MUN Faculty Association

Precariousness is something I think about and talk about a great deal. For me, it means a lot more than just not having a permanent position.

Living with a baseline of uncertainty is an extremely heavy load to carry alongside trying to build a career and contribute meaningfully to research and to my students.

Precariousness is something I think about and talk about a great deal. For me, it means a lot more than just not having a permanent position.

It fundamentally shapes how I plan my life. It adds unsteadiness to the most well developed plans. Being a precarious academic shapes how I can and cannot imagine my future as a researcher and an educator.

Precariousness is something I think about and talk about a great deal. For me, it means a lot more than just not having a permanent position.

Being a precarious worker shapes my decision making, broadly. From parenting and having kids, to transportation and housing, to my decision to stay in this province, to health and wellbeing, precarity has impacted on my life in a multitude of ways.

Teaching is the tip of the iceberg. What is an assistant teaching professor? We are contracted instructors to meet teaching needs.

We want our contributions to the university and to the broader community to be recognized and part of that recognition is seeing not just the tip, but the whole iceberg.

Teaching is the tip of the iceberg. What is an assistant teaching professor? We are contracted instructors to meet teaching needs.

There has not been a year where I have not had to apply to continue the needed work that I am doing. I have colleagues who have spent 20 or more years on that same carousel of perennial financial and career uncertainty.

Teaching is the tip of the iceberg. What is an assistant teaching professor? We are contracted instructors to meet teaching needs.

All of this labour, most of it unpaid, is always happening alongside the emotional and financial stress of job insecurity. I have been “on the job market” my entire career.

Teaching is the tip of the iceberg. What is an assistant teaching professor? We are contracted instructors to meet teaching needs.

When I say teaching is the tip of the iceberg, I mean we are productive, dedicated, passionate thought leaders. I have yet to meet a contractual academic who “just teaches”.

Teaching is the tip of the iceberg. What is an assistant teaching professor? We are contracted instructors to meet teaching needs.

I promise you, we are still researchers. I promise you, we are still active with department, university, and community service.

We are mentors, student confidants, researchers, authors, commentators, public speakers, and experts in our fields. Unfortunately, none of this is reflected in our formal job or in our compensation.

Teaching is the tip of the iceberg. What is an assistant teaching professor? We are contracted instructors to meet teaching needs.

Effectively, our contracts are anchored to teaching needs and do not include research or service and we are paid on a different (and capped lower) scale than permanent ASMs.

Hi everyone! I’m taking over MUNFA’s social media today to share a little about my experiences as a contract academic at Memorial University. I’m Dr. Katherine Morton Richards, although a lot of my friends and family call me Charlotte (long story!)

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I care deeply about my students, my colleagues, and the university community we build together. There is nothing I would rather do for work than research and teach and I’ve been fortunate to be able to do so over the last decade.

Today, I’m going to be talking a little bit more about my experiences as a contract assistant teaching professor and what fighting for better equity for contractual faculty would mean to me and my colleagues.

I’ve been teaching at MUN since January 2016, first as a PCI, and more recently as an assistant teaching professor. I’m a sociologist, educator, and researcher, and one of the most rewarding parts of my work is getting to teach students to think critically about the social world around them.

But there’s another side to academic life that we don’t always talk about: what it means to do this work without the security of knowing when/ if I will have paid work in the future.

MUN Faculty Association reposted

Robin Whitaker

@rgwhitaker.bsky.social

Flying the @caut.bsky.social flag with @munfaculty.bsky.social comrades in today's @nlfl.bsky.social @canadianlabour.bsky.social National Day of Action to defend the right to strike.

CAUT/ACPPU@caut.bsky.social

CAUT President @rgwhitaker.bsky.social participating in the @canadianlabour.bsky.social National Day of Action to protect the right to strike outside Minister @joannethompsonnl.bsky.social's constituency office. Join the fightback by texting RIGHTS to 55255

MUN Faculty Association reposted

ohrc.on.caHuman Rights AI Impact Assessment | Ontario Human Rights CommissionThe Law Commission of Ontario and the Ontario Human Rights Commission have joined together to create this tool to provide organizations a method to assess AI systems for compliance with human rights o...

A tool to asses AI bias: www.ohrc.on.ca/en/human-rig... @munfaculty.bsky.social @caut.bsky.social @nlfl.bsky.social @munsu35.bsky.social

merschrod (she/they)@merschrod.bsky.social

From today's Keynote for #FairEmploymentNow: Any AI tools should have a bias audit done before a university (or any workplace) considers using it. @munfaculty.bsky.social @caut.bsky.social @nlfl.bsky.social

MUN Faculty Association reposted

MUN Faculty Association reposted

CAUT/ACPPU

@caut.bsky.social

Across Canada, contract staff teach post-secondary courses but still face low pay, limited benefits and insecure employment. It’s time to challenge precarious work in higher ed. Find out if your campus has an active Fair Employment Now! campaign: buff.ly/30oAYUQ

Fair Employment Week starts today. At Memorial, Contract Academic Staff teach a large share of our students, yet many still work without job security, basic resources, or a real voice in governance. When cuts come, CAS feel them first.

forms.gleIn Search of Professor Precarious: Film Screening and Q&AThursday, October 22, 2026 | 5:00 p.m. | SN-2109 As part of Fair Employment Week, MUNFA invites you to a screening of In Search of Professor Precarious, a documentary exploring the realities of precar...

Join us this Thursday, october 22 at 5 pm in SN-2109 for a screening of “In Search of Professor Precarious”, RSVP link: forms.gle/4yamuHJpcNHy....

MUN Faculty Association reposted

Listen to the people doing the work of the university! #WeAreMUN @munfaculty.bsky.social @munfa-grenfell.bsky.social @munsu35.bsky.social @cupescfp.bsky.social

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MUN Faculty Association reposted

share.canadianlabour.caTell the government: Protect our right to strike!

The right to strike gives workers power to stand up to big corporations and demand better wages. The federal government shouldn’t take that power away. share.canadianlabour.ca/s/Iqa2mL7i @munfaculty.bsky.social @nlfl.bsky.social @munfa-grenfell.bsky.social

20 Sept

MUNFA President Dr. Erika Merschrod is coming to Grenfell Campus on September 21 and 22. Full schedule in the graphics. RSVP links: linktr.ee/munfaculty

us02web.zoom.usWelcome! You are invited to join a meeting: MUNFA Town Hall- Negotiating update. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: MUNFA Town Hall- Negotiating update. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

18 Sept

MUNFA town hall is happening today at 2 p.m. Co-Lead Negotiator Nicole Power will update members on where things stand at the bargaining table. Register now: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

9 Sept

RSVP for St. John’s campus social: bit.ly/3SHlQwJ RSVP for Grenfell campus social: bit.ly/4rmDzGN #wearemun

4 Sept

MUNFA is hosting a Fall Welcome social for St. John’s campus Academic Staff Members to kick off the new semester. 🍂 Friday, September 11, 4:30 to 7:30 PM St. John’s Farmers’ Market, cafe area RSVP: bit.ly/3SHlQwJ

MUN Faculty Association reposted

munfa.caFIRST CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE GRENFELL MEMBER-AT-LARGE POSITION ON THE MUNFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE - MUNFAThe MUNFA Nominating & Balloting Committee is soliciting nominations to fill a vacancy on the 2026-2027 MUNFA Executive Committee for the Grenfell Member-at-Large position, with a term ending August 3...

7 Aug

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE GRENFELL MEMBER-AT-LARGE POSITION ON THE MUNFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE munfa.ca/news/first-c... @munfaculty.bsky.social

18 July

Join MUNFA at the St. John’s Pride Parade tomorrow.🏳️‍🌈 Look for MUNFA flags in Zone A3 (purple), near the Mary Brown’s Centre entrance, toward the Majestic Theatre. Tomorrow at 11:45 am.

15 July

Reminder: our Shared Governance Presentation with the co-chairs of @caut.bsky.social Governance Committee is tomorrow. Thursday, July 16, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. Register: bit.ly/4vYsmxB

10 July

Join the co-chairs of @caut.bsky.social Governance Committee for a presentation and Q&A on standard governance practice at universities across Canada, and what stronger shared governance could make possible at Memorial. Thursday, July 16, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. Register: bit.ly/4vYsmxB

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25 May

Our university president wants to shrink the university, but our students clearly want something else! New transfer applications up 22% Undergraduate admissions up 10% (intl up 49%) Graduate applications up 29% Graduate admissions up 16% #WeAreMUN @munfaculty.bsky.social @munsu35.bsky.social

26 May

Memorial received the funding it asked for. So why is every academic unit facing cuts? MUNFA has serious concerns about the 2026-27 operating budget and what it means for faculty, staff, and the students counting on them. Read our full statement. 1/2 #wearemun

26 May

2/2

17 May

Today, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia, and Intersexphobia, MUNFA stands with 2SLGBTQIA+ colleagues, students and community. Every person at Memorial deserves to work and learn in an environment free from discrimination and fear. munfa.ca/news/munfa-s...

5 May

Warmest congratulations to Dr. Robin Whitaker on her re-election as @caut.bsky.social President. A faculty member in MUN’s Department of Anthropology and former MUNFA President (2017-2019), Dr. Whitaker continues to be a strong voice for post-secondary educators across the country.

2 May

MUNFA joined @caut.bsky.social colleagues at yesterday’s May Day rally in Ottawa, standing in solidarity with workers everywhere. #solidarity

29 Apr

Budget 2026 brings welcome relief for students - but it does not close a decade of underfunding at Memorial. The only university in NL needs sustained investment. 1/2

29 Apr

2/2

22 Apr

Free parking available in Lot 1A. Online registration link in our bio.

16 Apr

In 2024, Premier Wakeham said abandoning Memorial University and telling it to 'go fix your problems' was 'not good enough.' These are his own words, on the record with CBC. Budget-2026 is his chance to prove he believed them. Source in our Bio. #WeAreMUN

7 Apr

2021 KPMG economic impact assessment found that Memorial University contributes over $600 million to Newfoundland and Labrador’s GDP every single year, supporting nearly 10,000 jobs, attracting students from around the world, and generating billions in long-term economic value through its graduates

7 Apr

The economic case for investing in Memorial hasn’t weakened, but the province’s commitment has. It’s time for the provincial government to act accordingly. (Read the full report in our Bio) #WeAreMUN

MUN Faculty Association reposted