Please Vote - Last Day!
Thank you to everyone who has already voted: our democratic association can only thrive when people are involved. To that end, I want to ask those of you who have not already voted to take a moment to find the link to your ballot in your inbox, click on it, and vote to shape UTFA’s next two years.
WHY YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT
Your vote is important because a revitalized UTFA can address issues that matter to you and your colleagues. As I have campaigned, I heard from many colleagues about unresolved issues facing our membership, like a childcare benefit that has not been updated in 17 years. Meanwhile, poorly conceived administration initiatives like the carbon tax on travel and the clunky MROL research portal are released without faculty input – because the administration does not trust the current UTFA leadership to work collaboratively with them. UTFA can do better.
Your vote is important because elections are a time for members to assess the state of their association and hold their leaders accountable. There are unaddressed problems in the operations of our organization, from opaque budgets to failures to follow the association constitution and by-laws. Your vote will send a message that the UTFA Executive must investigate, rather than dismiss complaints as motivated by partisanship, or by impugning the integrity of complainants, especially complaints of harassment and discrimination. UTFA must do better.
Your vote is important because, now, more than ever, UTFA needs new leadership to provide our association with a fresh, more effective, approach. My opponent’s experience yields few gains at the bargaining table, and her divisive style of leadership is reflected in campaigns that impugns the motivation and character of those who disagree or who seek to shine light into how the association operates. UTFA needs new leadership, not more of the same problems and controversies that have marked the last four years.
You can read more about how your vote is important here: https://www.utfa.org/content/prof-levine-utfa-presidential-statement-2
WHAT I WILL DO AS UTFA PRESIDENT
As President, I will move UTFA beyond the strife and power struggles that recently marred governance at our university, not exacerbate them by organizing a certification drive. For many years, UTFA leaders argued that our faculty association enjoyed advantages that outweighed the benefits of certifying as a union. We should remember that the certified status of some of other Ontario’s faculty associations has not led to much more success in recent negotiations. As a result, decades of UTFA presidents never sought certification. I am the only candidate in this race pledged to continue that tradition.
You can read more about what I will do as UTFA President here: https://www.utfa.org/content/prof-levine-utfa-presidential-statement-3, or read about my policy platform, my views on academic freedom, and how I hope to improve civility on campus.
WHY I CAN SUCCEED AS UTFA PRESIDENT
I have the skills, the experience and the support from colleagues, including former members of UTFA’s Executive Committee, to succeed as President. I have served on UTFA Council and on committees at UTFA like the one responsible for bargaining. I have advocated for faculty and students with administrators at Simcoe Hall, and I have served as a leader in other organizations. My experiences volunteering with UTFA demonstrated to me that UTFA can be more effective under new leadership. I could see how building trust and improving communication between faculty and the administration would help us find common ground on key policies and procedures such as PTR. Being transparent about what faculty and librarians tell us they desire will strengthen UTFA on issues that UTFA members prioritize, and we will be tough in insisting that the administration respect our members! My experience under previous UTFA leaders has also made it clear: while relations between UTFA and the administration can often be contentious, but the mechanisms we have already in place, first mediation and then arbitration, has often worked very well for UTFA members. I will take a pragmatic approach to other issues that arbitrators are unlikely to adjudicate and seek negotiated resolutions.
Thank you for your support!
Renan Levine, Ph.D.