Academy for Academic Personnel Administration

Fall 2003

Round Table Report

 

1.  Institution Information

 

Name of Institution/System:      Concordia University

 

Name of Individual Responding:      Maria Paradiso

 

Title of Individual Responding:      Director, Office of Academic Relations

 

2a. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

     Full-time faculty (789)  and librarians  (30)

 

Bargaining Agent:      Concordia University Faculty Association (CUFA)

 

Date of First Contract:       1984

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:       4

 

2b. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

     Part-time faculty hired on a contract basis teaching for credit courses (913)

 

Bargaining Agent:       Concordia University Part-time-Faculty Association (CUPFA)

 

Date of First Contract:       November 1991

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:       2

 

2c. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

      Part-time faculty for Continuing Education teaching non-credit courses  (250)

 

Bargaining Agent:        Concordia University Continuing Education Part-time faculty Union  (CUCEPTFU)

 

Date of First Contract:       1991

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:       3

 

 

3. Activity Report (e.g., status of current agreement or negotiations, details of last contract settlement, etc.):

 

A.                 Concordia University commenced negotiations with the CUFA in June 2001 and the parties reached an agreement in December 2002.  The new CUFA Collective Agreement was subsequently signed on 3 March 2003 and will be in effect until 31 May 2007.

Highlights of the New CUFA Collective Agreement

 

Article 22 – Grievance and Arbitration

      Filed with Office of Academic Relations (OAR)

      Employer Grievance

      Association Grievance or Employer Grievance

   Right to dispense with Stage II

   Right to go directly to arbitration

 

Article 35 – Pregnancy and Parental Leave

      Eligibility criteria: 600 hours

     (approx. 17 weeks)

      Ineligible for EI

    95% of actual salary for 10 weeks

      Parental Leave at 95% of actual salary

    from 10 to 20 weeks – 1 Jan. 2003

    From 20 to 35 weeks – 1 Jan. 2004

    6 months notice to prolong parental leave through reduced-time appointment (maximum 30 months)

 

Article 8 – Rights of the Association

      Verification of faculty data on HRIS in first year of signed C.A.  (OAR)

      Information RE: grievance filed at Concordia implicating CUFA C.A. – forward to CUFA within time delay

      No fewer than 675 positions in any academic year

   No mandatory complement

 

Article 12 – Appointment of Faculty

      Employment Equity – parity committee of 2 members from each party to oversee process

      Standard statement for ads: “Concordia University is committed to employment equity.”

      Maximum number of ETAs – 55

      ETA – Teaching mandatory

      Future Appointments to be in departments

      Academic Chairs and Special Professorships

 

Article 14 – Reappointment, Promotion and Evaluation

      Clarification of what comprises teaching dossier

      All information to be provided at the Departmental Personnel Committee (DPC) /Departmental Tenure Committee (DTC) level

      Reduction from 23 to 20 years for Promotion to Professor

      Performance Evaluation (former Article 38)

      Evaluation and Promotion of  Extended Term Appointments (ETAs)

      New Rank for ETAs with long service – Senior Lecturer

      Faculty Personnel and Tenure Committee (FPTC)

 

Article 16 – Duties and Responsibilities

      Teaching duties for the next academic year assigned by 20 April

      2 Additional courses (Stipend per course @

     12 % of  Floor of  Assistant Professor - FAP)  -  Article 16.12 a)

      3rd additional course – summer term

      Additional special teaching stipend not to exceed 80% of stipend specified in Article 16.12 a)

      Clarification for ETA workload with regard to service

 

Article 18 – Tenure for Faculty

      New mandatory consideration (4th year) if promoted early

      Clearer definition of years counting for tenure

      Deferral for 1 or 2 years possible; procedure similar to early consideration

      No entitlement to tenure process if no contract into next year

      Tenure dossier may be supplemented by Chair or Dean

      All abstentions are deemed votes against

 

Article 20 – Academic Unit Heads and Supervisory Librarians

      Stipends increased form $4,500/$5,500 to $6,000/$7,000

      Two Academic Unit Heads to advise on negotiations with unions whose members report to them

      Sabbatical top-up instead of workload reduction

 

Article 23 – Personnel Files

      Documents placed in file only when process is at the next level or completed

      Electronic files o.k. if originals in archives

      List of those authorized to have access sent to CUFA by 1 October

      Factually false information may be removed

 

Article 24 – Outside Professional Activities

      Unpaid activities are contributions to profession and/or community for evaluation

      Paid activities called Outside Employment

    Limited to 1 day equivalent per week

    Prior permission needed

    Annual report to Dean/Director

    Outside teaching permitted if denied at Concordia because of reserve course limit

 

Article 27 – Intellectual Property

      To be negotiated within 6 months

 

Article 29 – Disciplinary Measures and Dismissal

      New type of letter:  letter of concern

      Letters of concern/warning issued by Dean/Director

      Suspensions and dismissal handled by Vice-Rector and Rector

      Documentation segregated in Personnel File until final resolution

 

Article 38 – Stipends and Additional Compensation

      Last and most difficult Article to negotiate

      All stipends either specified elsewhere (e.g. Chairs’ stipends)  or discretionary

      Cap of $24,000 on discretionary stipends for “special tasks”; must be reported to the Salary Committee

 

Article 39 – Salary Structure

      Major changes:  Introduction of a grid (New Model) and continuation of Old Model

      New Model includes Market and Individual Supplements; reviewed periodically

      Old Model linked to New by equating CDI and step increases

      New Model has salary caps for each rank; Old has diminishing CDI

      Merit: similar to current but only for tenured and extended term members

 

Article 40 – Salaries

      Annual 2.25% indexation to 2005-06

      Step or CDI increases

      Introduction of Grid and new salary floors on 31 May 2002

      Internal/External Equity adjustments: spread over two years; Performance-based amount (PBA) in 2003-2004

      PBA determined by past performace reviews

 

Article 42 – Retirement

      Lump sum for 55 to 64 removed

      New incentive:  Early Retirement Pension Supplement (ERPS) between 62 and 65

      ERPS may be preceded by 2 years of gradual retirement at 75%, 50% load

      Supplemental Retirement Pension (SRP) tops up capped pensions

       Retired faculty eligible for 1 – term LTA contracts at 26% of FAP

 

Article 44 – Adjustment to Units for Academic Reasons

      Simpler process than old Article

      Academic priorities determined by Provost and Senate

      Admission freeze in a department limited to 12 months unless Senate approves

      Joint Retraining and Transfer Committee (JRTC) members appointed by Parties

      Similar transfer/retraining/voluntary termination provisions as before

 

Article 48 – Miscellaneous

      Proportional representation on Search/Evaluation Committees no less than before

      Association is the only representative for full-time e-Concordia instructional staff

 

Article 52 – Transition, Duration and Retroactivity

      No retroactivity except for Articles 20.01 and 20.08 (stipends); 31.06 (vacation for Librarians)

      Parental Leave provisions for 2003 start 1 January

      Article 27 to be negotiated within 6 months

 

 

A.                 The CUPFA collective agreement expired on 15 April 2002.  Negotiations with CUPFA commenced in January 2003 are still in progress.

 

C.        The University also began negotiations with CUCEPTFU in June 2001 and CUCEPTFU is the first bargaining unit at Concordia to adopt interest-based bargaining.  The new agreement with CUCEPTFU was ratified by the membership on 4 May 2003 and was signed on 2 June 2003.  The CUCEPTFU collective agreement is in effect from 1 September 2001 to 6 September 2007.

 

Highlights of the New CUCEPTFU Collective Agreement

 

·        A six-year contract, covering the period from September 2001 to August 2007

·        Salary increases totalling 23.5% over 6 years

·        Improved benefits in the area of social leaves, including up to 7 days of paid bereavement leave and 7 days paid emergency leave

·        Reduced class-size limits for workshops and advanced level intensive language courses

·        Paid parental leave (in addition to regular maternity, paternity and adoption leave) for 10 weeks upon signing of the Collective Agreement and 15 weeks as of Fall, 2006

·        Salary insurance coverage for illness or accident extended from one to three sessions for eligible instructors

·        Access to the Concordia University Employee Assistance Programme as of September 2005

·        Tuition waivers increased from 6 to 30 credits per year per eligible person (2 per family including instructor)

·        New provisions regarding intellectual property and copyright, which afford important protection for instructors

·        More stringent and complete criteria for establishing teaching qualification requirements; procedures clarified for recognition of TQRs

·        Important changes to course assignment procedures allowing greater access to courses for instructors in a ‘simple-emploi’ situation (those for whom the Centre is their major source of revenue) in the first round of assignments

·        Two new articles:  Representation and Non-teaching contracts