Year in Review & Happy Holidays

December 15, 2025

Dear Mem­bers,

As we enter the hol­i­day sea­son, I want to extend my warmest wish­es to all the mem­bers of our union, your fam­i­lies, and our community.

As I look back on the past year, I’m filled with pride and grat­i­tude for every­thing we achieved togeth­er. This year has been one of the busiest stretch­es for our union in recent memory.

❄️ One of the high­lights of 2025 has been our tremen­dous suc­cess at the bar­gain­ing table.

Through long days, count­less prep meet­ings, and the unwa­ver­ing deter­mi­na­tion of our vol­un­teers, we secured real, tan­gi­ble wins for aca­d­e­m­ic mem­bers at First Nations Uni­ver­si­ty of Cana­da and Luther Col­lege. Whether it was wage increas­es, bet­ter ben­e­fits, or improved work­ing con­di­tions, each gain reflects the pow­er of col­lec­tive action and the val­ue of hav­ing a strong union behind you.

These vic­to­ries weren’t hand­ed to us. We earned them togeth­er through sol­i­dar­i­ty and a shared belief that post-sec­ondary work­ers deserve respect and a fair deal. In 2026, we will be bar­gain­ing sev­er­al more con­tracts, so keep an eye out for updates and oppor­tu­ni­ties to get involved.

❄️ Anoth­er project I’m very proud of is work­ing with oth­er post-sec­ondary unions to build a new coali­tion of provin­cial fac­ul­ty associations.

This year, we were incred­i­bly excit­ed to launch the Saskatchewan Orga­ni­za­tion of Fac­ul­ty Asso­ci­a­tions (SOFA) into action mode.

We are very close to being set up as a ful­ly-func­tion­ing provin­cial advo­ca­cy orga­ni­za­tion — the SOFA Exec­u­tive has now been built, finan­cial resources secured, and we are explor­ing how to bring even more post-sec­ondary voic­es into the fold. Over the past year we host­ed our first webi­nar on gov­ern­ment inter­fer­ence, issued our first press release, and start­ed see­ing some real pick­up in the news of our advo­ca­cy efforts.

As a polit­i­cal per­son, I am excit­ed to work togeth­er with oth­er unions to ele­vate the voice of pub­lic post-sec­ondary advo­ca­cy in our province. SOFA is on the rise and we look for­ward to tak­ing on new projects soon.

❄️ Beyond bar­gain­ing and provin­cial advo­ca­cy, we nav­i­gat­ed a year filled with chal­lenges, oppor­tu­ni­ties, and a work­load that nev­er seemed to slow down.

Although URFA has good work­ing rela­tion­ships with all four employ­ers, I will say that we are see­ing some con­cern­ing trends in labour rela­tions that mean our union’s resources are being stretched thin — we con­tin­ue to deal with employ­ers that are ever more top-heavy and cor­po­rate-mind­ed, with con­stant shifts in out-of-scope rela­tion­ships and responsibilities.

This has led to a notable inten­si­fi­ca­tion of work for the URFA team as we man­age rela­tion­ships with our four employ­ers — Cam­pi­on Col­lege, First Nations Uni­ver­si­ty of Cana­da, Luther Col­lege, and the Uni­ver­si­ty of Regina.

To meet today’s chal­lenges, we must grow strate­gi­cal­ly and sus­tain­ably, and I am grate­ful that we are clos­ing out the year with the approved mill rate increase that means our union will have the resources we need to move for­ward into the new year and make the best pos­si­ble choic­es on behalf of our members.

❄️ Our strength lies in work­ing togeth­er, defend­ing our val­ues, and advo­cat­ing for a stronger post-sec­ondary sector.

As this term comes to an end, I want to express my heart­felt appre­ci­a­tion for your trust, par­tic­i­pa­tion, and sol­i­dar­i­ty in 2025. Serv­ing as your pres­i­dent has been an hon­our, and I’m deeply grate­ful for the chance to stand along­side you.

Wish­ing you a rest­ful, peace­ful, and hap­py hol­i­day. I look for­ward to see­ing you in the new year.

In sol­i­dar­i­ty,

Britt Hall

URFA Pres­i­dent