To all Faculty and Staff,
As I write this, I reflect on the challenge’s we have all felt over the last few years but I also look forward to the opportunities which lay ahead. I start this message with a bit of a back story before I get to my update.
In the spring of 2018, I noticed an email from the FSA – the message indicated that there was a call for Stewards. As someone who is curious and willing to try new things I sent in my name. As a management instructor and as someone who had managed unionized employees within the aviation sector, I thought this would be an opportunity to learn firsthand how labour relations worked at UFV.
Well next thing I knew I was being summoned to a meeting with Colleen our VP Negotiations and Sean Parkinson the FSA President at the time. I was informed that due to unplanned absences within the FSA Colleen was filling in as the Faculty Contract Administrator role (Chief Steward) and the FSA was looking for someone to step into the job.
Well, this was an interesting situation – I raised my hand to be an entry level steward and now I was being asked to step forward as the Chief faculty Steward. This was a big ask!! And much more than I had bargained for.
Chief Faculty Steward 2018 - 2019
Well at the May 2018 FSA AGM I allowed my name to stand as the Faculty Contract Administrator (Chief Steward) and for whatever reason our membership elected me. My thought was that I could leverage my labour relations experience within the aviation sector to help guide me in this position and to be honest that experience paid off. I could not imagine someone stepping into the Chief steward position today without at least a few years of labour relations experience. As the Chief stewards, we are facing highly experienced labour relations professionals from management on a daily basis. Within days as the Chief Steward, I was witnessing actions that based on my previous experience was causing harm to our members. Those first months were an eye opener.
The role of Chief Steward is officially to work on issues of compliance and interpretation of the collective agreement, but the reality is that it is much more than that. Yes, there are questions of interpretation but much of the work involves working with members who feel that their workplace rights and privelidges are being disregarded or they just want someone to hear how frustrated they are with a workplace issue. Part of our personal identity is tied to what we do. So, questions involving work performance or changes to one’s workload or a failure of clear direction can, if left unchecked, become very personal for the people involved. Working members through these minefields requires a combination of empathy, labour relations knowledge, and patience.
After doing this work for almost a year Sean Parkinson expressed his desire to step into a fully released role at the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) and asked if I would consider running as President.
FSA President 2019 - 2023
I allowed my name to stand and in May 2019 I was elected by the membership as the President of the FSA. The role of president is a mixture of operational duties, executive leadership, while being the face of the FSA with university administration.
After one year as the Chief Faculty steward, I identified a couple challenges that needed some attention. First off, the services we received from our membership with FPSE needed to he examined. We pay approximately 44% of our dues to FPSE which equates to approximately $500,000.00 per year but my experience had been that actually getting service from the Federation was difficult and inconsistent. One example is the fact that over the last 4 years we have gone through 5 different FPSE staff representatives. As the FSA has not traditionally had any in-house labour relations professionals this labour relations advice is essential.
This lack of in-house labour relations support is the second issue that I identified which needs to be remedied. Although we do have the contractual right to have a steward network – this is only one tool in the arsenal of labour relations. Our lack of onsite professional labour relations staff does not serve our membership with the level of service which they deserve. Although a steward may have a relationship with the member, and they may understand the workplace they do not have the years of labour relations experience that the employer’s representatives have.
Since being elected as president, I have worked with FPSE and we have seen improvement in service commitments but one must remember that for the most part we only get a couple hours a week of labour relations advice from our FPSE rep.
In as far as the in-house labour relations, we have created a new staff position which is dedicated to supporting labour relations. Having someone in house with extensive labour relations experience increases the effectiveness of our labour relations team. It is my desire to make this position which is currently a temporary position a permanent position within our staff. Dallis Van Steinburg has proven to be an excellent labour relations support person who fits well into our labour relations team. Her years of union experience have enabled us to serve you more effectively, but it has also allowed us to hold FPSE to higher standard of service.
The transition out of my current role
I often find it odd looking back at my transition into the position of FSA President – I put my hand up and next thing I knew I was in a fully released position. Luckily, I had a fair bit of labour relations and human resources experience so the transition was relatively easy. This is not always the case, as a matter of fact I am probably more of an anomaly (and perhaps an annoyance) at UFV. For this reason, I want to give as much notice as possible that I will be stepping away from my current role at the end of my term.
Over the summer I was asked by colleagues to consider putting my name forward as the director of the school of business. I considered the request and thought about a non-traditional approach. As the Director’s position is a unionized position could I serve as President and as a part time Director? I approached the Dean and he expressed a willingness for me to transition into the director’s role on a part time basis. I then approached the FSA executive who saw the plan as being a viable transitional option. This period of transition will give the FSA plenty of time to identify candidates for the president’s position to be elected at the next AGM. Working with the FSA executive we have delegated some of the presidents’ responsibilities to other executive members who are interested in learning more. This option allows for a more planned transition for the FSA than an abrupt departure. It also allows me to transition back into my home faculty. I look forward to supporting the FSA and my colleagues in the School of Business during the remainder of my tenure.
By the time my term is over in May 2023 I would have been serving the FSA for full time for 5 years. This time has been challenging but also rewarding. The covid pandemic started in March 2020 – with the effects still being felt. We have accomplished much as your representatives at UFV and I will continue to support the FSA, just in another role.
Thank -you
In Solidarity,
Rod Hayward
UFV-FSA President