Bargaining Updates

2011

» October 14, 2011

Ratification Results - 81% in Favour


At the ratification meeting held this afternoon, Friday, October 14, 2011, the members voted 81% in favour of ratifying the amendments as recommended for renewal of the Collective Agreement between the Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

» September 30, 2011

Tentative Agreement Reached

 

With the recommendation of the KFA Executive, I am pleased to announce that the Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University have reached a tentative agreement for the 2010-2011 round of bargaining.

Both parties understood their obligation and worked hard towards the goal of a new collective agreement, as we met over the summer until we reached agreement on September 21st.

Highlights of the tentative agreement:
• Academic freedom
• Revised non-discrimination/harassment language
• FTE service improvements for NR1 faculty
• General holidays
• Reading break
• Health and safety education
• Workload committee

The following meetings have been scheduled on each campus for members to meet with Terri Van Steinburg and me to discuss the details of the tentative agreement and the next steps.

Mon. Oct. 3 2-4 pm Langley Campus 1030
Tues. Oct. 4 3-5 pm Cloverdale Campus 1853
Thurs. Oct. 6 2-4 pm Richmond Campus 2550A
Tues. Oct. 11 2-4 pm Surrey Campus 1205A, Cedar


Full details of the tentative agreement can be found in the “Members Only” page of the KFA website.

Ratification meeting:
October 14th, 3:00 to 5:00 pm in G1205, Cedar Building at the Surrey Campus.

If you have any questions, concerns, or want to discuss any issues, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the bargaining team:

Bob Davis
Terri Van Steinburg
Gillian Dearle
Karen Inglis
David Harvey
Diane Walsh
Tim Groves

 

Visit the Members Only area, as well as Defending our Rights & Transition Issues for related information.

» June 30, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update

 

The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University met today, June 30th 2011.

The Union tabled its last proposal concerning a student complaint process and indicated to the Employer that it has completed canvassing all of its proposals. The Employer also completed tabling its last proposals.

The Employer informed the Union that Gordon Lee will be taking over as chair of the Employer’s bargaining team as John McKendry will be stepping away to become the Interim President as of July 1st 2011.

The Employer and the Union reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a collective agreement; the bargaining team intends to bargain over the summer and has discussed future dates with the Employer.


» May 5, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update

 

The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University met on May 24th to exchange more proposals at the bargaining table.

The Employer tabled one proposal on workload that would eliminate class size restrictions in the collective agreement. Along with this major concession, the Employer is seeking to add layers of process that propose to limit and eliminate member rights.

The Union tabled proposals on additional credentials, initial placement on scale, reading break, partial layoff, access to scale, and improvements to salary.

The bargaining team intends to complete the canvassing of all its proposals by the end of the last scheduled bargaining meeting on June 30th. We have indicated this to the Employer and expect that they will do the same so that we can work towards a final settlement agreement.

» May 5, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update

 

The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University met to exchange more proposals and receive the Phase 1 report from the Continuing and Professional Studies Sub-Committee.

The Employer tabled a proposal on probation which would both replace existing Articles 4.06, 4.07, and 4.08 and remove a number of members’ rights under the current collective agreement. The KFA is very concerned about the intent of this proposal. The bargaining team is developing a response that will be communicated to the Employer at a future bargaining session.

The KFA and the Employer received the overview Phase 1 report issued by the Continuing and Professional Studies Sub-Committee. The report focused on a review of the history of Continuing Studies at Kwantlen and the identification of common and divergent issues. The Union believes that more work needs to be done prior to the sub-committee entering into Phase 2, which is the formulation of recommendations for amendment of the collective agreement to bridge the common and divergent issues. Without a clear understanding of the mandate for Continuing and Professional Studies at Kwantlen, the KFA believes that the completion of Phase 2 will be unachievable. Please see the member’s area of the KFA website for the report.

The Union tabled a number of proposals to improve Health and Welfare, Disability Benefits, Education Leave, and the 0.6% Professional Development fund.

The Employer has yet to respond to most of our previously tabled proposals, and those to which the Employer has responded, it has rejected. With only two dates scheduled between now and the end of June, the Union will continue to insist that the Employer meaningfully address the issues that our proposals identify.

» April 20, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update

The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University met this afternoon to exchange more proposals.

The Employer began this session by talking about flexibility with class size. They also committed to bring substantive proposals at future meetings. At this session, the Employer tabled an amendment to Article 4.11, “Administrators Moving into Faculty Positions,” that would see Administrators accrue fte service while on leave from the bargaining unit in an administrative position.

The Union tabled a number of proposals to improve Workload, Health and Safety, Search Process, Health Benefits, Stat Holiday Guarantees, Dispute Resolution Process, Qualified Faculty Lists, Regularization, Guided Study, and Harassment / Discrimination Process.

We are waiting for the Employer to respond to a number of our previously tabled proposals. The list of KFA tabled proposals is growing and will continue to grow until all our proposals are canvassed.

Bargaining dates are scheduled for May and June.

Please attend our AGM on April 27, 2011 at 3 pm at the Surrey Campus for a full bargaining report.

» April 12, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update


The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University continued bargaining today and have 2 days scheduled for next week.

The following Union proposals were rejected out of hand:

· Bereavement
· Compassionate Care
· Secondment/Exchange Leaves
· Privacy

The Employer reiterated their rejection of our Academic Freedom proposal, stating that the university policy is sufficient and that Academic Freedom should not be entrenched in the collective agreement.

As per our last bargaining update (March 1), the Employer provided more information on their proposal for a workload committee today. After considering this information, the bargaining team responded that the appropriate forum to discuss workload issues is at the bargaining table with concrete proposals that address faculty concerns.

The bargaining team intends to table our remaining proposals over the next few bargaining dates.

Today we tabled language on:
· Contracting Out
· Work Jurisdiction
· Search Process
· Severance

If you have any questions, concerns, or want to discuss any issues, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the bargaining team:

Bob Davis
Terri Van Steinburg
Gillian Dearle
Karen Inglis
David Harvey
Diane Walsh
Tim Groves

 
» March 1, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update


The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University concluded another day of bargaining today.

The Union and Employer agreed to a sub-committee on Continuing and Professional Studies. It will identify issues and make recommendations to the parties at the bargaining table.

A number of LOUs (Letters of Understanding) were also agreed to.

The Employer rejected the Union’s proposal on Academic Freedom indicating that it felt the University’s policy is sufficient protection for faculty. The Union strongly disagrees and will continue pursuing this important right.

The Employer also tabled a general proposal for striking yet another committee on workloads. After considerable discussion the Union’s impression is that the proposal is focused primarily on class size issues. The Employer indicated that more information will be provided next time we meet.

We have recessed from bargaining for the day and will resume mid April.

For all of our bargaining updates please visit the KFA website and for more detail as it develops visit the “Members Only” page..

 
» February 8, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update


The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University continued bargaining today. We agreed on more housekeeping items and provided clarification to the Employer on our Article 13 Leaves proposals. The Employer committed to provide more clarification on their proposal about Continuing Education Issues at our next bargaining session.

The Union also tabled language to introduce new articles on Academic Freedom and Privacy.

We have recessed from bargaining for the day and will resume at the Langley Campus on March 1st 2011.

For all of our bargaining updates please visit the KFA website and for more detail as it develops visit the “Members Only” page.

 
» February 7, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update


The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University have recessed from bargaining for the day and will resume at the Surrey Campus tomorrow Feb 8th. The Union and the Employer came to agreement on a number of housekeeping items.

The Union tabled language to amend Article 13 on Bereavement, Compassionate Care and Secondment leave.

The Employer has tabled a very general document outlining the areas that they will seek change to the collective agreement. The Union is seeking clarification on a number of the items in the Employer's tabling document which lack clarity.

Please visit the “Members Only” area of the KFA website to see a copy of our tabling document as presented to the Employer on Feb 2, 2011.

 
» February 4, 2011

KPU/KFA  Bargaining Update


The Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University resumed bargaining on February 1 and 2, 2011, at the Cloverdale campus. We have reached agreement on the outstanding items on the protocol document, and both the Union and Employer exchanged general tabling documents. We concluded the second day having discussed housekeeping items and canvassing future dates.

Although it has taken significant time to reach this point since our first meeting with the Employer in May, 2010, the KFA bargaining team looks forward to negotiating substantive issues important to the membership.

Bargaining will resume Feb 7 and 8, and March 1.

Please visit the “Members Only” area of the KFA website to see a copy of our tabling document as presented to the Employer on Feb 2, 2011.

 
» October 29, 2010

KPU/KFA Discussions Continue


Today, Friday, October 29, 2010, the Kwantlen Faculty Association and Kwantlen Polytechnic University resumed protocol discussions at the Richmond campus. The parties were able to reach agreement on a number of outstanding items in the protocol, however a few items remain outstanding. The Employer and Union have agreed to continue protocol discussions in mid-December.

 
» September 13, 2010

KPU Postpones Bargaining Meetings


Kwantlen has cancelled bargaining meetings that were to take place today, Monday, September 13, and Tuesday, September 14, despite earlier commitments to these dates made in early June 2010.

This is the second time the Employer has postponed bargaining, this time with little notice, which was given only on Friday afternoon, September 10.

We will hope to meet the Employer in early October to begin bargaining.

For more information, contact Bob Davis.

 
» May 27, 2010

Protocol Discussion


The Kwantlen Faculty Association Bargaining team has concluded 2 days of protocol discussions with the Employer at the Richmond campus and we are pleased that we had the opportunity to meet with Kwantlen's bargaining team.

We are apart on the interpretation of the University Act with regards to governance and are concerned by recent correspondence from the board chair. We have proposed dates for reconvening protocol discussions this fall and are awaiting a response from the Employer's bargaining committee as to their availability.  

 
» April 1, 2010

Bargaining Update


On March 31st, 2010, the Kwantlen Faculty Association sent notification to President David Atkinson that the KFA wishes to commence collective bargaining.

We anticipate that discussions will begin to establish bargaining protocol within the next few weeks.

The current collective agreement remains in full force and effect until the employer, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and the Kwantlen Faculty Association have signed off on a new collective agreement.

Questions? Please contact our office at (604)-599-2200.



2009

Update on 2010 Bargaining

We have concluded our Bargaining Sessions for this round of consultation. Faculty had the opportunity to voice their concerns on 15 different occasions across the institution. The Working Conditions Committee would like to thank all those who were able to participate.

The next round of consultation will be an on-line survey. Feedback from the fall Bargaining Sessions has helped to inform the Working Conditions Committee in the development of the survey. The survey will be ready shortly and an email with instructions on how to access and complete it will be sent to every member.

Upon completion of the survey, the Working Conditions Committee will be developing bargaining priorities that will be presented at the Special Meeting set for Friday, January 8 from 2-4pm at the Delta Town and Country Inn. Consultation is still underway and will continue until such a time that the membership has had an opportunity to review, discuss and ratify the bargaining priorities.

If you haven't had a chance to contribute to the Bargaining Consultations, you still can:

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005