General Frequently Asked Questions

We've gathered a repository of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that we have heard from Lecturers. This is a work in progress and continually evolving. Keep reading below!

General FAQ I - About Us

You might be wondering who we are and what we're all about:

Who are you?

Lecturers Connect began as a website by a few members who wanted to have a place for discussing lecturer-related news, articles and concerns and for supporting one another. We have become a grassroots movement to unionize lecturers at the University of Waterloo. More and more lecturers have gotten involved from across every faculty. If you would like to get involved, please sign up through the website.

Visit our Meet Us page to get to know some of our members.

Are you part of FAUW?

No. We are not affiliated with FAUW, nor is Lecturers Connect endorsed by FAUW.

Why?

We believe that having an open forum and dedicated space for Lecturers is valuable for building our community, learning about our working conditions, and identifying solutions. Lecturers Connect is developed exclusively for and by Lecturers, recognizing our unique needs and challenges.

General FAQ II - About Lecturers

Some fundamental questions about the Lecturer role and what our concerns are.

What is a Lecturer?

A "Lecturer" is one of four faculty hiring ranks (the others are Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor) and can have "definite term" or "continuing" appointments. Lecturers are usually teaching intensive appointments, although some have a research/scholarship component and some are service intensive. The Lecturer role varies widely between faculties and even between (and sometimes within) departments in the same faculty with a broad variety of teaching/research/service weightings. Lecturers currently form almost 20% of faculty appointments and are the fastest growing faculty rank on campus.

Are we faculty?

According to Policy 76, Lecturers are regular faculty members. Most Lecturer hires compete in open searches and go through the University Appointments Review Committee (UARC). We have access to similar benefits, receive a Faculty Professional Expense Reimbursement Plan (FPER), and are subject to the same policies and processes as professorial faculty. Eligibility for benefits may differ according to contract length. We are not eligible for sabbatical leave, although teaching stream faculty at most Ontario universities are.

Why does Policy 76/77 matter?

Teaching stream faculty make significant contributions to the University of Waterloo through our high quality teaching skills, creative educational leadership, and effective innovations in teaching that enhance undergraduate and graduate education. We have enabled the University to become a global leader in teaching innovation and academic programming, which are integral to the University’s long-term goals and strategic planning. Policy 76 (Faculty Appointments) and Policy 77 (Tenure an Promotion) govern the working conditions of teaching faculty. We deserve policies that reflect, acknowledge, and value the important role that we play in the university community.

What are key Lecturer issues?

Clear and consistent pathways to promotion and tenure which parallel the current research track and that recognize the academic nature of the teaching stream.
Opportunities for pedagogical and professional development which do not come at the expense of one’s workload.
The option to engage in and be recognized for pedagogical and/or discipline-specific research.
Appropriate representation of Lecturers within and across university governance bodies including the faculty association, administrative positions, and committees.
The ability to take one’s full vacation allotment during the year and to maintain work-life balance without burning out.
Having a voice in public health and safety guidelines in classrooms and in the workplace.

General FAQ III - An Introduction to Certification

Lecturers are starting to ask questions about our relationship with the University Administration

and would like to know how our processes differ from most other universities in Ontario and in Canada.

What is "certification" and how is it different from what we have now?

Certification is the most common process by which an organization is recognized as a union under the Ontario Labour Relations Act. Our current Faculty Association has rights to bargain salaries and compensation-related benefits, and to negotiate some other matters of policy, according to our Memorandum of Agreement. The basic legal difference is that our current status is a grant of the University itself, which has agreed to bargain certain matters with faculty. Certification means that those rights are granted by the Labour Board and recognized in law. Rather than a bargaining relationship in which UW agrees to allow us to negotiate certain items, our bargaining relationship would be protected by law, and would extend to any employment matter that we would choose to negotiate.

The vast majority of faculty associations in Ontario and Canada are certified unions. Of the major universities, only Waterloo, Toronto, and McMaster are not certified. All others are unionized, including Western, Queen's, and Guelph, who opted to certify fairly recently. Certification pertains to our agreement with UW for how we negotiate issues with the Administration and resolve disputes.

How exactly would our bargaining rights be changed if we were certified?

The Memorandum of Agreement sets out how bargaining and negotiation currently work. Different parts of our terms of employment fall under different processes.

Salaries, including scale increases, anomalies, and changes to FPER are negotiated on a regular basis. We have a right to take any impasse to arbitration, where a third party arbitrator will hear the final offer from both sides and choose one in a decision that is binding.
Pension and benefits are handled by the Pension and Benefits Committee, which has full power to administer pension and benefit plans approved by the Board of Governors.
Terms and conditions of employment are split between the Memorandum of Agreement and policies. The University may not alter these policies unilaterally, but we have no right to mediation or arbitration if agreement cannot be reached. That is, we have no ability to take these matters forward should we be unable to reach agreement with the University. This is one reason why, for example, Policy 76 has been under revision for eight years.

Certification under the law recognizes the Association and the University as equals in the bargaining relationship. Instead of a Memorandum of Agreement and Policies, our working conditions would be governed by a collective agreement. In this case, neither party is able to dictate what can or cannot be negotiated, and any item that is brought to the negotiating table may be taken forward to mediation or arbitration according to the agreed procedures for dispute resolution (excepting a few matters prohibited by the Labour Code itself or contrary to law). We would have the ability to attempt to negotiate without restrictions imposed by the University.

What does the process of certification look like?

The process of certification has several steps, each designed to ensure that no organization is certified unless its members expressly make that choice.

Members are asked if they wish to sign a card in favour of a certification vote. Signing a card is a legal statement of membership in the union (assuming the drive succeeds). Card signing is confidential and a personal choice.
If at least 40% of members sign cards, the new association can apply to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) for certification.
Within five days, the OLRB holds a secret ballot vote. For the union to be successful, a majority of 50% plus one of the members who cast a ballot is required.

What about collegiality and collegial governance?

The true sense of collegium is that its members are equally empowered. Unionizing will ensure that we have the power to effectively negotiate the terms and conditions of employment with the administration. Certification, therefore, enhances the collegial process at the highest levels of governance in the university. At more local levels (Departments and Faculties) the basic structures of decision making would be unaffected unless we chose to bargain more robust protections for collegiality.

We should also point out that the faculty associations which are unionized are no less “collegial”. The principle of collegial governance still applies.

Want to See More FAQs?

This FAQ repository is driven by and for Lecturers. We would love to hear from you about new questions or themes that you would like us to address. All questions are welcome! Fill in the form below to contact us.