Mission Statement
The mission of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association (MUNFA) is to strengthen the academy through solidarity, advocacy for fair working conditions, and advancing excellence in teaching and scholarship. Our work is based upon our right to academic freedom, collective bargaining, and the unhindered pursuit of knowledge and its dissemination. We value collegiality, transparency, accountability, and fairness.
Land Acknowledgement
As many of us are settlers here, MUNFA offers this land acknowledgment, doing so as trade unionists who understand the importance of collective agreement as we face the ongoing challenge of grappling with our colonial history:
We respectfully acknowledge the territory in which we gather as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, and the island of Newfoundland as the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk. We would also like to recognize the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan, and their ancestors, as the original people of Labrador. We strive for respectful partnerships with all the peoples of this province as we search for collective healing and true reconciliation and honour this beautiful land together.
Volunteers
MUNFA depends on the participation of its members for administration of the Association, and to represent the Association on university committees that have direct impact on our work environment and employee benefits and pension. We encourage members to volunteer for Association committees and to become actively involved in the business of the Association. We can best represent your interests if you are involved — our strength derives from member participation. If you wish to become involved, please contact the MUNFA office munfa@mun.ca and watch for the call for nominations (in the fall for committees; in the winter for membership on the Executive)
History
MUNFA was certified on March 24, 1988 as the exclusive bargaining agent for all Academic Staff Members included in the bargaining unit of Memorial University of Newfoundland. The Association’s membership of approximately 850 comprises faculty, librarians, counsellors and co-operative and field education coordinators at the St. John’s Campus, Grenfell Campus (Corner Brook) and the Marine Institute. Relations between MUNFA and Memorial University’s administration are now governed by an eighth Collective Agreement, signed in October 2014. MUNFA is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL), and is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) through its membership in the National Union of CAUT (NUCAUT).
