Information for Prospective Candidates in the Upcoming CUFA Election

The following positions are up for election to the CUFA Executive for a 2-year mandate (Jun 1, 2026 – May 31, 2028):

  • Vice-President

  • Secretary

  • One (1) Member-at-large

What does the CUFA Executive do?

The role of the CUFA Executive is to administer the affairs of the Association, including the management of funds, the application of the Collective Agreement, drafting the mandate of the Negotiation Committee, overseeing the progress of negotiations, and protecting the rights of CUFA members, which includes managing the grievance and arbitration procedure. Between negotiations, the Executive deliberates and addresses matters affecting the membership. Finally, the Executive is also responsible for maintaining the office for the Association and human resources matters related to its personnel.

What is involved in the different roles up for election this year?

VICE-PRESIDENT

The Vice-President is a member of the Executive and supports the work of the President in particular. If at any time during the term of office the position of President of the Association becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall become President for the balance of the term of office. 

The Vice-President’s duties include but are not limited to:

  • Attending Executive, Council, and General Meetings

  • Attending joint meetings of the Executive and the negotiating team

  • Attending and chairing meetings and representing CUFA when the President is not available, or as delegated by the President

  • Serving in different capacities on other committees as delegated by the President. Please see below.

SECRETARY

The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the official records of the Association and ensuring the integrity of its governance processes. The Secretary’s duties include, but are not limited to:

  • Attending Executive, Council, and General Meetings

  • Attending joint meetings of the Executive and the negotiating team

  • Preparing and keeping minutes of Executive, Council meetings, and General Meetings

  • With the President, preparing agendas for Executive meetings

  • Overseeing official correspondence and documentation

  • Ensuring compliance with CUFA’s constitution and bylaws

  • serving in various capacities on two or more other committees. Please see below.

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

Members-at-large support the Executive body in various ways in accordance with their particular skill sets and the Executive’s needs, including but not limited to:

  • attending Executive, Council, and General meetings

  • attending joint meetings of the Executive and the negotiating team

  • taking responsibility for portfolios within the Executive

  • serving in different capacities on two or more other committees. Please see below.

As noted above, Executive members also assume additional duties, such as:

  • attending an annual CUFA Executive retreat

  • helping with grievances

  • preparing reports on various issues

  • chairing or participating in standing or ad-hoc committees of CUFA (e.g., the elections committee, the EDI committee)

  • hairing or participating in committees arising out of the Collective Agreement (e.g., 11.02 Joint Equity Committee (JEC); 11.04 Liaison Committee (LC); 11.10 Joint Committee on Faculty Clerical Work (JCFC)

  • organizing workshops for members (e.g., tenure, contract renewal)
  • representing CUFA on university committees (e.g., Inter-Union Council, STRIVE)
  • representing CUFA on committees of affiliated national university associations such as Fédération Québécoise des Professeures et Professeurs d’Université (FQPPU) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), CAUT Defense Fund.

These additional committee assignments will normally be made at the start of the mandate but may also be added as needs arise.

Time commitment

Serving on the CUFA Executive is work intensive and the time commitment can vary throughout the year. The President’s role is particularly demanding. The Executive meets every other Monday morning from September to June in the CUFA office on the Loyola campus.Candidates for positions on the Executive Committee must commit to being available during this timeslot. Executive meetings run approximately 3-3.5 hours but can be longer during collective bargaining. There are also 6 (required) Council meetings during the Fall and Winter terms that normally run approximately 2 hours each, and 2 (required) General meetings in December and April (2.5-3 hours each).

In addition, when we prepare for negotiations in the year prior to and during actual negotiations, there are additional meetings of the Executive dedicated solely to negotiations; these meetings can run between 2 hours and a full day, depending on the status of negotiations. The Executive also caucuses with the Negotiation team after every negotiation session.

The time involvement for managing CUFA portfolios and serving on outside committees will vary depending on the committee. Executive members serving on these committees are expected to report on these activities to the Executive at its regular bi-weekly meetings, and as applicable, at Council (e.g., EDI Committee, STRIVE).

Compensation

According to the current CUFA Policy on Course Remission, all CUFA Executive members receive two 3-credit course remissions, except for the President, who receives four 3-credit course remissions. This policy is revised every three years and is due for review in 2025-2026.

For further details on the functions of the Executive (and Council), please refer to the CUFA Constitution.