The UMFA constitution provides that the Regular Membership of the Association, duly assembled in a properly called general meeting of the Association, is the highest authority for deciding the policies and managing the affairs of UMFA. The Regular Membership, assembled in a meeting, decides on the general priorities for contract negotiations and on the Association’s budget and organizational priorities. For an explanation of UMFA Membership types, click here.
The Board of Representatives is elected from and by Regular Members to manage the affairs of UMFA, subject to the direction or approval of general meetings of the Association. The Board adopts policy, appoints committees and the Executive Council (except for the President and Vice-President who are elected by the membership), makes recommendations to general meetings, and oversees the work of the Executive Council. Your current Board Representatives can be found here.
The Executive Council comprises the President, Vice-President, Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Grievance Officers, together with other members appointed by the Board of Representatives. The Executive Council manages the affairs of UMFA between meetings of the Board, provides recommendations to the Board and Membership on issues before the Association, and implements the resolutions of the Board and General Meetings. The Executive Council is also charged with determining whether UMFA will proceed to arbitration in grievances. Your current Executive Council can be found here.
The UMFA Constitution
The Constitution governs the composition of the Association and how it makes decisions.The entire UMFA Constitution is available in this PDF document, and is available in plain text format by request.
Meeting Rules
UMFA’s Meeting Rules are easily accessible here, or downloadable in a PDF format here. It should always be kept in mind that the Standing Rules state that whenever possible the Chair of a meeting should try to deal with procedures by general agreement.
UMFA Standing Rules
The UMFA Standing Rules consist of the following sections:
A – Rules and Procedures Governing Meetings of the Faculty Association
Appendix to Section A – Motions for Specific Purposes
B – General Rules and Procedures for Elections
Appendix to Section B – Procedures for Transferable ballot
C – Communications between the Association and Other Organizations and the Media
D – Rules Governing UMFA Representatives/Assessors on University Committees
E – General Rules Governing Committees
F – List of Standing Committees
G – Standing Rules on Collective Bargaining
H – Capitalization Policy
The entire document is in this PDF file, and in plain text format upon request.
Online Meeting Processes
UMFA’s Board of Representatives adopted specific processes to assist with the unique challenges and possibilities of online meetings. Those can be reviewed at this link.