THE
AUFA PRESIDENT COMMUNICATES
I hope that all of you had a safe and pleasant time during the winter break and have returned to campus with your batteries recharged, ready for another term.
We have had a very “interesting” start to the winter term. AUFA has been following the situation at Saint Thomas university in Fredericton quite closely. The employer there locked out the academic staff on December 27, 2007 in what appears to be a very acrimonious labour dispute. Delegations from AUFA have gone to all of the Flying Pickets that have been organized by the CAUT Defense Fund. For the first visit, we managed to send a delegation of 12 people and our presence there was much appreciated as the following note indicates.
Peter,
I am speaking here not as a CAUT negotiating person, nor as the secretary of the Defence Fund, but as a person driven to help people in need: the presence of you and the other AUFA folks at the meeting today in Fredericton was very moving, and very important. The AUFA has shown for a long time its intense dedication to its members, and to the principles of equity and justice, on its campus - through the work of many. But your tremendous show of support today for FAUST, who are facing appalling injustice, reveals and makes clear your commitment to the broadest sense of community: the community of the academy.
I salute you, and I thank you. Please share this message with whomever you wish. Your presence today, and by that I mean 'your presence' in the fullest sense, spoke volumes, and was heard by all. You folks continue to be models for us all - with your collective agreement, and with your generosity and support. Cheers, and thanks so much for your support.
Peter Simpson
We still have not heard back from the Labour Board with respect to the Duty of
Fair Representation complaint filed by Eileen Hogan. You may recall that Dr.
Hogan was given until December 3, 2007 to submit her final response. Our legal
counsel has not received any further correspondence from the Labour Board and
feels that Dr. Hogan must not have submitted said response. Thus, it would
appear that we simply await the decision of the Board to either dismiss the
complaint or hold a hearing.
The most disturbing development has been the implication of the decision of the arbitration board with respect to academic administrators. This decision gives rise to serious concerns about the meaning of tenure for non-bargaining unit members. It risks creation of a second class of tenure. Tenure has always assumed continuing employment with the employer until retirement or voluntary departure, absent just cause for termination. In the instance of tenured faculty temporarily outside the bargaining unit, it means something else, something less. Instead of a right to continuing employment, absent just cause for dismissal, it more likely means a right to significant damages should the employer breach the employment contract and deny continuing employment. While the ordinary courts do not generally award reinstatement, human rights boards and labour arbitrators can and do where there is a breach of human rights legislation or the collective agreement. But the labour law protection of arbitration, that is reinstatement, is no longer certain if arbitration boards adopt the approach taken here.
We have approached the employer to indicate our intense dissatisfaction with this state of affairs and have asked them to work with us to find a remedy. We are currently awaiting their response. We will keep you informed on a regular basis of developments with respect to this situation. We would like to note that the current search for the position in Research and Graduate Studies is an internal search only; members should keep this decision in mind when considering whether to apply for this position.
Peter Williams