Greetings New Members,
A very warm welcome to Trent and to the Trent University Faculty Association! I look forward to greeting many of you in-person at the Deans’ New Faculty Orientation tomorrow (August 31st) where I will talk a bit about the Association’s activities and services. I expect that you will also have received a link to the New Faculty Manual from your Dean’s office, but here it is again just in case.
Our Association (pronounced “tough-eh!”) was certified as the labour union representing the interests of full-time faculty and professional librarians at Trent University back in 1980 and we have advanced the rights of our members from that day to this. Last year, we concluded negotiations on a new collective agreement which is particularly noteworthy for the advances it made with respect to equity, diversity, inclusion, and indigenization within the university. But we tend not to rest long and will use this year to begin taking stock with our members of priorities for the next bargaining round. Please feel entitled to participate fully in the life of your union! If you have specific questions or concerns about employment-related matters, you should contact our Executive Director, Dr. Marcus Harvey, in the TUFA Office.
At our last General Membership meeting (April 2023), the membership charged the Executive to establish two ad hoc committees to consider matters relating to Sustainability and the Climate Crisis on the one hand, and the state of collegial governance on the other. These committees will begin their work shortly and we have room for additional members – please let us know if you wish to participate in either.
TUFA has a strong commitment to community, social justice, and labour solidarity and we play a significant role in the United Way, the Peterborough & District Labour Council, and in the affairs of our national (CAUT) and provincial (OCUFA) affiliates. To illustrate: our Chief Negotiator is past president of OCUFA and Chair of the CAUT’s Defence Fund, our Grievance Officer is the Representative at Large, Aboriginal on the CAUT Executive, and our Executive Director is past president of the Labour Council and Board Chair of United Way Peterborough. This past year, we also played a leadership role in having the Peterborough Public Library designated a Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Space as a deliberate step on the path to Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Our Committee on Community and Social Justice Contributions oversees our funding of local community activities in Peterborough and Durham.
We are in the process of mapping out a social calendar for the coming year. It had been our practice (pre-pandemic) to host a variety of in-person social events on both campus (Peterborough-Symons, and Durham) during the regular academic session, and we intend to get back into that rhythm – starting with some outdoor events while the weather remains good. Stay tuned for updates.
Please expect additional emails from us in the coming days, it is important that we keep our members informed on employment matters. Additionally, you may find it helpful to check our website periodically for additional information about TUFA, as well as updates and announcements. Again, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Association – I look forward to talking with you soon!
In Solidarity,
Geoff
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Dr. Geoff Navara
Associate Professor, Psychology Department
President, Trent University Faculty Association
TUFA Office: (705) 748-1011, ext. 7334