UVic Spring 2025 Newsletter

Dear PEA members,

We’ve got a big milestone on our hands this year as 2025 marks the 30^th anniversary of the certification of the UVic Chapter at the PEA. I thought I would share a little bit of our organizing history for those who may not know how our bargaining unit was formed.  

In 1995, the PEA organized 400 academic and administrative professionals at UVic, making it the union’s second-largest bargaining unit. This victory followed over a decade of efforts, starting with an unsuccessful but influential organizing drive in 1982-83. 

By the early 1990s, budget cuts reignited the push to unionize. A grassroots staff group—including administrative officers, systems specialists, and lab instructors—explored their options and chose the PEA. In 1995, over 55% of eligible employees signed on, and on September 7, the BC Labour Relations Board approved our certification. 

Negotiations for a first contract began in January 1996 but moved slowly. The university resisted key proposals like a defined 35-hour workweek, overtime provisions, and fair salary progression, offering just a 1.75% increase. By June, frustration boiled over, and members agreed that a confrontation might be necessary. 

With talks stalled after eight months, the PEA scheduled a strike vote for September 19, 1996. This move forced UVic’s hand—just 36 hours before the vote, a tentative deal was reached: a three-year contract with annual 3% salary progression. Members ratified it in a decisive 206-to-1 vote. 

By October 1996, the PEA had secured its first contract at UVic—a major milestone in the fight for fair wages and better working conditions for academic and administrative professionals on campus.  

If you’d like to know more about the history of our chapter, I encourage you to read Duty with Dignity, available on the PEA website. Our Chapter Executive has begun planning to celebrate this milestone so stay tuned for more details. 

Kristen Ficke
UVic Chapter Chair  

PEA Labour Relations Office
It has been great having our new Labour Relations Officer, Stephen Portman, with us these past few months. He has been getting familiar with our collective agreement and the priorities of our Chapter Executive. If you ever want to say hello, he is often on campus during the week and his office is B326 in the Cornett Building.

Thank You Sam
For the past nine years, our chapter has been fortunate to have the expertise and unwavering support of PEA Labour Relations Officer, Sam Montgomery, who has been a fierce advocate for our members. Her deep knowledge, tenacity, and sharp negotiating skills have strengthened our chapter in immeasurable ways. We encourage you to take a moment before her final day on Friday, March 14, to express your gratitude for her dedication and solidarity.

Solidarity Committee
The Solidarity Committee, including members of all on-campus unions and the student unions, has been very active over the past couple of months. The current focus is on advocacy in the student accommodations process to ensure greater accessibility and resource allocation to this critical part of the learning experience. In addition, they have struck a sub-committee to review the new UVic budget model as well as a review of changes in the Academic Writing Requirement area. 

Call to Action: Camosun Board of Governors Meeting
The Camosun College Faculty Association has put a call out for union members from across Vancouver Island and beyond to attend the next Camosun Board of Governors Meeting online. They are requesting our presence as an act of solidarity to stand in opposition to a restructuring plan that has been developed without adequate planning, participation or engagement with the public, students and staff of the university. They are asking members to show up for the start of the meeting to show a swelling of opposition before the meeting moves to “in camera”. The login details are in the newsletter.

Concerns Over UVic’s New Budget Model
As UVic prepares to implement a new budget model, the PEA and the Island Solidarity Group are closely monitoring its potential impact on members. Similar to York University’s SHARP model, UVic’s approach will incorporate elements of Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB), prioritizing enrolment numbers and revenue generation over historical funding baselines. 

While budget reform may address some concerns—such as large class sizes and resource shortages—there is a lack of transparency around how this model will truly affect our membership. Increased administrative burdens, funding tied primarily to student numbers, and uncertainty around program sustainability are just a few of the issues that we are monitoring. 

York’s recent suspension of first-year enrolments in 20 programs under a similar budget framework serves as a warning. We must advocate for a budget model at UVic that supports quality education and fair workloads for all members while also ensuring job security. 

Lobbying Update
This past December your chapter executive sent a joint letter, together with other UVic unions, to Education Minister Anne Kang, to express concerns regarding the devastating budget cuts at UVic and the impact they are having on our students and workers. The letter called for a number of measures to stabilise employment and the financial situation at UVic, including significant increases in government funding as part of a new sustainable funding model for the post-secondary education sector. In the coming months, we will continue to lobby the Minister and key decision-makers to ensure our priorities remain at the forefront. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Chapter Executive
We are pleased to welcome Katy DeCoste, Communications Officer with the Faculty of Humanities to our Chapter Executive in a Director position. 

Local Rep Recruitment
We are still looking for local rep support for the following buildings:  

• Campus Security, Campus Services (Bookstore) and Child Care 
•  Health and Wellness Building 
•  Saunders & Saunders Annex 

Local reps are often the first point of contact for many union members. A local rep has many duties, including solving job site problems and issues, educating members on their collective agreement, enforcing the collective agreement, and communicating the union’s message to members. Local reps are the cornerstone of the union, and effective local reps build stronger unions. Each job location needs a skilled, trained, and assertive local rep. 

If you are interested in being a local rep for any of the buildings listed above, please email Ash Senini, and complete the registration form on this page to apply for the PEA Local Rep Basic Training, taking place in April (you will need to sign in using your PEA membership login information).