Have you heard about the newest danger to the seniority system?
In recent years, York has been abusing the so-called ‘Hotshot Clause’ in ways that threaten to undermine the entire system of seniority and encourage arbitrary hiring at the whims of department Chairs. If we can’t protect the integrity of the Unit 2 hiring process from this attack, all contract faculty are at risk.
How is York Misuing the Hotshot Clause?
In recent years, York has used this provision to hire their preferred candidate by bypassing seniority and incumbency provisions. Hires like this can look like external candidates with relationships with the Chair, external candidates that were used to push out an existing member, or even allowing a less senior member to leapfrog a more senior one, again at the Chair’s whim. Departments are using this clause as a blank cheque to get out of the collective agreement hiring provisions.
Why Does This Clause Exist?
In the past, this clause (which can be found at article 12.04.1 (i) of the Unit 2 collective agreement) was also called the “Margaret Atwood clause”. This speaks to its original intent: if someone who is (essentially) famous wants to teach a class at York, they can do so despite the typical seniority-based hiring process. Other examples of genuine hotshots include ambassadors and retired Members of Parliament.
That is the crux of it: it’s meant to be an exception for someone who is so far and beyond qualified that there should be no question. It’s not meant to be used if the Chair simply prefers one candidate over another.
York and CUPE 3903 shared an understanding of what this clause meant for decades. In recent years, the employer has unilaterally decided otherwise and started using the clause to circumvent the collective agreement.
How Bad Is This?
Seniority protects all members from arbitrary decisions. When it works, it prevents employers from treating some people preferentially, and offers limited but essential protection from discrimination. Also, to state the obvious, experience matters in teaching.
If we allow York to disregard seniority provisions in this way, we are allowing them to play favourites, potentially discriminate, and negatively impact the quality of education at York University.
What Can We Do About It?
The collective agreements for Units 1, 2, and 3 expire on August 31st 2026. This means that bargaining will start soon. We need to collectively demand that that the abuse of this clause ends, whether it be by eliminating it or amending it.
No one is saying that Margaret Atwood or someone equally famous shouldn’t be allowed to teach at York. But we can’t allow the employer to behave as if seniority and incumbency are optional whenever they please.
Get involved in bargaining by going to meetings and keeping up to date with all the latest developments!