Prepared by Brad Long and appearing in Spring 2016 edition of The Beacon

What follows are some general points of information for our members as we head into the upcoming round of collective bargaining to conclude our Fourth Collective Agreement.

1. I am extremely pleased to announce that the Negotiations Team for the StFXAUT will consist of Ken MacAulay (Business Administration) as Chief Negotiator, joined by Kris Hunter (Biology Lab Instructor) and Christie Lomore (Psychology).
2. The Negotiations Team for the Administration will consist of Andrew Beckett as Chief Negotiator, joined by Jennifer Swinemar-Murray and Petra Hauf.
3. One meeting with the Executive and Chair of the Contract & Benefits Committee has taken place already; another will be scheduled to ensure our team is up to speed on the issues and proposals for addressing each.
4. The new Executive will presumably also provide, in some form, an update to the membership on the range of items with which we are heading into bargaining.
5. Another training session for the team will likely be scheduled later this month.
6. We have very capable CAUT resources on stand-by for advice and support, following upon the general bargaining workshop that we held earlier this winter.
7. I have provided formal notice of our intent to bargain the Fourth Collective Agreement, per the process outlined in the Trade Union Act.
8. As bargaining commences, I expect that our communications efforts will be bolstered, and the all-important Bargaining Bulletin will also be resurrected. Please take advantage of all of the means by which the Executive will seek to keep you informed over the months ahead.