition and acknowledgment that they ignore these values. classifieds |homes for sale|student jobs
most currently Modern Painters, Denver Quarterly, and The Believer. REAL TIME ETHICS is a series of actions and readings and conversations and scores and moment to moment compositions that investigate the time in which we make meaningful sounds at and with each other. Do particular instances of our speech have particular durational frames. How are those instances embodied or disembodied or semi-embodied? What happens when we experiment with these frames? when we don't experiment? when we cease to experiment? In real time? Do our ethics extend beyond the fabula of the 'content' of our speech? Each investigation will consist of a reading/talk/presentation followed-up by a separately scheduled 'activity' that aims to bring a dynamic of the work ============Online Engineering school | Social Science school | Online Performing Arts school |Social Science school | Online adult education degree
buy strattera without a prescription, buy lexapro online
buy generic cipro without prescription, buy lasix online
purchase propecia online, buy zithromax online
amoxil online, clomid without prescription
buy lexapro online, buy lasix
amoxil online, clomid without prescription
buy generic lexapro, lasix 40
buy cipro online, buy zithromax
buy soma online
generic cialis online
order tramadol
generic viagra
Having had many friends attend your and parents lecturing there I can say without a doubt that
Reseller Hosting they have many faulty internal routines that lead to constant strikes. I'm sure york
Website Design has had the longest and most frequent strikes in ontario university history and that's not Photographers Toronto something to be proud of.
Competitive sports have become unthinkable without sponsoring and there is a mutual dependency vps hosting. High income with advertising is only possible with a comparable number of spectators or viewers. On the other hand, the poor performance of a team or a sportsman results in less advertising revenues. Jürgen Hüther and Hans-Jörg Stiehler talk about a ‘Sports/Media Complex which is a complicated mix of media, agencies, managers, sports promoters, advertising etc. with partially reseller web hosting common and partially diverging interests but in any case with common commercial interests. The media presumably is at centre stage because it can supply the other parties involved with a rare commodity, namely (potential) public attention. In sports “the media are able to generate enormous sales in both circulation and advertising.Not the sale of tickets but transmission rights, sponsoring ecommerce web hosting and merchandising in the meantime make up the largest part of sports association’s and sports club’s revenues with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) taking the lead. The influence of the media brought many changes in sports including the admittance of new ‘trend sports’ into the Olympic Games, the alteration of competition distances, changes of rules, animation of spectators, changes of sports facilities, the cult of sports heroes who quickly establish themselves in the advertising and entertaining business because of their media value and last but not least, the naming and renaming of sport stadiums after big companies. “In sports adjustment into the logic of the media can contribute to the erosion of values such budget web hosting as equal chances or fairness, to excessive demands on athletes through public pressure and multiple exploitation or to deceit (doping, manipulation of results …). It is in the very interest of the media and sports to counter this danger because media sports can only work as long as sport exists.
There are two inaccuracies and one patent smear in the paragraph that reads
"YUFA’s President has been painfully silent as some members of our Association, closely aligned with the employer, have been musing about decertifying our union. They have presented motions (defeated by members), calling for YUFA to give up our right to strike, a calculated first step in that direction. Several of them are now running for office in YUFA. President Hilliker has proposed postponing the budget until after that election."
Having been at the membership meeting where this supposedly happened, I recall only one such motion, by a colleague (Michael Mozurkewich) who, in personal conversation, has never hinted at decertification and who, to the contrary, does not believe that decertification is a good option. And Michael is definitely NOT running for office in YUFA.
Moreover, the innuendo that "some members of our Association" are "closely aligned with the employer" and "musing about decertifying our union" is a fear-mongering smear at its worst. At any time in YUFA, there will be members musing about all kinds of things, including decertification. To smear any fellow member of being "closely aligned with the employer" demands corroboration, and to link this smear with unsubstantiated decertification efforts is just unscholarly cowardice.
If this were an essay submitted for marking, I would definitely give it an F.
As a participant of the 3903 strike, the things that upset me the most were not harms to the university's perceived reputation, but rather, justified and justifiable harms to it. There is much to decry about the administration's conduct, but the most devastating aspect is the problem of misinformation. When errors of fact are widespread amongst an academic community, it creates an environment where those on the outside cannot have faith in the scholarly bonefides of the participants. This undermines the reputation of the university in a non-trivial way.
Maxims like "retirees are not being replaced" are conventional wisdom, even if the most recent data from the VP Academic's office shows that to be in error. The period after 2000 showed a pronounced spike in hiring, distributed across the faculties with an emphasis on the Arts. If particular departments are suffering attrition, it is not to be attributed to the double-ought trend in hiring practices. The hiring freeze of this year is the first of its kind in nearly a decade, where we are no longer treading water as far as replacements go.
That doesn't, of course, mean that the administration's hiring practices are sufficient. They are on balance quite impossible to maintain. Indeed, the best way to articulate the hole they have dug themselves is that while they have been quite effective at managing monetary deficits, they are entirely uninterested in managing the deficit in human capital; whose effects are demonstrated in, say, this year's MacLean's report on universities. If they were serious about making York an unqualified success, they would be ready to make the "hard choices": perhaps requiring, for instance, going into massive debt in order to make room for new tenured positions.