Defence Fund President's Report to CAUT Council
Fall 2008
In my last report to CAUT council this past spring, I recounted how the 2007-08 academic year had been an extraordinarily busy one for the CAUT Defence Fund (DF). The current year is already shaping up to be quite active. In the span of just under two months (mid-August to mid-October), three DF member associations have taken strike action against their respective Employers:
- University of Sudbury bargaining unit of Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA): 10 days
- University of Windsor Faculty Association (WUFA): 18 days
- Brandon University Faculty Association (BUFA): 17 days
In each case, the striking association received the vigorous support of the DF, both in terms of financial support (strike pay, and loans), and moral support (the flying pickets). The DF is gratified to have played an important supporting role in the efforts by the members of each union to achieve a satisfactory collective agreement.
An important question being faced by the DF is whether or not job actions by unionized academic staff associations are going to remain at the accelerated frequency that has been observed over the past year and a half. It was discussed at length at the recent annual meeting of the DF Board of Trustees in Fredericton, NB. The Board charged the Planning and Policy Committee to consider whether any refinements to DF operations are needed to enable the Fund to be sustainable in the face of so many strikes/lockouts and, if so, to recommend appropriate changes. The committee will report to the next annual meeting in Windsor, Ont. in October, 2009. The committee was also charged with undertaking a review of the governance documents (By-Laws, Regulations, Policies) to assure that they are consistent with each other.
Other notable actions taken by the annual meeting were to establish a permanent Audit Committee, to refine procedures concerning DF communications (the web-site and the listserv), and to provide the President of the corporation with release time or equivalent. The Board also modified regulations governing loans so that funds can be placed in the hands of any member association facing an extraordinary job action situation as quickly as possible.
There was an election for a two-year term as President, and I was honoured to have been re-elected for the period 2008-2010. Ken Ko (Queen’s) and Charles Draimin (Concordia) continue in their positions as DF Chairperson and Treasurer, respectively, until 2009.
The standing committees for 2008-2009 are as follows:
Planning and Policy Committee
Albert Katz (Western Ontario) [Chair], Tom Booth (Manitoba), Mark Langer (Carleton), and Robert Rosebrugh (Mount Allison) [Lawrence Hale (DF President) is ex officio]
Membership and Communications Committee
Bill Schipper (Memorial) [Chair], and Rick Blute (Ottawa). [Lawrence Hale (DF President), and Ken Ko (DF Chairperson) are ex officio].
Investment Committee
Ann Bigelow (Western Ontario) [Chair], Jean-Charles Cachon (Laurentian), Linda Lequin (Moncton), and Gopalan Srinivasar (UNB). [Charles Draimin (DF Treasurer) is ex officio]
As always, the DF is grateful for the excellent work by CAUT staff in support of DF activities.
Future meetings of the DF Board of Trustees will be in Windsor, Ontario in 2009, and Montreal in 2010.
In solidarity, and respectfully submitted by,
Lawrence Hale
President and Trustee (UPEI)
October 30, 2008