Please warmly welcome these new APSA members who have joined us in the past month. Albright, Mackenzy Head Preparator Rehire SFU Galleries VPA Engagement   Cheung, Brandon Operating Systems Consultant ll New to SFU

Negotiations Basic Agreement Bargaining: APSA and SFU negotiated the Basic Agreement on January 15-19 and February 1 and were in mediation from April 15-17. Chris Sullivan, the mediator, released mediated recommendations on May 16, which the APSA board of directors approved. SFU's Board of Governors and APSA members have both voted to approve the recommended changes, which will go into effect once both parties sign the document.

Each month, our advocates answer your questions about workplace challenges, the AD 10 policies, and how they’re applied. Questions? Submit them anonymously here. These questions will be answered in a monthly advocacy corner issue. For an immediate answer, please contact APSA.

APSA's Board of Directors has four open director positions. Are you interested in applying? Director position description A director:

Hello APSA Members, You're invited to join us for Conversations with the Board — Fall edition. Come by for a coffee and chat with a board member at your campus. We'd love to speak with you about your work life and how APSA can help you. Room locations will be updated once we receive confirmation from MECS.

A huge thank you to all the members who participated in ratifying the Basic Agreement recommendations from mediator Chris Sullivan. APSA is pleased to note that we had 634 members participate, despite the information session and voting being held over the summer.  We had 621 votes accepting the recommendations and 13 votes rejecting them, for an overall 97.75% support of accepting the changes. This means that the ratification vote has passed and our next steps would be to have both SFU and APSA sign the document.

September Update Happy new academic year! Since my last update in June, there's been quite a few developments to provide updates on:

The Impact of Job Cuts on Your Work: Part II Last month, in this column, I wrote about the impact of job cuts on your work. I also asked for your anonymous, written responses to a single survey question: Since the mass job cuts in May, what has the impact been on your workload and other aspects of your position?

Please warmly welcome these new APSA members who have joined us in the past month. Albright, Mackenzy     Head PreparatorRehire SFU Galleries External Relations  Budgell, Meagan Administrative CoordinatorNew to SFU MED Undergraduate Medical Education Medical School Chan, Fiona Human Resources AssociateNew Appointment Labour Relations & Compensation Human Resources

Negotiations Basic Agreement Bargaining: APSA and SFU negotiated the Basic Agreement on January 15-19 and February 1 and were in mediation from April 15-17. Chris Sullivan, the mediator, released mediated recommendations on May 16, which the APSA board of directors approved. The amendments will now go to the APSA members for ratification. Please learn more here. 

Each month, the Advocacy Committee answers your questions about the AD 10 policies (aka, your terms and conditions of employment.)

We have recently received some great news from SFU. Tess Williams and APSA have been advocating for gender-affirming care for members since our last round of negotiations in 2022. We gave previous updates on both SFU's commitment to gender-affirming care coverage and to proactively complete preliminary work to provide a basic suite of gender-affirming benefits with our benefits carrier, Pacific Blue Cross. In a letter on August 1, 2024, Chris Hatty, Executive Director, Human Resources and Labour Relations, wrote to us:

APSA has finally received the agreed-upon mediated recommendations for the Basic Agreement. [To ratify these amendments, here is what's planned. On August 20, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., we will hold an information session on the changes so you can speak to the main committee members who helped secure these amendments. Please look out for an email with more details and a link to register for the session.

  Learn more about the Basic Agreement: Current Basic Agreement Ratification Updates

Left Behind: The Impact of Job Cuts

In 2023 and 2024, the Canadian and American job market faced a large number of job layoffs, and SFU was no exception. In May, SFU laid off approximately 100+ workers, which included people from APSA, CUPE, TSSU and APEX. For the APSA members who lost their jobs, many were caught off guard by the lay offs and didn't feel treated like valuable employees of SFU. Their treatment, as reported to us, felt as if they were being fired for cause and not position eliminated for reasons beyond their control.

APSA and SFU are currently confirming that we are both working with the correct Basic Agreement document with all the agreed upon and mediated changes. The Board of Governors for SFU have agreed to the mediated recommendations and we will be announcing further information sessions and voting dates to ratify the changes to APSA's Basic Agreement with SFU. Please look out for any further communications on this in your email.

Please warmly welcome these new APSA members who have joined us in the past month.   Backer, Rachel Agritech Partnerships Manager          New to SFU SFU Partnerships Hub VPR VP Research Summary   Barba Lorenzo, Maria Coordinator, Faculty Affairs   

SFU Budget On April 16, the University sent a message to all staff on their financial challenges and presented their forecasted balanced budget for 2024-2025 in their 2024–25 Budget Book. SFU has released their actuals for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which we are including here. 

What Happened with the 2023-2024 Budget?

Each month, our Advocacy Committee answers your questions about the AD 10 policies (aka, your terms and conditions of employment.) Hello. I’m Mike Peragine, an advocate on APSA’s Advocacy Committee. On behalf of the Committee, I’m answering your question about ESA manager versus non-manager classifications.  

APSA is holding its member appreciation event this week! Come enjoy appetizers and drinks with the APSA board, staff, and other members. This event is open to all APSA members. Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024 Time: 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Location: The Study, Burnaby Campus If you're interested in attending, please register here.

You must submit these receipts from 2023 by June 30, 2024, to get reimbursed for prescription drugs and other extended health.

Please warmly welcome these new APSA members who have joined us in the past month.   Amin, Jay Dipenkumar Coordinator, Operations & Guest Services Temporary Promotion Residences      Associate VP, Students   Chaudhary, Vinisha Coordinator, Research Grants & Projects

SFU Budget On April 16, the University sent a message to all staff on their financial challenges and presented their forecasted balanced budget for 2024-2025 in their 2024–25 Budget Book. SFU has released their actuals for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which we are including here. 

APSA and SFU negotiated the Basic Agreement from January 15 to 19 and February 1 and were in mediation from April 15 to 17. Chris Sullivan, the mediator, released mediated recommendations on May 16, which the APSA board of directors approved. The amendments will now go to the APSA members for ratification.

A Question of Trust June 11, 2024

June Update

Tess Williams, a former APSA board director, is a member of Vancouver's Rainbow Week of Action organizing committee. You can learn more about this upcoming event on May 17, which is also the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

Please warmly welcome these new APSA members who have joined us in the past month.   FitzGerald, Sylvia         Research Project Manager     New to SFU Research Operations  VPR VP, Research Summary   Khoo, Peter     Business Analyst        

SFU Budget On April 16, the University sent a message to all staff on their financial challenges and presented their forecasted balanced budget for 2024-2025 in their 2024–25 Budget Book.

Each month, the Advocacy Committee answers your questions about the AD 10 policies (aka, your terms and conditions of employment.)

Self-care through Difficult Times May 10, 2024 Many of you continue to struggle with low workplace morale and deep concerns about layoffs.

May Update

Many members expressed further interest in more flexibility where they can do their work, whether at home or in the office. Members also expressed the need for improvements in health care and dental benefits.  

Please warmly welcome these new APSA members who have joined us in the past month. Bergner, Steven Associate Director, Data Analytics      Additional Job Big Data Hub   VPR VP Research Summary   Chen, Debbie  Junior Business Analyst          New Appointment

SFU Budget APSA, along with other SFU employee groups, received communication from SFU about the need to make operational changes. They further announced administrative job losses and a voluntary separation program, which APSA was not consulted on in terms of its development. We will pursue all avenues available to prevent any job loss to members. 

Learn more at: https://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/administrativ…

Our dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly on behalf of you, our members! Their time involves attending committee meetings, creating proposals, writing negotiation points, meeting with senior administration and defending members via phone calls, email and in person.

A Little, but Not a Lot on SFU’s Budget and Involuntary Layoffs April 11, 2024

April Update