Vancouver Island University Faculty Association

S-paw-lidarity Fur-ever!

VIUFA member Anna Atkinson and furry friend Lark have been visiting the BCGEU picket lines frequently!

Jane Wodlinger, VIUFA's Chief Bargainer, says "The most meaningful action we can take to further our own wage objectives is to support BCGEU members in their ongoing job action."

Read more below ...
VIUFA’s contract is up, and your Bargaining team is preparing to meet the employer at the table in the coming weeks. We are not alone in this timing; BC public sector unions (including other university faculty unions) are actively negotiating with the Province to secure new contracts. The most recent wage offer from the BC government has been 2% each year over a 2 year contract (BCGEU media release). Clearly, that offer on the table is not commensurate with the rising cost of living, and BCGEU members are now on strike to fight for a fair wage increase and better working conditions.

Historically, once the first wage package has been ratified by a major union, this becomes our wage package too. The most meaningful action we can take to further our own wage objectives is to support BCGEU members in their ongoing job action. We’re hoping to rally as much visible VIUFA support as possible—even small gestures mean so much to those on the picket lines!

What you can do:
• Drop by the VIUFA office (460/108, Tues-Thurs) to pick up VIUFA T-shirts and signs, then organize with a colleague or two to go and join a nearby BCGEU picket line for a few hours!
• Contribute a small amount so that VIUFA can send coffee and snacks to workers on the picket lines. Cash can be dropped off at the VIUFA office, or e-transfer to [email protected].
• Write your MLA, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey, and the Premier voicing support for a fair wage offer for public sector workers! Personalize the template at https://www.frontlinesfirst.ca/

We are hiring! Please share this posting with your networks so we can find the right person for this very important role.

Excited to be celebrating International Women's Day on March 8! All are welcome to come out to this creative commemoration, next Wed Mar 8 at VIU's Malaspina Theatre (bldg 310). Lots of great folx are involved, and the play reading by our Inclusive Theatre Collective will be entertaining and educational too. Plus, you get to play Consent Bingo, a participatory game facilitated by our Thrive team.

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VIUFA is seeking interested members to be part of our Job Action Committee to support the bargaining process.

Job Action Committee Seeking Members - Vancouver Island University Faculty Association […]

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VIUFA's Status of Women's Committee is hosting two events to honour National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women: a lunch-hour vigil on December 6, 2022 at 12pm in the lobby of the Malaspina Theatre followed by a cande-light walk; and an evening speaker's panel also at the theatre, starting at 6:30pm.

- Vancouver Island University Faculty Association […]

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It's Fair Employment Week in Canada.
Make it Fair for Contract Academic Staff

Make it Fair Increasingly, professors are hired on short-term contracts and are paid less than full-time professors doing the same work. It is time to make it fair and stop precarious employment. Get involved in the campaign this Fair Employment Week.