Bargaining teams from NSCAD University (NSCAD) and Unit I and Unit II of the Faculty Union of NSCAD (FUNSCAD) met to sign their new collective agreements on June 1. FUNSCAD represents full and part-time faculty and technicians working at NSCAD.
"I want to congratulate the bargaining committees for their hard work. This is the first time NSCAD has successfully bargained without arbitration since the 2000s and the results reflect a shared belief in the mission of our university and a deep respect for our faculty and technicians," says Dr. Peggy Shannon, President of NSCAD University.
"FUNSCAD is proud of this new collective agreement and looks forward to working with President Shannon as NSCAD faces exciting new challenges in art-making and art education," says Darrell Varga, FUNSCAD president. "We are also very thankful for the efforts of NSCAD's Chief Negotiator Dr. Sarah McKinnon whose leadership helped make this agreement possible."
The collective agreement with FUNSCAD Unit I expired on June 30, 2022, and the parties reached a tentative agreement in collective bargaining with Regular Full-Time, Pro-Rated and Part-Time faculty to reach a new four (4)-year agreement on November 21, 2022.
The collective agreement with FUNSCAD Unit II expired on June 30, 2022, and the parties reached a tentative agreement in a facilitated approach with their technicians to reach a new four (4)-year agreement on December 2, 2022.
"This round demonstrated the power of creativity and mutual commitment to a resolution that brought modest change to a mature collective agreement," says Dr. Ann-Barbara Graff, Vice-President Academics + Research, and Provost. "By adopting a facilitated approach from the beginning of the process, we focused on defining and collectively resolving problems generated by the agreement to the benefit of NSCAD."
"FUNSCAD is proud of the important gains made in compensation and with an agreement to transition to a significantly improved pension plan," says Varga. "Our representatives all demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing the well-being of FUNSCAD members."
Representing faculty on the Unit I bargaining team is Chief Negotiator Jayne Wark along with Steve Farmer, Rebecca Young, Sam Fisher and Craig Leonard. Representing studio and library technicians in Unit II is Chief Negotiator Alex Chisholm with Emma Piirtoniemi and Jeff Wry.
Both agreements are available online.
