THE
AUFA PRESIDENT COMMUNICATES
As I said at the recent Annual meeting, this has been a busy year. Unfortunately the busy times were not spread out evenly over the months. There was a concentrated flurry of activity last summer around negotiations and the signing of the Collective Agreement, and then a pause with business as usual. Then there was another (still ongoing) flurry around organizing the part-time faculty. I had hoped to be able to tell you that this issue was all settled by this point. It is close to being settled but we are still working with CAUT and the Nova Scotia Labour Board as I write this. We will keep you posted as things unfold.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the members of the executive and the many volunteers who helped us during our recruiting drive with part-time faculty. We couldn’t have done it without you. I also want to recognize the incredible help we have received from CAUT on this issue. Vicky Smallman came here twice – once at the beginning and again as we worked towards the vote. Jim Turk came to talk with the membership as we were debating whether to move forward on this – and presented a very convincing case. A CAUT lawyer has been working closely with Jane Coldwell and me to fine tune our application to the Labour Board, and our response to the employer’s comments on that application. There is no question that we could not have gotten where we are on this issue without this strong support from CAUT.
I also want to thank the members of the executive more generally for the fine job they have done this year. It made my job that much easier to have such a strong and committed team working with me. In addition to shouldering their load in the recruitment of part-timers, they were willing to attend meetings, respond to e-mails and generally provide sound advice, often on very short notice. I really enjoyed working with them all.
One other issue that warrants note is our recent decision to join the Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers (ANSUT). Having a provincial association of that nature will strengthen our voice on a range of issues relating to post-secondary education in the province. Beert Verstraete spearheaded the campaign to have us join ANSUT and has represented our interests at ANSUT meetings. He deserves our appreciation for all the time and effort he has put into that.
While I have to admit there were moments when I wondered about the wisdom of agreeing to serve as President, I certainly appreciated working in a setting such as this one where, in fact, one respects and is respected by others. My hope is that our work as a union will ensure that the same can be said about other parts of the University.
Dianne Looker
President