Report of the President to the Annual General Meeting

By Kristine Hansen, UWFA President

Labour Management Committee (LMC):  The LMC, a joint UWFA-Employer body, was struck for the first time this year, and it is functioning as a forum for resolution of problems concerning terms and conditions of employment within the Main Unit. Currently there are two standing subcommittees. One is charged with creating a new teaching evaluation system, as mandated by the Collective Agreement. The other has the task of reviewing employment equity and pay equity. Both subcommittees have done considerable work, but neither is yet ready to report. The LMC has resolved a variety of other problems to date. For example, we have publicized agreements concerning fair distribution of enrolment load across members in the assignment of courses in light of the new 2.5 FCE teaching load; and also concerning equitable course releases for Members in their second year of teaching. The LMC currently is dealing with matters such as conversion of term appointments, security of electronic files, university policy on personal printers, emergency management policy, course load for members on reduced appointments and partial leaves.

Collective Bargaining:  Last summer the Main Unit Intellectual Property clause was agreed upon, and thus the Main Unit Collective Agreement has been successfully concluded. We are about to embark on bargaining for the Contract Faculty and Collegiate Units.

Internal UWFA Organization, etc.:  Last June, the Executive Council held a retreat in which we discussed such issues as association renewal, communications, Executive operations, policies, relations with external groups, etc. There has been activity in all of these areas over the past year.  We hope to bring proposals for constitution and bylaw changes to a general meeting in the fall.

Legal Matters:   We continue to have had considerable need for legal work in the past year. There was much legal work involved in the transition to the Trusteed pension plan this past year. In addition, UWFA intervened in the Manitoba Court of Appeal’s hearing regarding the ordered payout of the DB pension plan “surplus.” We also were represented by our legal counsel in a case in which a former member sued the association regarding a mandatory retirement issue. That case was dismissed, and UWFA was awarded costs. Many legal consultations also have been necessary regarding various personnel and grievance issues. Also, we incurred considerable legal costs in concluding collective bargaining.

Staffing and Office Issues:  This is the first full year in which our Staff Officer has been full-time, and her workload has been very high. More members have been contacting UWFA than previously was the case and they have brought to our attention more issues that have required UWFA’s intervention.  Sandra Moore, our Administrative Secretary, is currently on maternity leave, and she has been replaced for the year by Daniel Draper. We have been attempting to secure more accessible premises for the UWFA offices, but we have not been successful. We are currently attempting to expand our Sparling Hall office area to give Lisa a separate office, and we will continue to pursue a more accessible location as new building and renovation occurs.

Current Issues: Most recently, UWFA’s energies have been focused on dealing with the Employer’s request that we take unpaid “furlough” days in the current budget year, or otherwise make pay concessions. We gave the Administration the opportunity to meet with the UWFA Executive, the general membership, and the Collegiate (whose members could not attend the general meeting because of scheduling), and we called a secret ballot vote on the issue. The UWFA membership rejected salary concessions by a vote of 186 to 8. Currently, we are establishing a UWFA scholarship/bursary fund, and conducting a donation drive among our members in order to do what we can to address the shortfall in this year’s university scholarship/bursary funds.  We also are investigating retirement enhancement plans with the assistance of CAUT, and we soon will be calling a meeting of members eligible for retirement to consult on a plan to propose to the Employer.

Thanks for contributions: Many people have made large contributions to the work of UWFA this year. In particular, I want to thank our staff for their dedicated service. Also, I want to thank all members of the Executive Council for their hard work on many difficult issues. Among them, Dave Burley has worked hard as Vice President, and has taken on the large task of working on teaching evaluation retooling. Pauline Greenhill has been doing a stellar job as newsletter editor and is currently organizing the UWFA scholarship/bursary fund drive. Steven Kohm, as Treasurer, also has been a strong contributor. I also want to thank the members of the Main Unit Negotiating team: Hugh Grant, Barnett Richling, Richard Jochelson, and Lisa McGifford.  Jim Clark currently is serving as President of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA), and has handled a range of political and media issues. Thanks to departing Executive Council members: I also would like to thank those Executive members whose terms are ending, and in particular, thanks to our departing Grievance Officer, Barnett Richling. Our new Grievance Officer will be Alex Freund.