There are 2 types of membership: Bargaining Unit and Association. Faculty, Librarians, Archivists, and Adjuncts are all automatically dues-paying Bargaining Unit Members and covered by the Collective Agreement. Members of the Bargaining Unit can vote for ratification of a Collective Agreement and in strike votes. Association Membership is voluntary and open to all Bargaining Unit members. Association membership can be obtained by completing a Membership Form. Association members can participate in the decision-making processes of the union, run for office on the Executive Committee or Council of Representatives, and serve on any other QUFA committee. No additional payment of dues is required to be an Association member. Please also note that there are circumstances where people are excluded from the QUFA Bargaining Unit (e.g., if they become an Associate Dean, Dean, voting member of the Board of Trustees, etc.). Please find a list of these exclusions in Article 1.4 of the Collective Agreement. These employees are not covered by the Collective Agreement and QUFA cannot advocate on their behalf in labour matters.

Specific Right of Reappointment (SRoR) and General Right of Reappointment (GRoR) are rights afforded to Term Adjuncts who satisfy certain criteria. Article 32 of the Collective Agreement outlines these rights. The criteria can be complicated so please read the information carefully, and look at our Adjunct Rights page for a visual description and audio of an Adjunct Rights workshop.

Annual Performance Reviews and Reports are due on Sept. 30 of each year. See Article 28 of the Collective Agreement. Please note the different processes for full-time faculty and Term Adjuncts. If you are having trouble locating forms, please contact your Unit Head.

The Fund for Scholarly Research and Creative Work and Professional Development (Adjuncts) or “Adjunct Fund” provides support for scholarly and/or creative work and/or professional development for Adjunct members. The fund has application deadlines in the Fall, Winter, and Summer terms. See Article 36.2 of the Collective Agreement, and the application form and details can be found here. We also send out regular email reminders of the application deadlines throughout the year. If you have questions please direct them to QUFA Member Services Officer Doug Nesbitt at: d.nesbitt@queensu.ca

The Childcare Benefit Plan supports members who have dependent children with child-care and after school program costs. The Tuition Support Plan supports members’ spouses and dependent children with tuition support. Please see Appendices M and N of the Collective Agreement for more details. These plans are subject to several restrictions and conditions, so please read the information carefully. Applications forms are available on the Queen’s HR Intranet.

You can check the QUFA Benefits page. If you have specific questions about your plan and coverage, you should contact Manulife directly.

Please check out QUFA’s Pension and Retirement page. QUFA members are covered by the University Pension Plan (UPP), and our site includes links to the UPP website and documents that should help you navigate your pension. If you have questions about the specifics of the pension plan, please contact UPP directly.

If you are a member going through RTP (Renewal, Tenure, or Promotion for tenure-track and tenured faculty) or RCP (Renewal, Continuing Appointment, or Promotion for Librarian and Archivist members) or if you are a Head administering these processes, please first consult with Articles 30 and 31 of the Collective Agreement. Also, keep an eye out for emails about information sessions for both Members and Heads related to RTP and RCP early in the Fall term each year.

Please see Articles 42.3 (for Continuing Adjuncts), 42.4 (for Term Adjuncts), and Appendix Q in the Collective Agreement. A Unit Head may ask an Adjunct to perform additional duties (administrative service, supervisory duties, etc.) and the compensation for those duties is outlined in Appendix Q. Communication with your Unit Head is always important in these situations.

The YOE Guidelines are located here. Please also visit the Queen’s Faculty Relations Office website for additional information.

Every Unit has a Workload Standard document and you can find them all here. You can also consult Article 37 of the Collective Agreement on workload.

Look at Article 33 of the Collective Agreement. The section on “Academic Leaves” (sabbaticals) provides details about eligibility, approval, deferral, etc.

In accordance with Article 36 of the Collective Agreement on Working Conditions, Term Adjuncts are guaranteed access to certain services for 8 months following the end of their contract (e.g., NetID, email, campus network, access to the University library, etc.). Please check out the Article for more details.

If you are considering applying for the VPRP, first read through LOA #4 in the Collective Agreement carefully. Look at our VPRP infosheets, guidelines, and video on the QUFA Pensions and Retirement page. If you have any additional questions, please contact QUFA staff.