SEPTEMBER 2005 WELCOME BACK PARTY

All faculty members and librarians (and their partners or spouses) are invited to attend the annual MAFA welcome party. Please join us on Friday 30 September beginning at 6:00 pm at the University Club (President's Cottage, between the Avard Dixon and the Biology buildings). There will be lots of great food and every member who attends will receive two tickets for free drinks. Child care and local taxi fares will be reimbursed (on request, we will be happy to supply you with a blank receipt form at the welcome table).

We hope that you will be able to attend.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

As most of you will know, the collective agreements for both the full time (Unit 1) and part time (Unit 2) members will expire in June 2006. As in the past, MAFA would like subcommittees to review parts of the collective agreements and to examine other issues of concern to identify areas where we might seek changes in the next contract.

The MAFA Executive has started by defining the following areas for subcommittee.

Appointments

Librarian Issues

Part Time Issues

Retirement Issues

Salaries and Benefits

Work Loads & Working Conditions

Feel free to suggest other potential subcommittees. Please contact the MAFA Office or any member of the Executive if you wish to serve on a subcommittee or to provide input concerning any particular area. Remember that it is the MAFA membership that establishes the priorities.

TENURE AND PROMOTION

If you have applied or are being considered for tenure or promotion, the Collective Agreement (Clauses 17.13, 17.37, 20.13, 20.35) says that you are required to submit your package of documents and materials by October 1st. Since that is a Saturday this year, the Employer has agreed to accept these items up to 4:30 pm on Monday, October 3^rd.

7:00 p.m. in Avard Dixon G12.

The single item on the agenda will be a discussion of our preparations for negotiations. It is very important that all members give their opinions and help to set the direction that MAFA will take in its upcoming negotiations.

NEW PROFESSIONAL OFFICER

Those of you who have visited or been in touch with the MAFA Office over the summer will have noticed a new face behind the desk. In May, when Leslie Martin left us to pursue other opportunities, Kathy Seymour took over as MAFA's Professional Officer.

Geoff Martin has been keeping busy working on Contract Academic Staff issues, both locally and at the national level, focusing particularly on part time (Unit 2) members. He continues to monitor the employer's implementation of the Unit 2 agreement, and he sits on the CAUT Committee on Contract Academic Staff. He helped organize a CAUT conference in June in London, Ontario, and he has contributed to CAUT Bulletin articles, discussion papers, policy statements and model clauses on issues such as appointments, pro-rated compensation, job security, workload, and sabbaticals and research contracts

If you have questions about the part time contract or any part time issues, we encourage you to contact Geoff.

CAUT WOMEN'S COMMITTEE

Erin Steuter, Sociology, was elected to the CAUT Women's Committee at the spring council meeting. The Women's Committee is a Standing Committee of CAUT Council with responsibility for advising on the policies of CAUT with respect to the status of women; representing the interests of women academics and maintaining liaison with all CAUT committees regarding those interests; making recommendations to Council on matters relating to the status of women; and helping to coordinate strategies promoting the status of women at all Canadian universities.

The women's committee meets twice a year to review proposed CAUT policies and to review university practices and policies in terms of their implications for women; to encourage and facilitate exchanges of information and experience about women in universities at the local, regional, provincial and national levels; to receive requests from members of CAUT and to ensure that advice and assistance are made available to these members; to review and report on actions taken in universities and to the extent possible other industries to improve the status of women employees, to propose policy statements and guidelines to the CAUT Executive Committee and Council in areas of concern to women.

Policies currently under review include compassionate leave, advancing women's human rights, freedom from harassment, and spousal hiring. Any MAFA members interested in learning more about this committee should feel free to contact Erin Steuter.

PENSION INFORMATION SESSIONS

A reminder that the Pension Advisory Committee has arranged the following information sessions:

Tuesday, October 4 - Plan Design, Investment Options & Managing Your Account (7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Room 108, Dunn Building; Presenters: Lynne Serre, Sun Life Financial and Calvin Jordan, Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
This session will provide an overview of the pension plan. You will have the opportunity to determine your own risk tolerance and then review suggested asset allocations. You will also learn how to self-manage your account using various tools provided by Sun Life.

Wednesday, October 5 - Getting Ready for Retirement (7:00 to 8:30 p.m., Room 108, Dunn Building; Presenter: Lynne Serre, Sun Life Financial)
This session will cover sources of income at retirement and will help you determine your retirement income needs. You will also learn about the different retirement income options available at retirement.

TAKING SALARY AS A RESEARCH GRANT

Clause 29.09 of the Unit 1 Collective Agreement allows employees to request part of their salary as a research grant. Commonly employees do this when they are going on sabbatical leave and they know that they have a large number of research expenses. But this could also be done in other years if you know that you have an upcoming research expense. You should be aware of the limits set by the Canada Revenue Agency on what they will accept as research expenses and of the need to channel your request through the MtA Research Committee.

The advantages to doing this include that you do not pay income tax on these research monies and that it will reduce your regular income tax because it reduces your salary. Contact MAFA if you have questions about this process.

MAFA 2005-2006 EXECUTIVE

Hans vanderLeest - President (Classics)

Chris Storm - Vice President (Psychology)

Ivan Cohen - Treasurer (Classics)

Anita Cannon - Grievance (Library)

Bill Lundell - Collective Bargaining (History)

Elaine Naylor - Membership (History)

Geoff Martin - Unit 2 (Political Science)

Paul Berry - Past President (Commerce)