The Mount Allison Faculty Association was founded in the 1950s by a group of faculty who recognized the need for an organization where matters which affect faculty and librarians in their work and relationships with the university could be freely and openly discussed. In 1982 the association became a union through certification under the New Brunswick Industrial Relations Act. Since then we have negotiated for full-time faculty and librarians (Full-time Unit) a series of collective agreements that outline terms and conditions of employment. In 2003 MAFA also became the official bargaining agent for all part-time faculty (Part-time Unit) at Mount Allison.
MAFA is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), the CAUT Defence Fund, which provides financial support in the event of strike or lockout, and the Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations (FNBFA). MAFA is also affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress through the National Union of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (NUCAUT). However, MAFA is a free-standing trade union under the New Brunswick Industrial Relations Act and is not a “local” of any national or provincial union.
Historical timeline
- January 1958 — Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA) established
- June 1958 — MAFA joins the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)
- March 1969 — Professional Librarians admitted to MAFA as members
- November 1971 — MAFA joins the Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations (FNBFA)
- February 1981 — MAFA applies for certification as the legal bargaining agent for full-time professors and librarians
- August 1982 — The NB Industrial Relations Board certifies MAFA
- 1984 — First Collective Agreement
- 1986–1988 — Second Collective Agreement
- 1988–1991 — Third Collective Agreement
- April 3–14, 1992 — Faculty Strike
- 1991–1994 — Fourth Collective Agreement
- 1995–1998 — Fifth Collective Agreement
- Jan 21–Feb 15, 1999 — Faculty Strike (concluded with interest arbitration to determine salary scales for 1999-2000 and 2000-2001)
- 1998–2001 — Sixth Collective Agreement
- 2001–2002 — The parties agreed to extend the Sixth Collective Agreement and submit the salary scale for this year to arbitration
- 2002–2006 — Seventh Collective Agreement
- August 21, 2003 — The NB Industrial Relations Board certifies MAFA as the legal bargaining agent for a new unit of part-time academic staff, often referred to as Unit 2, and revises the certification order for the full-time unit to include instructors, teaching Post-doctoral Fellows, and nine-month “sessional” appointees
- 2004–2007 — First Part-time Collective Agreement
- 2006–2007 — Seventh Collective Agreement extended with minor salary adjustments
- 2007–2010 — Eighth Full-time Collective Agreement / Second Part-time Collective Agreement
- 2010–2013 — Ninth Full-time Collective Agreement / Third Part-time Collective Agreement
- Spring 2013 — Not-for-credit full-time and part-time teachers were added to the bargaining units through voluntary recognition and the collective agreements were amended
- Jan 27–Feb 16, 2014 — Faculty Strike (concluded with all outstanding issues referred to interest arbitration)
- 2013–2016 — Tenth Full-time Collective Agreement/Fourth Part-time Collective Agreement
- Feb 3, 2020 — Faculty and Librarian strike begins