The Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) represents approximately 5,500 faculty members, including professors, instructors, lecturers, and academic librarians through the faculty associations at British Columbia’s research universities.
These universities are Royal Roads University (RRU Faculty Association), Simon Fraser University (SFU Faculty Association), University of British Columbia (UBC Faculty Association), University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC Faculty Association), and University of Victoria (UVic Faculty Association).
All of the CUFA BC member faculty associations are unionized under the Labour Code of British Columbia. UBC unionized in 1989, Royal Roads unionized in 2006, and SFU, UVic, and UNBC all ran successful unionization campaign in 2013/14.
CUFA BC recently celebrated its 50th anniversary! Learn more about our history, board and staff, and member faculty associations.
Objectives
CUFA BC’s broad objectives are:
- To promote faculty members’ interests to the provincial government;
- To provide services to member faculty associations as requested; and
- To promote the value of post-secondary education, academic freedom, and research to the wider public.
CUFA BC achieves these objectives by advocating for the following: enhanced service to member associations in bargaining, an expansion of CUFA BC’s profile in the defining debates on post-secondary education in the province, and the development of timely research and policy analysis in the areas of core funding, collective bargaining, and collegial governance. In particular, CUFA BC provides expertise in collective bargaining and labour relations at the request of its members associations.
CUFA BC is committed to promoting an authentic model of collegial governance and ensuring our members’ voices are heard in university Senates and the Boards of Governors. CUFA BC also works closely with other unions and progressive allies in the public post-secondary education sector.
In addition to these external facing priorities, CUFA BC also celebrates the contributions of our members to wider public policy debates through our annual Distinguished Academic Awards. The awards highlight the vital role that academic research can play in addressing some of the most pressing social, environmental, and economic challenges British Columbia faces in the 21st century.
CUFA BC is certified as a Living Wage Employer.
Our office is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ı́lwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō Nations.