The most recent AUFA member survey revisited a series of general questions aimed at understanding members’ feelings about their work, workplace, and union. The 163 responses received suggest ambivalence toward AU leadership, continued pressures on salaries and workload, and complex feedback for AUFA volunteers to consider.
Ambivalence About Senior AU Leadership
Overall, members’ responses for “I trust the senior leadership team of the university” suggest some ambivalence, with over one-third of respondents indicating “neutral or unsure,” and only 1% (2 respondents) saying they “strongly agree.” Responses for agree and disagree were about even (19 and 20%), and nearly one-quarter said they “strongly disagreed.”
Looking to the comments provided for some indication of factors that might be driving this range of responses, three themes stood out. Several members indicated a sense of cautious optimism about the current leadership of AU. Some comments indicative of this theme are “I am giving them the benefit of the doubt while I am unsure if I trust them,” and “I am used to not trusting the senior leadership team of AU, especially since the last round of bargaining. The current leadership team has done nothing to further erode this trust, but they also haven't shown anything to improve it.”
Another theme that emerged from the comments is a concern about managerial bloat. For example: “that there are more high-level management being added is making me very nervous, especially given the budget crunches. I'd like evidence that those positions are adding serious value and quickly, given the salaries they likely pull.” The final theme is a concern about a persistent disconnect between the high-level direction from senior leadership and the realities of members’ day to day work. One member’s comment sums up all three of these themes:
“Although in principle the new President of AU is a breath of fresh air, the preoccupation with senior executive hirings and strategic planning in the face of urgent tactical issues makes one worry. Many is the military leader who drew grandiose plans of conquest which came to nothing. Even Napoleon knew that "an army marches on its stomach" yet overextended. You have to fix the small stuff. It's all made of small stuff.”
Morale Impacted by Workload and Salaries
The two morale-related questions continue a distinction noted in previous call-based surveys between members’ feelings about their work (tends to be more positive) and their self-reported state of morale (tends to be more negative). The ambivalence about AU’s senior leaders or high-level decisions is likely a factor in this difference.
The pressures of rising cost of living and heavy workloads emerged as themes from the comments, which is consistent with previous survey results and bargaining priorities. For example, one member said, “Our wages are suffering. I've never been keen to strike before. However, I am keen now. We need a fair deal.”
Trends over Time
Revisiting these general questions from previous surveys allows a qualified look at trends over time. This online survey used a very different methodology than previous surveys, which were conducted by volunteers over calls with a randomly selected sub-set of members. Whereas with online surveys we can collect more responses (in this case, 163 members versus the 100-member sample in the past), the results may also be impacted by selection bias. Additionally, the dynamics of completing an online survey are different than responding to a member asking the same questions over a call.
With those caveats in mind, the following graphs demonstrate the trends over all six previous call-based surveys, conducted between fall 2019 and spring 2022.
Previous surveys indicated a more solidly negative opinion of AU’s leadership, with the average for disagree responses over all six surveys at 56% and the neutral and positive responses more or less evenly split (23% and 21%, respectively). The most recent online survey suggests a significant movement from negative to neutral, but not much growth in positive opinions.
As for opinions about the union, it appears that a very strong majority of positive responses has dropped to a smaller majority. The average composite for “strongly agree” and “agree” responses to the question “AUFA is doing a good job of representing my interests” was 87% across the six previous call-based surveys, held between fall 2019 and spring 2022, compared with 66% in this most recent survey. It appears that the shift is equally spread across neutral and negative responses, each increasing by about 10% (average for disagree in past surveys was 3%, compared with 12% in the most recent; neutrals moved from 10% average to 22%).
Feedback for AUFA
There are likely multiple factors driving this more negative shift in perceptions of the union, as the comments did not point to clear themes. Some comments suggested concerns about AUFA’s representation of equity-deserving members, for example: “I would like to see AUFU take more initiative supporting Indigenous, Black workers/academics/professional staff and colleagues of color. Also, the union needs to take a stronger role in working for gender equity and foster a healthier approach to mental health.”
Contributing factors also likely include that the union is still settling into an overhauled governance structure, that the past few years have been rather tumultuous ones at AU overall, and that volunteer capacity has been strained by workload demands. As the feedback encompassed multiple executive portfolios, the full comments will be shared with the full AUFA executive so leads and committees can consider ways to improve their work.
Colleague Calls
As shared at the November General Membership Meeting, the Member Engagement Committee is launching a system of member-to-member connections called “colleague calls.” Volunteer callers will reach out one-on-one to check in with members, with the aim of supporting cross-departmental relationship building as well as two-way communication between members and union structures. This calling system is also intended to support work stoppage preparedness as needed.
This will require many volunteers – many hands make light work! Volunteering as a caller is a great way to get involved with the union in a manageable way (low time commitment) and requires no prior experience or specific knowledge. Reach out to engagement@aufa.ca to volunteer or ask questions.
In solidarity,
Rhiannon Rutherford and Shandip Saha
AUFA Engagement Co-Leads
engagement@aufa.ca