UWSA governance

The UWSA is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in Ontario. This means that we are a separate entity from the University. A volunteer board of directors oversees our work, which is governed by the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act and our by-law, as well as various internal policies and guidelines.

Articles of Incorporation

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) Letter of Patent (PDF) established the UWSA as a corporation and set out our "objects"—our purpose—in 1973. These objects are to unite staff, advance staff interests, and promote educational opportunities for staff.

By-law

The UWSA By-law defines UWSA membership, the board committee structure, elections, annual general meetings, committees of the UWSA, and other rules and procedures for how the association operates.

UWSA budget

The activities of the UWSA are guided each year by the budget. Our fiscal year is May 1 to April 30. Members can view a summary of the current budget in our Members-only Knowledge Base in Confluence. A UW login and UWSA membership are required to access our Confluence space.

Board policies & guidelines

The UWSA Board of Directors has approved the following financial policies. A number of other policies related to Board functions exist within the Board of Directors manual, which is a work in progress.

Read our "UWSA 101" series

Thursday, August 15, 2024

UWSA 101: Our Relationship with UW

Welcome to our “UWSA 101” series, in which we explain how the UWSA works, your rights as a member, and how to participate in our elections! 

Our formal relationship with the university is what allows us to officially represent staff interests, and it is defined in our Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the university.

Thursday, August 22, 2024

UWSA 101: The UWSA By-law

Internally, the UWSA has two key governing documents that say what we do and how we do it, our Articles of Incorporation, and our By-law.

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

UWSA 101: Governance and Operations

There are two big categories of UWSA activities, which we refer to as “governance” and "operations." The operations team is concerned with serving UW staff, and the board is concerned with stewarding the UWSA as a corporation.