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Association Activities |
Spring General Meeting
Thursday, March 12, 1998 2.30 p.m. Hoffman Auditorium, Iona College, University of Windsor
Abridged Minutes - Full minutes available at Fall Meeting
Kumar Chatterjee acted as Chair and Datta Pillay as Secretary.
1. Minutes of October 16, 1998 Annual General Meeting - It was moved by Anna Gupta and seconded by Pat Taylor that the minutes be approved. Carried.
2. Remarks by Mr. Jim Skinner - Ms Marilyn Powley, Administrator, Benefits & Pension, Human Resources was in attendance and conveyed Mr. Skinner's apology for not being able to attend the meeting as he was held up at another meeting. She distributed two documents:
1) Information on the health benefit update - changes to the Green Shield Health Plan which might impact you or members of your family.
2) Update for Faculty Retirees on Pension & Benefits
(a) As at December 1997 the rate of return was in the area of 2%.
(b) The Pension Committee of the Board dismissed Gryphon's as Fund Manager and decided to award a portion of the fund's assets to three new Managers .
(c) Green Shield Benefits are expected to increase approximately 3%. Negotiations are underway to lessen the increase. Note should be made that the coverage of diabetic monitoring devices have not contributed to the increase. Ms. Powley also stated that some of the Health Care issues will be dealt in the next negotiations.
Members in the audience questioned her about 13 pension payments in 1997 and the impact on taxes etc. Ms. Powley responded by saying that the objective was not to delay payment in January (Jan 1 being a holiday). Therefore, Canada Trust was instructed to avoid delays and pay it in advance. From 1998 onwards, there will be 12 payments per year. Some members felt a letter of explanation should have been sent with this change.
3. Remarks by Mr. Orville Houser - Bursary Fund - Mr. Houser briefly traced the history of the Bursary fund setup and stated that the donations to date amounted to $ 36,780.23 due to a matching grant policy of dollar for dollar by the Ontario Government. The Retirees Association can use 6% of that fund up to $ 2200 per year in awarding bursaries. He commended the Association for raising this bursary money. Since he is now seconded to another position on campus for a year, he introduced Mrs. Cuthbert who would be acting as Awards Officer for a year.
On the motion of Phillips seconded by Ms Hackett it was suggested that the Bursaries be awarded for one year. Carried
4. Report of the President - He acknowledged the services of Bill Phillips as Founding Editor and Editor for 25 issues and wished him a well deserved second retirement. He indicated to the membership that professor Norm Shklov is in the process of putting together a Handbook on pensions which could serve as a guide to all of us. He mentioned that the Retirees Executive had a meeting with the new President Dr. Ross Paul who was very positive to the concerns of the Retirees Association and wanted to meet with us two or three times a year. He reminded the meeting about the March 21st Social Dinner and encouraged all to attend.
5. Report of the Treasurer - Bill Phillips reported that at present there are 114 paid-up members with a bank balance of $ 1,191.84. He said that it is customary to provide a detailed report at the Fall General Meeting. He went on to say that the two major expenditures relate to the printing and mailing of the newsletter and secondly the conduct of the two general meetings. The operation was close to the bone and commended the new officers for their efforts to contain expenditures.
6. Report of the Social Committee Chair - John LaGaipa announced that the Annual Dinner will be held at St. Clair College, which is a change in venue from previous practice of meeting on UW campus. He explained the reason as high price and a $ 200 price tag for wine as a requirement. In addition to good food, other items for entertainment include a sniffing game by the Habowskys, a piano recital by David Booth and some group singing.
7. Report of the Bursary Fund Chair - Cormac Smith stated that his proposed report has been incorporated in the comments of Mr. Orville Houser and Bill Phillips. He thanked all the retiree members for their support of the Bursary fund.
8. Retirees' representation on Faculty Association and University committees - Datta Pillay began by stating that the retirees' association is growing in numbers to about 250 people by July 1998. However, the concerns of retirees' are not a priority to the Faculty Association which is our official representative. Therefore, it was essential that we seek representation on various committees. The membership present had a lively debate and disappointed in not having a strong voice to put forward their concerns. On the motion of Bob Chandler, seconded by Ralph Nelson and carried, it was resolved that the Retirees' Association seek representation on the following committees:
a) Faculty Association Executive Committee; b) Faculty Association Contract Committee; c) Faculty Association Council and d) Board of Governors Pension Committee.
9. Other Business: Two items were raised - Pat Taylor stated that the distribution of pension surplus should correspond to the contributions made by the retirees. Members present were upset that in the 1996-98 contract, active members received a pension holiday while the retirees were not adequately compensated. They wanted to be assured that it did not occur again in this year's contract negotiations. It was pointed out that retirees have (continued on page 3)
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