Archived Minutes Here
RTAM Board of Directors’ Meeting
February 16, 2011
A meeting
of the 2010-2011 Board of Directors of the Retired Teachers’ Association was
held on Wednesday, February 16, 2011, in the auditorium of McMaster House,
Winnipeg.
Present were:
Richard Benoit, Rosalie Bornn, Pat Bowslaugh, Guy Hansen, Wayne Hughes,
, Jag Malik, Barb McDole, Anne Monk, Mary Pankiw, Peggy Prendergast, Maureen
Recksiedler, Doreen Sage, John Sushelnitsky, William Taylor and Rita
Warrian. Carol Gillis, RTAM
Administrative Assistant, was also in attendance.
Regrets
were received from Ron Kalinchuk, Vel McAdam and Ray Sitter
1. Call to Order
President
Richard Benoit called the meeting to order at 9:15 a. m.
2. Approval of the Agenda
Motion:
That the agenda be adopted as amended. (Add, under New Business, 11.01 Press
Releases, 11.02 Officers’ Committee Responsibilities and 11.03 BC Chapters’
Expenses.
Carried
3. Approval of the Minutes of
January 26 and 27, 2011
Motion:
That the minutes of the January meeting be adopted as amended. Carried
The Motion
Tracker was received for information and the status of Motions (Done, In
Progress, etc.) reviewed.
4. Business Arising from the Minutes
a) Richard
reported that the letter to (a member) has not yet been sent. It was requested that, since the
Board’s effectiveness in dealing with insurance matters was questioned in the
letter to the President, the Board should see the President’s reply before it
is mailed. Richard will inform (the
member) of the reason for the delay.
b) A director
who was not present at the January meeting to see it requested a copy of the
PowerPoint presentation.
c) Wayne
Hughes reported that he had met with a design instructor from Red River
Community College. He presented to the Board her suggested plan for the space
that would result if RTAM were to rent the room adjoining the RTAM office. Ms Mustapha had told him that RRCC
students deal mainly with home designs so she had undertaken the project on her
own time at a consultation rate of $95 per hour.
Motion:
That an adhoc committee be formed to negotiate the rental costs for the
proposed office and also to conduct a survey of comparable rental space in the
area. Carried.
Motion:
That the following be named to the RTAM Office Expansion Committee: R. Benoit
(Chair), Wayne Hughes, Barb McDole, Anne Monk, Carol Gillis and Mary
Pankiw. Carried.
The Board
expressed its appreciation to Wayne Huges for his research in this matter.
5.
President’s Report
Richard
reported that:
a) He had
had a call from CBC Radio seeking his opinion regarding the proposed salary
agreement between MTS and the Government.
He declined to comment, suggesting that it would be more appropriate to
ask an active teacher but offered to answer questions on matters related to
RTAM. The Board concurred with
this decision.
b) He has
received a response from TRAF regarding the information RTAM requested
regarding the appointment of a retired Plan member to the TRAF Board.
c) He received a phone call from MTS
President Pat Isaak regarding their request to be allowed to increase their
contributions by 2%, to be matched by the Government. She would like input from RTAM. She will send him the proposal drawn up by the MTS Pension
Committee, and would like to meet before March 3, 2011. Richard will ask a member of the RTAM
Pension Committee to accompany him to the meeting.
d) Visits
to Chapters are being planned: Dauphin (March 8), Brandon (April 12?), Neepawa
(March?), Swan River (March?), Interlake (April?)
e) He took
the most recent version of the proposed pamphlets to Campbell Marr, LLD. He circulated their response. The TRAF office would like copies right
away, as would WRTA.
f) He
circulated his proposed letters to Pat Isaak (government proposals) and Paul
Olsen (remarks at CTF AGM) for comment.
6. Treasurer’s Report
Jag Malik
presented a detailed report of assets, income and disbursements since the last
meeting. A proposed budget for AGM
will be presented at the March meeting of the Board.
7. Brochures
This item
was deferred until copies could be made.
8. Political Action
Wayne
Hughes reported on the success of the recent training session in which 25
members participated. The evaluations were very favourable.
9. Bylaws and Policy
The Board
was reminded of a motion passed at the May 11, 2010 meeting of the Board:
Motion: That it be recommended that next year’s
Board refer the issue of the change in the Board operating year to the
Officers’ Committee and other relevant committees for study and report with
recommendation by the January Board Meeting. Carried.
Motion:
That the issue of the
change in the Board operating year be referred to the Officers’ Committee and
other relevant committees for study and report with recommendation. Carried.
Motion:
That all Board-approved changes to Policy be published in KIT prior to the May
2011 AGM. Carried
Motion: That the Board-approved Code of Conduct
be appended to the Policy Manual.
Carried
10. Committee Reports
10.01 Membership
and Chapters
John
Sushelnitsky reported, for Ray Sitter, that a DVD of the PowerPoint
Presentation will be available for the next meeting, as will be a plan for its
use.
10.02 Benefits
Pat
Bowslaugh reported on:
a) TRAF’s
decision to charge an annual administration fee of $4 per person to each member
who is enrolled in an insurance plan(s) and who has requested that TRAF deduct
the premium from the member’s pension/salary. (TRAF also deducts premiums for
Manulife, Cooperator and Blue Cross).
Johnson Inc. will pay this fee for RTAM members until March 30, 2012. (After
that time, an alternative could be to have plan members arrange for automatic
deductions at their bank.) The committee will continue to research all options.
Perry Dorgan plans to visit with the committee in the spring. He has submitted two articles to KIT in
which he answers members’ questions and gives a comprehensive explanation
regarding the travel plan.
b) The
committee has reviewed the recommendations of last year’s committee and
continues to try to implement them.
Motion:
That the Benefits Committee provide a written report outlining the suggested
administrative expense claims with respect to Johnson. Defeated
Brochures
There was a
very long discussion on the content, style and suitability to the target
audience of the six brochures prepared by the adhoc committee.
Motion:
That the brochures for 2011 focus on 1) RTAM – Who We Are and 2) Benefit
Plans. Carried
10.03 Educational
Advocacy
No report
10.04 Travel
Maureen
Recksiedler reported that the committee has planned a travel seminar for May 4,
2011 at 9:30 a.m. in McMaster House.
There will be two themes: volunteer tourism and travel on the Mongolian
Express. There will be a health
break with snacks.
10.05 Communications
The
deadline for submissions to KIT is February 25, 2011. This is the last edition before AGM.
10.06 Pension
Anne Monk
presented a written report in which she noted that the December CPI is
2.35%. A 2/3rds COLA would be
1.57%. TRAF is planning to decide
its COLA grant at the February meeting.
The TRAF
Board Actuary has recommended a 2% salary contribution rate increase. MTS has asked the Government to agree.
Motion: That the meeting be extended to 4:00
p.m. Carried
10.08 AGM
and Elections
Pat
Bowslaugh reported that the restaurant has been booked for the AGM. She urged directors and others planning
to attend to book their hotel rooms soon.
Registration
and elections forms will be available in KIT.
11. New Business
All items
were deferred to the March meeting.
12. Closure
An Order of
the Day having been reached, the meeting closed without having dealt with:
·
Press
Releases
·
A
motion requesting an evaluation of the Officers’ Committee responsibilities
·
Reimbursement
of the AGM expenses of representatives from the BC Chapters.
·
Adhoc
Committee on Office Archives
Submitted
by,
R. Warrian
Board
Secretary, 2010-2011.