SEPTEMBER 2006

WELCOME BACK PARTY

All faculty members and librarians (and their partners or spouses) are invited to attend the annual MAFA New Members' Party. Please join us on Friday 29 September beginning at 4:30 pm at the University Club (President's Cottage, between the Avard Dixon and the Biology buildings). There will be 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.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

As I reflect on a theme that may typify the new academic term, the word change springs to mind. To our new colleagues, I would like to extend a welcome. The student body seems somehow different, and the senior academic administrators are inarguably different this year. Even the Avard Dixon Building has taken on a new look, with the new sidewalks and the absence of several large trees and bushes.

The major change for MAFA this fall is a result of obtaining the services of Geoff Martin in our office. He brings to the position a wealth of experience in both MAFA and our national body, CAUT. This will expand the role of the Professional Officer, and lighten the workload of the MAFA executive.

Our occupation as an executive and our association will be in the preparation for the upcoming negotiations. A lot of work was done last year, and some of it will be undoubtedly used. However, we must decide what to retain, what to modify, and what to add. We will be consulting you in the upcoming months to arrive at these decisions.

A Faculty Association tradition is the New Members' Party. Though the status of the University Club resulted in some consideration of the format of this event, it will stay true to that of the last couple of years. Let us all make the effort to attend this event to welcome our new members.

Paul Berry

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

As most of you will know, the collective agreements for both full-time (unit #1) and part-time (unit #2) members, extended last year, will expire at the end of June 2007. Last year's Executive struck sub-committees to review the collective agreements and offer recommendations with respect to articles treating:

•Appointments issues
•Librarians' issues
•Part-time issues
•Retirement issues
•Salaries and benefits
•Teaching loads and working conditions

This year's Executive intends to use the reports generated by these sub-committees as starting points for crafting the negotiating agenda, but we want to hear your views with respect to both the articles already under review, and on any additional issues that might be investigated. Please contact the MAFA Office or any member of the Executive to offer your advice and comments. Please remember that it is the MAFA membership that sets priorities for negotiation.

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 Sunday this year, the Employer has agreed to accept these materials until 4:30 pm on Monday, October 2^nd.

NEW PROFESSIONAL OFFICER

Geoff Martin, who has taught at Mount A. on a contract basis for fourteen years, has been appointed as MAFA's new Professional Officer. If you have any questions about our collective agreements or anything related to your working conditions, call or email Geoff at the MAFA office.

CONTRACT ACADEMIC STAFF

As part of his duties for MAFA, Geoff Martin is continuing to work on the CAUT's Contract Academic Staff committee. Over the coming months he will be working on CAUT policy and a model clause on the deeming of hours for academic staff for Employment Insurance purposes.

Currently, some employers underestimate the number of hours worked by colleagues who teach on a contract basis. This can disadvantage an employee, who may not quality for EI or may have a shortened claim. He expects that this work will help some of our members in both unit 1 and unit 2.

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

CAUT WOMEN'S COMMITTEE

CAUT Women's Committee works on Child Care issues

Erin Steuter (Sociology) is a member of the CAUT's Women's Committee which has 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.

At the meeting of the committee in September, childcare issues were examined. CAUT research indicates that childcare for children of academic staff is an important issue on the majority of campuses, yet 40% of academic institutions still do not provide childcare facilities for the children of academic staff.

CAUT believes that the availability of childcare services is central to work-life balance, recruitment and retention of faculty and support for members' familial responsibilities and roles that allows them to excel in their personal and professional lives. The CAUT status of women's committee is in the process of developing a policy statement and model clause on childcare that calls on universities to provide affordable, unionized, high-quality and accessible child care services on or near campus for members of the academic community.

At present, 30% of collective agreements have a clause for provisions of childcare. For example, Queen's University faculty and staff have negotiated a child care benefit that allows faculty and staff to claim child care expenses of $2000/per year for reimbursement by the university. At Memorial University, the collective agreement states that the employer shall provide "personnel and facilities for the day care of at least twenty children and after school care of thirty children of Academic Staff Members aged from two to eight."

Do you teach on a part-time basis?

If so, you are eligible to apply for funding from the Vice-president (Academic and Research) in support of your "professional responsibilities." The Vice-President has $5000 at his disposal in this academic year, and eligible items include "the purchase of books, subscriptions, supplies and travel expenses," among other possibilities.

Even if you are on full-time appointment, if you are also in unit 2 you can apply for money. When you apply, please send a copy of your application to the MAFA office.

For more information, see article 29 in the unit 2 collective agreement.

MAFA 2006-2007 EXECUTIVE

Paul Berry - President (Commerce)

Stephen Law - Vice President (Economics)

Ivan Cohen - Past President (Classics)

Robert Rosebrugh - Grievance (Math and CS)

Bill Lundell - Collective Bargaining (History)

Jennifer Tomes - Membership (Psychology)

Wendy Burnett - Unit 2 (Modern Languages and Literature)

Jeff Lilburn - Treasurer (Library)