Part-Time Faculty Compensation for extra work outside of contract

It has come to UWOFA’s attention that Part-Time Faculty Members are uncertain about how compensation for extra work outside of their contracts will be administered. 

Unfortunately, there is a disagreement between UWOFA and the Employer about what was agreed to at the negotiating table on this matter and so there is currently no agreed-upon Collective Agreement language that might help resolve this uncertainty. 

To seek resolution of this disagreement and to defend the right of Part-Time Members to be fairly compensated for their work, UWOFA has filed a policy grievance – read on to learn more about what you can do to help. 

Context

In the 2022 round of collective bargaining for the Faculty Bargaining Unit, UWOFA sought to negotiate pay for work done by Part-Time Members outside the dates of their contract, as a component of the bargaining goal: “To provide fair and equitable compensation for Part-Time Members including payment for Service.”

UWOFA’s understanding was that we reached agreement on language which was then summarized as follows in our report to Members on the tentative settlement in advance of the ratification vote: 

• Pay for Employer-mandated training and course-based work outside of contract dates
  • Effective Year 1: $400 for a full day (8 hours) or $50 per hour for periods less than a full day

However, we later discovered (in April 2023) that the Employer had a different understanding of what had been agreed to.

Differences in understanding between UWOFA and the Employer

UWOFA’s understanding is that Part-Time Members are to be paid for Employer-mandated training and required course-based work that takes place outside of contract dates.

The Employer’s understanding is that Part-Time Members are to be paid for Employer-mandated training and required course-based work that is outside of the duties specified in the contract, for example in “unforeseen circumstances”. As Part-Time Members will know, Limited Duties contracts are written in such a way that work outside of contract dates is a typical expectation and thus UWOFA thought our proposal should have been clear.

UWOFA’s position is that the Employer is withdrawing its assent to an important provision that was agreed upon in the Memorandum of Settlement signed on November 14 2022 and subsequently ratified by UWOFA and by the Employer. In order to seek a resolution to this matter, on June 29th, UWOFA filed a policy grievance. It may take some time before the grievance is resolved and we will keep Members apprised of any updates.

Take Action

As we continue to work towards a resolution, this is what UWOFA would like Part-Time Faculty Members to do: 

• If you haven’t done so already, start tracking your hours for work outside of the required contract dates
• Submit your claims in writing to your Dean (and cc UWOFA) with the following information:
  • Description of the nature of the work done (i.e., the course, the task)
  • Hours being claimed with the dates over which the work was done
  • Dates of the LD contract held
  • Any accompanying documentation which shows this work was required (i.e., emails from Chairs, Deans, Administrative staff)