Travel Health Exclusions

Some UWFA Members have tried to make benefits claims recently only to find that they were ineligible for various reasons. While this information is available on the University of Winnipeg HR website, we thought it would be useful to print it here, too, so that Members do not have an unpleasant and unexpected response to a travel, disability, or insurance claim.

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Opportunities Missed

Mike McIntyre, UWFA Communications Committee Member
 

On April 20 the UWFA Executive invited me to join them in meeting with members of the administration including Dr. Axworthy.  A principal objective of the meeting was to consider the need for improved communication between different segments of the University of Winnipeg community. It is this last word, “community,” that is all important.  Community is, after all, central to what the University represents to the thousands of graduates who remember their time here with a deep and abiding affection.  It was community that we experienced as our students supported us so firmly and so generously during bargaining.  It is community that is central to the national ratings of undergraduate programs where we regularly excel.  It is community that is evident in the generous giving that occurred in the recently completed capital campaign.

Our community is, however, threatened in many ways by the historic underfunding of the University. Class size, which has grown to the point that faculty know fewer and fewer of our students, is but one example.  At the April 20 meeting, we discussed the historic underfunding and the possibility that we could speak of it with one voice – students, faculty, staff, and administration.  The looming provincial election seemed to provide a particularly opportune time to raise the issue and to underscore the political implications of the underfunding. Assurances were made that communication was a high priority and would be improved.

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UWFA Thanks Students and UWSA for Support

On September 14, UWFA held a barbeque on the Spence Promenade to thank our wonderful students and the UWSA in particular for the incredible support they showed us last March when we were on the brink of a strike. As faculty members, we were all concerned about how a possible strike would affect our students. We worried they may perceive our decision to strike as selfish or disruptive of their lives and education.  So we were overwhelmed when student after student showed their support.

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A Struggle for Legitimacy—and Voicemail

Tracy Whalen, UWFA Communications Officer
 

They’re teachers and lawyers, provincial employees and Ph.D.-holding faculty who haven’t found full-time employment. They’re former faculty members and graduate students. We’ve historically called them Contract Faculty (CF), but CAUT prefers the term Contract Academic Staff (CAS) to refer to a Member who is hired on a per course or limited term basis under the terms of the collective agreement.

In “casual” conversation (so to speak) here on campus, I’ve heard CAS teaching figures ranging from 20% to 60%, depending on the department or faculty. Contract Academic Staff bring particular kinds of expertise to our university; there are legitimate and fair ways these Members can contribute to academic life. That said, they should not be exploited or over-used. CAUT maintains that they “are often poorly paid, have little or no benefits, no job security and no academic freedom. This casualization has serious implications not only for Contract Academic Staff, but for students, their Regular Academic Staff colleagues, and the university system as a whole” (http://www.caut.ca/pages.asp?page=212). CAUT opposes the increasing casualization of academic work and actively supports fairness and the equal treatment of all academic staff.

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So, you are a member of the DC Pension Plan..

Hans Werner, Pension Trustee, UWFA appointment
 

The University of Winnipeg’s Pension Plan is a trusteed pension plan, which means it is governed by an independent Trustee Board with members appointed by various stakeholder groups—the campus unions, the University, retirees, and external members. The Plan has two parts, a defined benefit component, and a defined contribution part. What follows focuses on DC Plan members.  

What is important to think about if you are a DC Plan member?

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Message from the President

Pauline Pearson, UWFA President

The summer was a trying one for many Members, given the sheer number of moves and the uncertainty that often surrounded the timing and the details of space management. With the middle of the term rapidly approaching as I write this, I hope that everyone has settled into the fall semester.  

First, let me start by thanking those Members who have offered me their kind words and encouragement.  Since taking on the position of UWFA President in May, I have been quite busy meeting with Members as well as the Employer. The former has tended to be more rewarding than the latter. It is great to see that the high energy levels and engagement that served us so well during the job action preparations continue.  Meetings with the Employer have been cordial and have resulted in guidance for Members on a number of issues involving promotion applications and student evaluations of teaching. Dr. Axworthy has agreed to meet with faculties to discuss vacancy management at the University of Winnipeg. Please watch for the invitation to your faculty and plan to attend this important meeting. 

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