DFA Celebrates a Win!

On September 23, DFA members returned to the classroom after a 28-day lockout, the first lockout of faculty members in the history of Dalhousie. The collective power and resolve of our DFA Membership secured significant bargaining wins, strengthened our collective agreement and most importantly renewed our sense of identity as a union. We celebrate these wins and thank all those who showed support throughout the job action.

The finishing touches are being put on the collective agreement and it will be available soon. Here are the highlights of the 3-year deal:

• salary increases of 3.25%, 3.25% and 3.5% for a total of 10% over the life of the contract;
• a total of 16 positions that have been limited-term for 6 years or longer will be converted to tenure stream/career stream positions;
• salary adjustments of between $1,500 and $5,000 for early career faculty who join Dalhousie at a rank other than full Professor;
• each Faculty will develop workload policies to ensure a more fair and equitable distribution of workload;
• parental leave top-up increased from 14 to 35 weeks (total combined pregnancy leave top-up and parental leave top-up will be 52 weeks);
• 5 days of paid leave for Indigenous faculty to observe cultural or traditional days of importance

During the lockout, it became clear that we need to be better organized and prepared to deal with the broader threats to higher education that affect academic staff – and ultimately students – throughout our sector. For example, we need to better understand how university administrators are relying on advice provided by consultants such as the NOUS group (formerly known as Cubane Consulting, and Uniforum), and how Federal and Provincial governments are undermining funding and support for higher education. Our work on these issues and many others continues, as we get ready for the 2028 round of bargaining!