An experienced group of faculty association grievance officers is ready to take CAUT's Grievance Handling Workshop on the road.

In March, Rick McGaw (New Brunswick), Bernice Schrank (Memorial), Steven Stack (Wilfrid Laurier) and Alistair Tilson (Carleton) completed a weekend training session at CAUT headquarters in Ottawa designed specifically to prepare them to offer the workshop at local associations around the country.

"These are some of the top grievance officers from across the country and they bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to CAUT's education program," said CAUT executive director James Turk. "Grievance handling is one of the core functions of faculty associations. These instructors, and CAUT's specialist workshop, will strengthen the locals' ability to effectively represent their members in the grievance process."

Launched last year, the workshop is the newest addition to CAUT's program of educational courses. The workshop is designed for people who serve on local association grievance committees and for those who might want to become active as grievance officers in the future. In addition to offering an historical and legal overview of the grievance process, the CAUT workshop provides the practical skills necessary to investigate, file and advance grievances through the various steps.

"This course is vital to assist our member associations in dealing with grievances," said CAUT president Victor Catano. "It will broaden the base of members with knowledge of the grievance process and with the skills to handle grievances for the local association."

The grievance handling course has now been offered for faculty associations at Lakehead, Victoria, Regina and Winnipeg.

With four new instructors to deliver the workshop, CAUT can now increase the number of offerings for local associations. The course is offered on-site and at no charge to the local association.