Who We Are
The University of Lethbridge Faculty Association is situated on the traditional and ancestral lands of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy), which includes all Indigenous peoples of Treaty 7 and Métis Region 3. The University of Lethbridge’s Blackfoot name, gifted to us by elder Bruce Wolf Child, is Iniskim, meaning Sacred Buffalo Stone.
ULFA is the exclusive bargaining agent for academic staff at the University of Lethbridge. Our membership consists of all U of L academic staff: about 500 faculty and instructors and 100 sessional lecturers. We exist to unite and empower our membership to help make things better.
Through our collective bargaining process we aim to maintain and improve the contract under which academic staff perform their duties. ULFA is legislated into its role by the Alberta Post-Secondary Learning Act, and since 2017, the Alberta Labour Relations Code.
We strive to be champions of academic freedom, and of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the University. We exist to help make things better in the terms and conditions under which our members carry out all aspects of their academic work. By improving the working conditions of our members, we are also improving the quality of research and learning conditions of students at the University of Lethbridge, and thereby benefiting society as a whole.
ULFA envisions a workplace that allows our members to thrive in their academic work. This includes fair working conditions, strong collegial governance, the preservation of tenure and academic freedom, and the identification and elimination of barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion for all academic staff.
We achieve our goals proactively through collective bargaining of the Academic Staff Collective Agreement. If there is a violation of this agreement, we can use the grievance procedures of the Collective Agreement to protect our members’ rights and working conditions. Our Bargaining Resource Committee is tasked with developing the bargaining mandate, through consultation with members, which is then provided to the Negotiating Team. The Grievance Committee oversees the grievance procedure. The Gender, Equity and Diversity Committee examines the current state of EDI for academic staff members, recommends strategies for redressing structural inequities, and advises the Executive and standing committees on what can be improved. During a negotiating year, the Job Action Committee is a standing committee that prepares for the eventuality of a strike or lockout. ULFA’s newest standing committee is the Shop Stewards Committee. Our Shop Stewards promote the goals of the union in their area and provide critical feedback from their area to the ULFA Executive and other standing committees.
