Our Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) outlines how the UWSA and the University work together. It sets the framework for how terms and conditions of staff employment are determined, and it’s foundational to our role as your representative.
Over the past several months, we’ve worked closely with the University on an updated version, which is now ready for you to review ahead of a ratification vote that will run from March 30 through April 8.
This latest version is the next step in a long trajectory that began in 1975, when UW formally recognized the UWSA as the voice of staff. Since then, we’ve steadily expanded staff representation—documenting our working relationship in 1997, creating dispute‑resolution processes in the 2000s, and crafting our first substantial MoA with guaranteed dues in 2022. This latest update builds on these foundations to strengthen how staff are heard and supported.
Key changes in this updated MoA include:
- Compensation negotiations: replacing PACSC with negotiations, mediation, and arbitration.
- Association grievances: introducing a process for the UWSA to address broader, systemic issues with access to third‑party arbitration.
- Member participation rights: clarifying and strengthening protections for participating in UWSA activities and accessing UWSA support.
- Guidelines: introducing guidelines into the MoA, including requiring the University to notify and engage with the UWSA when they are created or revised.
Together, these changes strengthen our ability to advocate for you by introducing enforceable processes, independent dispute resolution, and clearer rights for staff.
You can read the full breakdown of every change on the ‘What’s changing’ page.
Getting to ratification
Member input shaped our goals throughout this process and the tentative agreement has been endorsed by the UWSA Board of Directors our legal counsel. The next step is ratification by UWSA members.
Ratification—established in our 2022 MoA—is a new process for UWSA members, so we’ve built in extra time for questions, conversations, and learning before you vote. We understand that changes like this can feel fast, especially in a year when staff are already carrying a lot. Although our process mirrors how collective agreements are bargained and ratified, our timeline is longer, taking place over weeks instead of days, to give you as much clarity and time as we can.
Here's what you can do next:
- Explore the proposed changes in our section-by-section explanation.
- Read the FAQ for more detail about some sections and the MoA process.
- Attend an information or drop-in session between March 25 and April 1. You can register for an information session on Portal now.
- Vote between March 30 and April 8—UWSA members will receive a link to vote by email.
Get ready to vote
Dive deeper
- Read our FAQ about the MoA—we’ll keep adding to this as your questions come in!
- See updates on the ideas you shared with us in advance of the MoA revisions.
- Learn about our new membership categories and how we support all staff.
Attend an information session or drop-in
We're hosting three information sessions to walk through changes and answer your questions, and two drop-in sessions for further discussion.
2026 Memorandum of Agreement information sessions
These sessions will highlight the key proposed changes to the MoA and give you a chance to ask questions. All staff are welcome to learn more about the revisions and ratification process.
2026 Memorandum of Agreement information sessions
These sessions will highlight the key proposed changes to the MoA and give you a chance to ask questions. All staff are welcome to learn more about the revisions and ratification process.
2026 Memorandum of Agreement information sessions
These sessions will highlight the key proposed changes to the MoA and give you a chance to ask questions. All staff are welcome to learn more about the revisions and ratification process.
2026 Memorandum of Agreement drop-in times
Drop in with your questions about the MoA revisions. There's no formal presentation; come and go as works for you!
2026 Memorandum of Agreement drop-in times
Drop in with your questions about the MoA revisions. There's no formal presentation; come and go as works for you!
Provide feedback
We've launched a survey to collect your:
Questions: Let us know what we can explain better about the MoA and we'll update our FAQ or annotations.
Suggestions: We can re-open the MoA for further changes or additions in two years, and make minor revisions in the meantime. We encourage you to share your ideas to help make the next version even stronger!
Negotiation priorities: The survey also asks for input to shape our negotiating priorities for 2026, which will begin immediately following ratification.
The 2025–2026 revision process
- In spring 2025, we created an internal project team of Board members, UWSA presidents, and employees to plan for revisions.
- We notified UW of our intent to review, and they generally agreed to our proposed deadline of spring 2026.
- We gathered ideas from members and our Board of Directors about what issues to pursue, and surveyed members to prioritize these ideas.
- We started discussions about the process with UW: Staff Relations Committee struck a joint working group, and we have agreement on updating the Agreement by spring 2026, with a focus on the process for staff compensation agreements, and who we represent and how staff are defined across the MoA and policy.
- We presented and gathered more feedback at the October Area Representatives meeting, and shared an update at the 2025 Annual Meeting.
- The joint working group began discussions in November. The University and UWSA presidents issued a joint statement about the revisions.
- On March 13, 2026, the joint working group reached a tentative agreement, which will be shared with all UWSA members following the final legal review.
What is the Memorandum of Agreement?
The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) outlines the formal relationship between the University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) and the University of Waterloo (UW). It recognizes UWSA as the official representative voice of all "University Support Group" (USG) staff, with a few exceptions for senior leaders, and establishes our joint approach to working together through committees on managing issues and policies impacting staff.
What the MoA does for you
- It establishes a staff voice in things like salary and policies.
- It gives members the right to get support from the UWSA in discipline cases.
- It provides release time so the president and directors can do UWSA work.
- It protects the security and privacy of our information.
What's not in the MoA
The MoA is solely about the relationship between UWSA and UW, and staff rights relating to participation in the association. Staff working conditions are currently covered in university policies. The MoA is how we decide terms of employment but not what those terms actually are.
The MoA also doesn't cover how we govern ourselves and how much our dues are. We're an independent organization, and those are things the university has no say in. Our governing rules are in our by-laws, and per our by-law, dues are set by the board based on what we need to keep operating and serving members.
Health and dental benefits are determined by the Pension & Benefits Committee, with reps from across employee groups.
A brief history of our relationship with UW
- 1975
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1997
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"UW & UWSA: A Working Relationship" first documented the structure of our relationship.
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2000
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Dispute resolution mechanisms and formal policies protecting staff rights were developed throughout the early 2000s.
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2008
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The first MoA described existing decision-making committees and how members are appointed to them.
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2022
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The latest version of the MoA added automatic dues for new staff + association-level grievances.
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