Know Your Rights: Right of First Refusal

We recently won an important arbitration about your rights. It pertains to the first level of job security that term faculty members can obtain (right of first refusal—see article 1.02 (g) in the Local Agreement). 

Right now, we need your help to monitor whether the College will honour this ruling.

We don’t always know when members are having trouble exercising their rights. Please get in touch with us as soon as possible if you have recently applied for right of first refusal, or if you are thinking about applying. Also, if you have retained correspondence on right of first refusal from any point in your employment and would be willing to share that with us, we would be grateful.

This is the essence of our dispute with the College–under the Collective Agreement, faculty members who receive term assignments can apply for “right of first refusal”:

1.02 (g)(i) Term Faculty Members employed for two (2) semesters for the equivalent of two (2) consecutive academic years shall have the right of first refusal for the same or an equivalent term assignment in the next employment period, subject to successful evaluations.  

If you have right of first refusal, you should be offered work assignments before other term faculty applicants, so this is effectively a pathway to securing further employment.

The College interprets this right narrowly (generally per course), whereas the Faculty Association and the arbitrator interpret this broadly (for any similar work assignment in your department for which you are qualified). It is an important difference and one worth fighting for. 

Please ask your term colleagues if they know about this right and refer them to us if they don’t. We are very happy to explain the details and talk people through the process of applying.

In solidarity,