Where is the VCCFA main office?

Our main office is located on the corner of Homer and Pender in a heritage building.

#401-402 West Pender Street
Vancouver, B. C. V6B 1T6

Phone: 604-688-6210
Email: info@vccfa.ca

Broadway Union Office
Room 2654, Building A, Broadway Campus

Union officers and stewards are often at the Broadway Office. Members can have group or private meetings at either office and arrange to meet officers at either.

Who's at the Pender Street office?

Amarys Joseph is our Office Administrator whom you find in our main office, 401. Amarys works Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can help you with any number of general questions or direct your inquiries.

The offices of the President, Vice-President and Chief Steward are located just down the hall from the main office.

Executive 2024-2025

Taryn Thomson, President (24) — tthomson@vccfa.ca 

Frank Cosco,  Vice President (24) — fcosco@vccfa.ca 

Todd Rowlatt,  Secretary (25) — trowlatt@vcc.ca 

Bobbi Mand,  Treasurer (25) — bmand@vcc.ca 

John Demeulemeester,  Chief Steward (25) — jdemeulemeester@vccfa.ca 

Taslim Damji,  Member-at-Large (24) — tdamji@vcc.ca 

Karen Brooke,  Member-at-Large (25) — kbrooke@vcc.ca 

Sarah Kay,  Member-at-Large (25) — skay@vcc.ca 

Nahid Ghani,  Member-at-Large (25) — nghani@vcc.ca 

Andrew Candela,  Member-at-Large (24) — acandela@vcc.ca 

Jeremy White,  Member-at-Large (25) — jwhite@vcc.ca

The Executive meets monthly from 12 noon to 4:00 pm at alternating offices (Pender Street Union office and Broadway Union office). Members are welcome to visit. Members and groups wishing to discuss something with the Executive are also welcome and should talk with the President to set up a convenient time to attend. 

Stewards 2024-2025

John Demeulemeester (25) —  Chief Steward —  jdemeulemeester@vccfa.ca 

Karen Brooke (25) —  Broadway —  kbrooke@vcc.ca 

Nahi Ghani (25) —  Broadway —  nghani@vcc.ca 

Elizabeth Gulistani (25) —  Broadway —  egulistani@vcc.ca 

Ken McMorris (25) —  Broadway —  kmcmorris@vcc.ca 

Keith Krentz (25) —  Downtown —  kkrentz@vcc.ca 

Todd Rowlatt (25) —  Broadway —  trowlatt@vcc.ca 

Andrew Candela (25) —  Broadway —  acandela@vcc.ca 

Sarah Kay (25) —  Broadway —  skay@vcc.ca 

Trishna Nazareth (25) —  Broadway —  tnazareth@vcc.ca 

Judith Wallace (25) —  Broadway —  juwallace@vcc.ca

Meetings with Stewards can be arranged at the member’s convenience.

VCC faculty members have negotiated a few different funds to access regarding professional development. There are specific rules governing each of the funds. Although there are different dollar amounts and review processes for each fund, all can be used to cover the cost of conferences and other activities. Guidelines about each fund can be found on the College shared drive at J: common/pd funds or on our Professional Development page. In addition, the guidelines for the PD funds can be found in our Collective Agreement, Appendix X.

PD Funds

These funds are managed entirely by campus-based volunteer faculty committees. All regular or term instructors who are half time or more, and complete 7 months of service within a fiscal year, are eligible to receive approximately $250 annually on a prorated basis. These funds are governed by Appendix X in the VCCFA/VCC Collective Agreement, and can cover the cost of:
• Applied research/publishing
• Conferences
• Courses/programs (including those required to complete a diploma or degree)
• Liaison/visits with industry
• Memberships/subscriptions
• Performing/presenting
• Purchase of books, software, or specialized supplies
• Seminars/workshops
• Study of new techniques and technology
• Other approved activities

Adjudicated PD

This $50,000 fund is administered by a joint College/VCCFA committee, and each allocation is limited to amounts between $250.00 and $1,000.00. Monies are available for “hard costs” such as courses and conferences, directly related to the employee’s program or area.

Common PD

This fund is also administered by a joint College/VCCFA committee; however, the committee only recommends applications to the appropriate Vice President for final approval. Allocations from this fund is limited to between $1,000.00 and $3,500.00.

Applications for PD funds should be sent to the appropriate campus committee. There is a shared application form for Common and Adjudicated PD Funds. This application should be sent to the Secretary, Vice President, Education. You can find this form on our Forms page.

There is more information on Professional Development funds on our respective page.

For the current committee representative(s) or member(s), check the Committees page or call the office at 604-688-6210.

VCCFA Committees

Community Action — Funds are set aside in the VCCFA budget each year to help local organizations involved in some way in improving the life of the community.
Contact: Vice President

Constitution — This committee prepares and monitors appropriate changes to the bylaws.
Contact: President

Investment Committee — This is a committee made up of Executive Members who help the Treasurer with investment decisions. The Committee is struck at the request of the President.
Contact: Treasurer

Negotiating Committee — This Committee is elected prior to bargaining and remains in place until the bargaining has been completed.

Nominating Committee — This ad hoc group is struck 2 months prior to the AGM. Lobbying This is an ad hoc group that responds to the need for publicity, media responses or a lobbying campaign.
Contact: President

Vancouver & District Labour Council — We are members of Vancouver’s oldest local labour organization. It provides a way for a broad alliance of unions with common causes to support one another.

VCCFA Scholarship — This committee meets to award the annual Scholarship.
Contact: Vice President

Wellness  — Contact the VCCFA Office to send a card for members who have taken ill.

Information about our Meetings is found in Article 5 of the Association's Bylaws.

We have a minimum of 3 General Meetings a year plus our AGM which is held in late November or early December. There may also be Special (or Emergency) Meetings called throughout the year.

▪ Notification of meetings and the agenda are emailed to faculty seven business days prior to the meeting and posted on the VCCFA website.

▪ All regular and term instructors employed at the time of the meeting are eligible to vote. Instructors who are laid-off but on recall can also vote. Auxiliary instructors who have worked at any time during the month when the meeting is held, can also vote. The quorum is 30 members in good standing.

▪ The AGM is usually held off campus, as there is a social following. Elections for the Executive and Stewards take place at the AGM.

▪ General Meetings are held on one of the two campuses when space is available.

▪ Our union’s fiscal year runs from October to September. The budget is presented for approval at the September General Meeting.

▪ Meetings are usually held in the afternoon and instructors are given permission by the College to leave work for their students, so they may attend the meeting.

Telephone

The office number is 604-688-6210. Instructions on how to reach the President, Vice-President, Chief Steward and Treasurer are available on that line.
Phone numbers for all the Executive members and the Stewards are on the website and usually in the Newsletter.

E-mail and Website

Members of the VCCFA can be contacted through the union’s e-mail address which is info@vccfa.ca. As well, the President, Vice President and Chief Steward have vccfa.ca e-mail addresses. These can be found on our Contact page.

Offices

Members can drop by the 402 West Pender Street office any time during working hours. The union office at the Broadway Campus is Room 2654 located on the second floor near the College and Career Access Department offices. It is not staffed on a regular basis, but appointments can be made to meet at this location. During Bargaining, the negotiating committee will often use this space as might other union committees.

The College, Institute and Educators Association was organized in 1980 (as a provincial union replacing its predecessor, the College Faculties Federation (CFF), founded in 1969), to provide faculty at colleges and institutes with a collective provincial voice. At the AGM in May 2004, the name was changed to the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C. to better reflect its changed membership.

Member locals now represent over 8,000 faculty and staff at most of the post-secondary colleges, university colleges, institutes and agencies in the province. FPSE provides B.C.’s educators with a wide range of labour relations and professional services.

FPSE's Services to Members include:

• A collective voice to present the views of college, university-colleges and institute faculty on education policy to provincial politicians, Ministry officials, the public and the media.
• Collection, analysis, and distribution of information on educational policy, labour relations, pension legislation, human right law, and women’s equality issues.
• Expert advice on all aspects of union work through an assigned Labour Relations Staff Representative.
• Legal counsel to provide advice and representation in arbitrations, court cases, and other legal actions.
• A defence fund for financial support of members involved in strikes, lockouts, or situations honouring picket lines.
• Representation by FPSE staff in bargaining, grievance handling, and arbitration, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance and other hearings.
• Training in labour relations for faculty involved in bargaining and contract maintenance.
• Standing Committees with representatives from each local working to identify and address issues of concern within their mandates. Current committees are: Bargaining Coordination, Contract Administration, Decolonization Reconciliation Indigenization, Education Policy, Professional Development, Pension Advisory, Status of Women, Human Rights, Non-Regular Faculty, Occupational Health and Safety, Private Sector Policy and Disability Management.

Much of this information, and more, is available on our FAQ page, or in your Collective Agreement. It is subject to change, so check for the latest information.

1. How is my salary determined and can I get my initial step placement changed?

Article 5.6, of the Collective Agreement sets out the parameters for step placement. There is only one eleven-step scale in our agreement and theoretically one may be placed anywhere on it but in practice the College uses guidelines for placements. Placement criteria are set out for consideration and the College must provide a written rationale for how they have placed someone. Instructors may discuss their initial placement with the College and can ask for a steward to go along with them.

Within six months of the initial placement an instructor may ask for a review with a different administrator and may at that time submit any additional information. It is advisable to consult with a steward first.

HINT: Fill out the College Application form with as much detail as possible especially the column for how many hours a week previous positions involved.

2. How will I be evaluated?

Term instructors and those hired as probationary regular instructors are expected to have summative evaluations. The process mandated by the Collective Agreement, Article 16.
Details are found in Appendix VII – Evaluation of Term and Probationary Regular Instructors.
It is a complex process so those going through it are urged to contact a steward if they have any questions or concerns.

3. Is my workload the same as other instructors in my area, or is it different because I’m a term instructor?

Usually all instructors within a department, term or regular, have the same workload profile. For example: so many hours per week of class time and so many for tutorials. The workload profile may differ somewhat between departments or areas but usually not for the individuals in the same department or area. Under the Collective Agreement, no instructor may be assigned more than 25 hours a week of any combination of assigned duties (see Articles 6.1 and 6.2.) Twenty-five hours is the maximum number of assigned duty for Counselors and Librarians as well.