President’s Message: Fair Employment Week, 2026
October 5, 2026Dear MUNFA Colleagues,
At Memorial, we have seen the same pattern repeatedly: when cuts come, Contract Academic Staff (CAS) feel them first. In the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, more than half of our CAS colleagues lost their positions through a single administrative decision. Across campus, we have lost faculty members in unit after unit. As the administration looks for "flexibility" in how schools and faculties are structured, we risk losing more.
That is why MUNFA is organizing around Fair Employment Week, October 19 to 23, as part of CAUT's national Fair Employment Now! campaign. Throughout the week, we will work toward three clear goals which are in keeping with and take us beyond current negotiations.
Working conditions: CAS deserve real job security and access to the basic resources they need to do their jobs well. When our colleagues are supported, Newfoundland and Labrador's best and brightest students are supported too.
Shared governance: CAS teach a significant share of our courses, yet they have little say in academic planning or in how university resources are managed.
Recognizing the contribution of CAS: We will build broad awareness of both the precarity our CAS colleagues face and the tremendous value they bring to Memorial every single day.
To kick off this work together, I would like to invite you all, but especially CAS colleagues to Coffee with the MUNFA President on Tuesday, October 8 at 2 p.m. at ER4054, before Fair Employment Week. This will be an informal chance to meet, share your experiences, and help shape our plans for the week. Please let us know you are coming by completing this short form: [RSVP link]
Whether you hold a contract appointment or a regular one, this fight belongs to all of us. Fair employment for CAS strengthens our entire academic community and the public university this province relies on.
I hope to see you there.
In solidarity,
Prof. Erika Merschrod
President, MUNFA
