In This Issue:

• President's Report
• Report of QUFA Negotiating Team 2001-2002
• Report of the QUFA Council of Representatives
• Report of the QUFA Grievance Committee
• JCAA/CMCA Report
• Report of the Political Action and Communications Committee
• QUFA Staff Relations Committee Report
• Thinking of Retiring...These Sites May Be Of Interest
• The Employee Assistance Plan
• Membership of QUFA Committees 2001-2002
• Council of Representatives 2001-2002

President's Report

For the third year in a row, most of our efforts and resources have focused on bargaining. This year we achieved a negotiated settlement with the administration for a scale increase of 2%, a raise in the Assistant Professor floor to $43,500 (affects amount of merit, cut off for junior increments, and break points for senior abatements), enhanced benefits (day care subsidy, post- secondary tuition reimbursement, orthodontic coverage), and special adjustments for both low paid and market driven disciplines. We are pleased with the settlement, most notably because of the inclusion of the new benefits (i.e., day care, tuition). These will help reduce the discrepancy between us and our comparator universities in Ontario outlined in QUFACTS, Bulletin #2, November 10, 2000. Our enthusiasm regarding scale is more cautious. Unlike the U.S. where faculty salaries have outpaced inflation in 7 of the past 8 years, our scale increases have not kept pace. For example, we have not recovered the losses suffered in the early '90's because of the Social Contract. Moreover, if we look at just the past two years, inflation was about 1.76% and 2.6% while our scale increases were 1.7% and 2%, respectively. Clearly, we continue to fall behind.

Having just finished bargaining, we are in the midst of preparing to bargain again. Over the past 2 years, negotiations were limited to salary and benefits. In the next academic year, we negotiate a new collective agreement - everything is on the table! ! ! To ensure success, we will need an experienced chief negotiator, a strong negotiating team, and knowledgeable support teams, working behind the scenes, providing up-to-date, relevant information about normative, salary, and benefits issues. Following our audit of activities/positions last fall, numerous members answered our call for volunteers this spring and have generously committed their time to serve in one of these capacities. Thus, the process of building the infrastructure necessary for effective bargaining has begun. We thank you in advance for your willingness to participate in shaping your work environment here at Queen's.

Re-negotiating the Collective Agreement is always tough especially since inherent in the process is winning and losing. In bargaining on your behalf, we need to know what you consider to be important, the 'sacred cows', and what you consider less important, or the 'frills'. To get your feedback, we will survey as necessary. When we do, we ask that you take the time to respond because membership response gives us direction, is noted by the administration, and facilitates the effectiveness of a firm stand as well as letting us know when and where to compromise. When you are responding, we ask that you keep in mind that we negotiate on the basis of principles and ask the following questions. Will it advantage our members? Will it be an advantage to some while disadvantaging others? Do the benefits outweigh the harm?

In addition to the Bargaining Committee, the Council, the Joint Committee to Administer the Agreement (JCAA), the Grievance Officer and Committee, and the Political Action and Communications Committee (PACC) continued to work diligently on your behalf. A few of this year's highlights include the following: To keep the membership better informed of QUFA activities, Ken Ko, Chair of Council, initiated the 'Council Digest', a summary of Council meetings compiled and forwarded to councilors for distribution to their constituency. The Co-Chairs of the JCAA met regularly to resolve uncomplicated interpretation issues. Their meetings prevented a backlog of unresolved problems from accumulating during negotiations when the JCAA was in abeyance. The Grievance Officer continued to provide consultation and assistance to faculty with respect to work-related issues, typically obtaining resolution without the need for a lengthy, formal grievance. The establishment of the position of Grievance Officer has greatly reduced the work of the Grievance Committee. It now plays an advisory role with respect to the Grievance Officer.

And finally, PACC completed a through examination of the tuition deregulation issue, providing a report of their findings to faculty with recommendations to oppose any further attempts at tuition deregulation. Subsequently, they are organizing a one-day event to inform the university and broader community about the implications of deregulation.

2000-01 was a busy year but a good year. I look forward to next year, hoping to meet many of our new members as faculty renewal proceeds and the 'young' become involved in reconfiguring the work environment at Queen's.

Barbara Kisilevsky

Report of QUFA Negotiating Team, 2000-2001

This year we were again negotiating compensation issues – scale, benefits and anomaly funds. When we negotiated the full agreement in 1999, compensation for years two and three was left undetermined. Last year the parties were unable to agree at the table and we ended up with an arbitrated settlement. This year negotiations began in December 2000 and concluded on March 29, 2001. During the talks it took some time to get to the point where principles were discussed and trade-offs and compromises made. We did reach an agreement and we hope the working relationship with Administration’s team will carry forward to the full negotiating round next year.

Team members were Constance Adamson, Beatriz de Alba-Koch, Magda Lewis and Chief Negotiator, Marvin Baer. This year a new ad-hoc Salary and Benefits Committee worked with the negotiating team in developing our position and responding to the administration’s proposals. The members were Grant Amyot, Barbara Kisilevsky, Allan Manson, Dave Pollack and Alan Richardson. QUFA staff Elaine Berman and Rhonda Clark-George provided invaluable assistance and support throughout the negotiations.

The full-text and details of the settlement can be found on the QUFA website /qufa/

The settlement overall is an increase of 3.7% (of the salary mass).

Key points include:

• The Assistant Professor Floor is increased from $40,000 to $43,500. Based on the new floor, the mean merit award (10 points) will be $2,175. This applies also to Continuing and Initial/Term/Renewable Adjuncts.
• The Librarian/Archivist Floor is increased to $38,000, also increasing the floors of the other ranks and the career development component. The value of a merit point for this group is now $335.
• Scale adjustment for all is 2%.
• The benefits package is increased by 1%. Orthodontic coverage has been added to the dental plan and tuition support and child care benefit plans introduced.

• Special Adjustments (0.2%) apply to tenured/tenure-track faculty whose current salary is less than $71,775. The adjustments, calculated using an exponential decline, will range from $150 to $3,000.
• Funds for salary anomalies are increased from $200,000 to $400,000 and will be distributed via two processes. The existing Side-Table Anomaly Fund of $110,000 administered jointly by QUFA and the University Administration, addresses general "equity" and "career-progression" anomalies. The Principal’s Anomaly Fund will increase to $290,000 to address equity and career-progression salary anomalies identified by self-application or by recommendation of the Head or Dean, and retention and market-related cases (i.e. to counter external offers, correct salary inversions). Awards will be made by the Vice-Principal (Academic) subject to approval by the Principal.

Constance Adamson

Report of the QUFA Council of Representatives

QUFA Council, as set out in the Association’s Constitution, is responsible for accepting, among other things, appointments to QUFA and University committees, Terms of Reference for standing committees, and the QUFA budget. The Council is also responsible for receiving reports by QUFA committees. Since May 2000, among or in addition to these activities, Council has

• Discussed a number of papers and reports including an AMS paper on corporate sponsorship in the University, CAUT releases on the Canada Research Chairs, reports from the Board of Trustees Retreat and OCUFA Meetings;
• Endorsed a revised grievance handling protocol and the Collective Bargaining Protocol for the 2000-2001 year of negotiations;
• Approved donations to the OPIRG Anti-Racism Campaign ($200), and Solidarity Donations to the Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association ($5000) and York Contract Faculty ($4000);
• Considered actions/positions including appointment issues related to Canada Research Chairs and Queen’s University Chairs, grievance issues involving workload, promotion of adjuncts and working environment and also the divestment of Talisman Energy equity, tuition deregulation and accessibility, and exam security and invigilation;
• Considered and supported bargaining issues/positions and approved hiring the consulting firm, Global Benefits, to analyze data in support of bargaining;
• Approved the appointment of a Grievance Officer and a Chief Negotiator as paid, part-time staff positions;
• Endorsed the Treasurer’s Report and the transfer of additional funds to the reserve fund ($100,000) to bring the total to $250,000;
• Endorsed and approved the contract agreement for 2001-2002 on behalf of the membership.

Ken Ko

Report of the QUFA Grievance Committee

This was the first year that the QUFA Grievance Committee functioned wholly as an advisory body to the Grievance Officer who is now a part-time QUFA staff person. This structure worked well in minimizing the volunteer hours necessary to support the grievance work. The Grievance Committee met regularly throughout the year. The number of cases seems to have declined somewhat from last year. The types of individual cases were: discipline (5); personnel including promotion, tenure and renewal (4); workload-individual (4); workload-unit (1); appointment status (3); early retirement (3); harassment (3); sabbatical (2); personal assessment (2); intellectual property (1); salary dispute (1); overload teaching (1); duty to accommodate (I).

Besides the individual cases, two potential Association grievances emerged. The issues have to do with programme management and a dispute over management rights.

As it is the case that disagreements and disputes most frequently lend themselves to informal resolution, the Committee has developed a proposal for a policy by which potential grievances might, in the first instance, be dealt with on an informal basis prior to the formal Step One process. This policy will be taken forward for discussion as part of the negotiations when we bargain for a new Collective Agreement starting in December 2001.

Magda Lewis

The QUFA representatives on the Joint Committee for Administering the Agreement (JCAA) this year were Elizabeth Hanson, Richard Greenfield and Marvin Baer along with Elaine Berman. Meetings of the JCAA were suspended during the bargaining period, as the membership from the Administration overlapped considerably with their bargaining team. Nevertheless during those months, Elizabeth Hanson, the QUFA co-chair, and Sheila Devine Associate Vice-President Academic, Faculty Relations continued to deal with minor matters.

Five major issues were of ongoing concern. With respect to the Canada Research Chairs, QUFA and the Administration agreed on an appointments procedure which as much as possible was in accordance with the Collective Agreement. Problems with Early Retirement linked to a new accounting procedure in the Faculty of Arts and Science were identified. QUFA secured a commitment from the V-P Academic that the Faculty’s practice would be restored to one consistent with the rest of the University. With respect to normal retirement dates and the university's current practice of forcing people with appointment dates other than July 1 to retire on June 30, the Administration reneged last fall on a commitment to allow Members to retire on the anniversary of their appointment. QUFA's attempt to obtain information about past practice has been met by stalling and/or confusion and we have now served notice to the University that we will support the grievance of anyone hired after 1967 who is forced to retire on June 30 rather than on the anniversary of his or her appointment.

The JCAA oversees the work of side-tables dealing with salary anomalies and adjunct issues. The Anomalies Side-Table completed the disbursement of its $110,000 fund. Using a mathematical model the salaries of everyone in the bargaining unit were analyzed and anomalies identified regardless of whether the Member had made application to the panel or not. New and more consistent criteria for years-of-experience guidelines are in the process of being drafted by each Faculty and will be brought back to the JCAA for approval by the parties. Several long-standing issues with respect to Adjuncts were also resolved, most notably, a normal retirement date of June 30 was established, which was linked to the payment of salary lost when some adjuncts went from 8 to 12 month contracts.

Elizabeth Hanson

Report of the Political Action and Communications Committee (PACC)

This year PACC has concentrated on the tuition deregulation issue. The committee’s report The Future of Accessible Education at Queen’s was distributed to all members early in March as a special edition of QUFACTS. A motion on the issues raised in the report affirming Queen’s status as a publicly funded university and opposing additional deregulation of tuition was debated by the Executive and Council and finally approved at the Annual General Meeting in April.

QUFA is working with CAUT and OCUFA to raise the general public’s awareness of the complex issues facing the post-secondary sector. A public forum to inform the campus and broader community, organized by PACC and the Kingston Coalition for Accessible Education, is planned for the Fall to further explore the issues of deregulation and funding.

QUFA Staff Relations Committee Report

The Staff Relations Committee, which oversees the function and performance of all employees of the Association, conducted its annual performance review of the office staff. Elaine Berman and Rhonda Clark-George were congratulated on doing such a good job for the Association once again and a number of their concerns were discussed. The Committee recommended to the Executive that the classification of both office positions be upgraded to reflect changes in the nature of these jobs over the past three years. It also recommended that appropriate salary increases be implemented. The Committee reviewed the position of Grievance Officer, first created in 1999, and concluded that it had proved to be vital to the functioning of the Association in this very important area. The Committee also recommended to the Executive the appointment of Marvin Baer to a salaried position as Chief Negotiator for the upcoming major round of bargaining. The Executive unanimously approved all the recommendations of the Committee.

Richard Greenfield

THINKING OF RETIRING
    . . . THESE SITES MAY BE OF INTEREST

CAUT SERVICES:

Individuals who were eligible for membership in CAUT before retirement, are eligible for membership as CAUT retirees. Individual retired members may join CAUT as Retired Associate Members for an annual fee of $25. For this fee they receive a subscription to the CAUT Bulletin, and may join a number of group plans offered for Life Insurance, Personal Accident Insurance, Family Life Insurance, Professional Property Insurance, Group Home Insurance, Travel Insurance, and other financial services.

Retired members can also take advantrage of discounted travel rates offered by Finlay Travel. Visit CAUT’s website:    http://www.caut.ca

RETIRE WEB:

Retire Web is a WWW site packed with financial planning information for Canadians of all ages to help them with all stages of retirement: saving for retirement, options at retirement and post retirement. You can visit their website at: http://www.retireweb.com/index.html

The Employee Assistance Plan
David Rutenberg, School of Business

I used the Employee Assistance Plan, and found it very helpful. By describing my experience I hope to make it easier for my colleagues and their families to consider the EAP.

In summer 2000 I was considering early retirement. The incentive program offered an economically solid package that was particularly attractive because two winters of asthma had weakened me. Nevertheless, retiring was not an easy decision for me. So much of my identity is as a professor. I see myself as a producer, and in retirement I’d be "merely" a consumer. Furthermore, I felt guilty for not having achieved all the goals I’d implicitly made for myself as a PhD student. I wanted a neutral but interested person with whom to talk.

I vaguely remembered that Queen’s has a psychological service, so I asked at Personnel in Richardson Hall. The receptionist was puzzled for a moment, and then exclaimed, "Oh, you want a fridge magnet!" From the storeroom she brought me one:

Call 24 Hours a Day for Confidential Counseling
(Warren Shepell Consultants)
1-800-387-4765

When I phoned, a male voice asked me to describe my problem, so that he could categorize it as financial, legal, psychological, or aged-parents. (had I dialed 911?) His first impulse was retirement = financial, but he willingly changed to psychological. "Would you like to see a psychologist in Kingston, or in some other city where you’d be more anonymous?" (Kingston) "Would you be more comfortable dealing with a psychologist who is male or female?" (either) He booked my appointment for the next week. The Warren Shepell office is downtown, off Princess St., but the only way to contact it is through the 1-800 number, even to change an appointment.

I sat in the Warren Shepell waiting room, feeling uncomfortable, and glad to be alone. Later I realized that their two psychologists have staggered appointment times to reduce the chance of clients meeting; likewise, the exit is not through the waiting room. Suddenly, my psychologist introduced herself, and apologized for having run late with her previous client. She appeared to be in her mid 30s. I started my story, but she stopped me by asking that I read the Warren Shepell confidentiality form, in which the psychologist promises to keep confidential everything I might reveal with two exceptions: she is obliged to notify the proper authorities were I to threaten either suicide or to attack others. I merely wanted to retire, so I signed. But it made me wonder: Is taking early retirement analogous to professional suicide? I blurted out that my problem wasn’t serious enough for me to be there. Normally, I feel that the cup of my life is at least half-full, but the thought of retirement made me anguish that I’ve not delivered on the promise I once had. My counselor asked me to describe all I’ve accomplished at Queen’s. I felt pride recounting these accomplishments, but that I’ve too many things unfinished to retire early, even if retirement made sense. She nicely explained that if I were hesitating in the face of an obvious decision, then my hesitation was worth exploring.

She urged me to keep a journal of the thoughts I have about retirement, and also recommended William Bridges’ Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, a book that talks about the need to end, then wallow, before it is possible to decide. I immediately ordered the book from Indigo and established the pattern of a cappuccino at Indigo to consolidate myself after each session. My son had recommended What Color is Your Parachute but I hadn’t been able relate to it. Now I understood that I needed to end, and to wallow, before I could think about Color.

As the weekly sessions got underway, I found myself talking so much! My counselor explained that this is short-term therapy, and I might plan how best to use the next half a dozen sessions. More serious problems get more time. One day, overwhelmed by the plethora of activities I might do in the next 15 years of my life, I used a whole session describing activities which I do not want to do, to delineate what is beyond my pale. Incidentally, the counselor did not appear shocked by anything I said. The web site http://www.queensu.ca/eap/ indicates that the counselors deal with a wide range of problems, so anything I might say was well within their competence.

Each person’s counseling is individual, but I can share two things. First, was the counselor’s encouragement for me to enjoy the simple things of life - friendships, marriage, children, making the world better in little ways. I have an identity apart from being a professor. She wanted me to be aware of times when I became so involved in an activity that time fell away. Second, was the scrupulous care the counselor took to monitor how I might be coping with anxieties; periodically but gently she enquired how much I was drinking, or arguing with my wife.

As the weeks of counseling progressed, I realized that there were cycles to my anxiety about my identity. William Bridges’ book is quite short; each time I re-read it, I realized that I focused on a different part. As a professor of business I feel that I ought to be able to understand how my pension is calculated, so I tended to pester the Pensions Department. Becoming aware of how I was reacting to the Bridges book made me realize that I began to worry about my pension whenever I was anxious about my non-professorial identity -pension calculations as worry beads!

I have decided to go ahead and take early retirement in summer 2001. I’ve not achieved all the aspirations of my youth. EAP counseling helped me to recognize that I can either fixate on unfinished articles, or take satisfaction in my publications and go on from there. I’ve a lot of other life to explore! EAP coverage continues for 6 months after I retire.

MEMBERSHIP OF QUFA COMMITTEES 2001-2002

Please Note: We are still seeking volunteers for a number of positions.

Committee To Manage the Collective Agreement (CMCA): Gek Forkert (Anatomy), Richard Greenfield (History), Elizabeth Hanson (English) (Co-Chair)

• Working Group of the CMCA: Sam Kalb (Library, B100 Mac-Corry), Barbara Kisilevsky (Nursing), Karen Rudie (Electrical Eng.)

Finance: Ken Ko (Biology) (Chair)

Grievance Committee: Phil Goldman (Political Studies) (Grievance Officer) (Ex-officio), Lynne Hanson (Law), Liz Jack (Nursing), Margaret Jamieson (Rehab. Therapy), Barbara Kisilevsky (Nursing) (Ex-officio), Magda Lewis (Education) (Chair)

Nominations & Elections: Constance Adamson (Co-chair) (Library System), Gillian Barlow (Archives), Genevieve Dumas (Mechanical Eng.), Richard Greenfield (Co-chair) (History), Ted Grandmaison (Chemical Engineering), Kenton Ko (Biology), Magda Lewis (Education)

Political Action Committee: Annette Burfoot (Co-chair) (Sociology), Hart Cantelon (Co-chair) (PHE), Bill Egnatoff (Education), Gary Kibbins (Film Studies), Leda Raptis (Microbiology), Geoff Smith (PHE), Variable Vacancies

Staff Relations: Richard Greenfield (History) (Chair), Ken Ko (Biology)

 QUFA AD HOC COMMITTEES

Collective Bargaining Team: Constance Adamson (Stauffer Library), Marvin Baer (Chief Negotiator) (Law), Beatriz de Alba-Koch (Spanish & Italian), Richard Greenfield (History)

Salary & Benefits Advisory Group (for Bargaining Team): Grant Amyot (Political Studies), Mike Baird (Chemistry), Gillian Barlow (Archives), Ron Easteal (Anatomy), Magda Lewis (Education), Allan Manson (Law), David Pollack (Math & Stats), Tim Smith (History)

Normative Issues Advisory Group (for Bargaining Team): Elizabeth Hanson (English), Allan Manson (Law), Alan Richardson (Business)

 CAUSUSES

Adjunct: Ron Easteal (Anatomy), Mark Epprecht (History), Dave Fritz (Mechanical Eng.), Richard Greenfield (History), Diana Hopkins-Rosseel (Rehab. Therapy), Ena Howse (Nursing), Sonia Riddoch (History), Greg Wanless (Drama)

Feminist: Contact Magda Lewis (Education)

Junior Faculty: Liying Cheng (Education), Petra Fachinger (German), Allison Goebel (Women’s Studies), David Parker (History), Timothy Smith (History), Denise Stockley (Instructional Development Centre), Michelle Villeneuve (Rehab. Therapy)

Librarian/Archivist: Contact Constance Adamson (Stauffer Library)

QUFA REPRESENTATIVES ON UNIVERSITY BODIES

Board of Trustees: Barbara Kisilevsky (Nursing), Margaret Little (Women’s Studies), Carol McKeen (Business) (observers)

Campus Landscape Committee: Liz Fox (Stauffer Library)

Committee on Corporate Involvement at Queen’s: Eleanor MacDonald (Political Studies)

Committee To Examine the Operation of Exams: Hart Cantelon (PHE)

Employee Assistance Program: Sam Kalb, Stauffer Library), One Vacancy

Joint Committee to Administer the Agreement (JCAA): Gek Forkert (Anatomy), Richard Greenfield (History), Elizabeth Hanson (English) (Co-Chair), [Note: the QUFA side of the JCAA is called the CMCA]

• Adjunct Side-Table of JCAA: Richard Greenfield (History)
• Anomalies Side-Table: Gek Forkert (Anatomy & Cell Biology), Will Pickett (Community Health & Epidemiology)
• Equity Subcommittee: Karen Dubinsky (History), Bonita Lawrence (Women’s Studies), Jonathan Rose (Political Studies)
• Fund for Scholarly Research & Creative Work (Adjuncts) Sub-Committee: Caroline Falkner (Classics), Margot Patterson (Rehabilitation Therapy)
• Librarian/Archivist Anomalies Side-Table: Constance Adamson (Library System), Doreen Rutherford (Library System)
• University Survey of Student Teaching Sub-Committee: Patrick Costigan (PHE), Susan Wilcox (Instructional Development Centre)

Joint Health & Safety Committees: Doug Babington (Unit 1 Admin), Sharon Musgrave (Unit 3 Library), Larry Wolfe (Unit 4 PHE) Barb Hunt (Unit 6 A&S), David Pilfold (currently on sabbatical) (Unit 7 App.Sci), Bill Racz (Unit 8 Health Sci)

Pension Committee: Bill Cannon (Business), James MacKinnon (Economics)

Recreation Services Committee: Vacant

Security Committee: Sue Hendler (SURP)

Senate: Barbara Kisilevsky (Nursing) (ex officio)

Senate Budget Review Committee: Vivien Ludwin (Library) (Observer)

Senate Committee on Academic Development (SCAD): Maria Myers (Education) (Observer)

Senate Committee on Appointment, Promotion, Tenure & Leave (SCAPTL): Alan Jackson (Medicine) (Observer)

Unity Council: Barbara Kisilevsky

University Council on Athletics (UCA): Hart Cantelon (PHE)

University Automization of Timetabling Committee: Richard Greenfield (History)

University Promotion Advisory Committee: Kathleen Lahey (Law), Donal Macartney (Chemistry)

QUFA REPRESENTATIVES ON CAUT AND OCUFA BODIES 2001-2002

CAUT Council: Barbara Kisilevsky (Nursing)

CAUT Defence Fund Trustees: David Fritz (Mechanical Engineering), Ken Ko (Biology), Alternates: Paul Banfield (Archives) One Vacancy

OCUFA Director: Barbara Kisilevsky (Nursing)

OCUFA Collective Bargaining Committee: Marvin Baer (Law)

Council of Representatives 2001-2002