ESA Negotiations to Begin

ULFA and the Board have agreed to negotiate a new ESA in the lead up to the resumption of negotiations over the Collective Agreement. An ESA is required by law in the case of job action or lock-out. This agreement determines which (if any) union members can and must continue to work during any job action or lock-out, and which tasks they should continue to perform. ESAs and associated job action protocols are important because they ensure that neither the University nor relations between Faculty and Administration are permanently damaged in the case of job action.

ULFA has been consulting with Members around their experiences with the pandemic shut-down, and is trying to incorporate lessons learned from that experience into its new ESA proposal. Members who wish to contribute to this process are encouraged to contact any member of ULFA’s ESA negotiating team.

The Board will be represented in ESA negotiations by Carolin Cattoi-Demkiw (Manager, Safety Services); Jennifer Copeland (Associate Dean, Arts and Science); and Scott Harling (Team Lead, University Legal Counsel Office). ULFA will be represented by Rob Sutherland (Chair), Rumi Graham, Locke Spencer, Olu Awosoga, and Dawn McBride, with Aaron Chubb joining as staff support.

A first meeting for these negotiations has been set for December 8.