Membership

Not sure if you've already signed up? Here's how to tell:

1. Find a recent email from FAUW (most are sent by laura.mcdonald@uwaterloo.ca)
2. Check the subject line: If it starts with [FAUW Voters], you're already a voting member. If it starts with just [FAUW], you're not.

You can also contact our Communications Officer, Laura McDonald, to inquire.

In Canada, union/association membership is not allowed to be mandatory – nobody can be forced to join against their will and there are a variety of religious, ideological, and political reasons why someone might object. However, this has the potential to create “freeriding” problems where only a portion of employees pay dues in order to negotiate better salaries and working conditions that benefit everyone.

The legal compromise is a concept in Canadian labour law called the Rand formula (named after the Supreme Court justice who came up with it), which requires workers who are covered by collective bargaining contracts to pay union dues whether or not they are members. Even though FAUW isn’t unionized, this aspect of labour law still applies to us because we are recognized as the sole official bargaining agent for faculty with regard to salaries and terms and conditions of employment.

If you're already represented by FAUW, you can join with no change to your deductions. (We represent everyone who has a regular faculty appointment, plus some part-time faculty. See the Memorandum of Agreement for more details.)

Membership is also open to other faculty members and professional librarians at the University of Waterloo and the affiliated university colleges. To join, you'll need to complete a special membership form (PDF) authorizing monthly payroll deductions.

Join online right now. Please note that we can't currently receive hard copy forms while our office is closed.

If you're a librarian or other faculty member (e.g. at one of the colleges), please download a special membership form (PDF) authorizing payroll deductions, and email your completed form to Laura McDonald. Please note that FAUW is the official representative of only regular faculty members employed by the University of Waterloo and we are unable to officially represent other employees to the University or college administration regardless of your membership status in FAUW.

All faculty members represented by FAUW pay dues as a condition of your employment, whether you've joined FAUW as a voting member or not. FAUW dues are 0.525% of your base salary, charged on a monthly basis and rounded to the nearest five cents. CAUT and OCUFA membership fees are included. Part-time members are only charged the CAUT and OCUFA part-time fees x 1.5.

See section 2.5 (Association Dues and Payroll) of the Memorandum of Agreement for more information.

Faculty Association dues are tax-deductible. They are reported in box 44 of your T4, which is available in Workday by the end of February each year.

You will get a notification in Workday (and an email from the University) letting you know when your T4 is available. To find it again later, go to the "Pay" section of Workday, then "Tax documents."

To access FAUW dues receipts from prior to 2020 in Workday:

1. Click the Cloud icon (or photo if you added one).

2. Click View Profile.

3. Select Personal from the menu.

4. Click the Documents tab. Recent slips will appear at the end of the list.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at payroll@uwaterloo.ca or extension 35935.