Defence Fund President's Report to CAUT Council
Spring 2013

The Defence Fund Flying and Driving Pickets joined our colleagues at StFX on the picket line in early February. The membership held firm in their fight to obtain a fair collective agreement and after seventeen days of job action, they were successful. Thanks to all the Defence Fund Trustees who volunteered their time to travel to Antigonish and to Chris Ferns from ANSAT for arranging the transportation from Halifax.

The Trustees approved strike support benefits for the following member unions:
December 7, 2012

• St.FXAUT
• MSVUFA

January 17, 2013

• FUNSCAD Unit 1
• FUNSCAD Unit 2
• CUFA (Concordia)

All the member unions above have now settled except for Concordia (CUFA) who after sixteen (16) months of negotiations is still without a collective agreement. I attended and spoke at two general membership meetings held on February 8, prior to a strike vote by the membership. I am pleased to report the strike vote was passed with seventy-four (74) % in favour. This is the first time in the thirty-two (32) year history of the association, that the CUFA Executive has asked the membership for a strike mandate.

Since my last report to Council, the Brescia Faculty Association has now joined the Defence Fund, a warm welcome to our colleagues from Brescia. The Trustees at our October 2012 meeting of member unions raised the daily strike pay benefit from $80 to $84 per day.

I look forward to talking to the attendees of the CAUT Spring Council about the Defence Fund, and I am also available to attend membership meetings to give an overview of the role the Defence Fund plays for current and possibly future DF member unions.

Thank you to Anik Godbout, Nancy Gordon, Peter Simpson and Gord Piché for all the work they do on behalf of the Defence Fund.

Respectively submitted in solidarity,

Brian E. Brown
President, CAUT Defence Fund