Don’t worry about Karen Foullong. She has plenty on her to-do list.
Foullong is four months into her term as the University of Western Ontario Staff Association (UWOSA) president, representing almost 1,000 employees engaged in administrative and research support roles across campus. Her history with the organization stretches back as long as she has been with the university.
After beginning her time at Western covering leaves in History and Engineering, Foullong landed a full-time role at the university in 2006 as an administrative assistant in Applied Math, where she first become involved in UWOSA activities.
“I started working on committees and wasn’t sure how much I wanted to get involved,” she said. “I was encouraged to become a steward and, in 2010, was on the negotiations team. That was a real big eye-opener; I really enjoyed it.”
On Nov. 5, 2010, Foullong was part of the team that reached an agreement with the university at about 3 a.m., after 18 hours of negotiations with the assistance of a provincially appointed conciliator. UWOSA’s previous contract had expired on June 30 of that year, and the two sides had been meeting since late May. UWOSA was in a legal strike position as the deal consummated.
It was a busy, stressful time, but rich in experience, Foullong said.
“The actual process itself was not enjoyable,” she continued. “But what was great about it, however, is at the end of it, you’ve done all this work and it’s come to fruition. Even though you don’t get everything, it feels great to say, ‘This is what we got’ and how the membership was appreciative of that. I found that part very gratifying.”
Soon afterward, then-UWOSA president John Critchley approached Foullong about coming into the union office full time.
“At first, I was like, ‘No, no, no,’” she said. “I loved being in Applied Math and loved working with the people; they were great. But I gave it some thought and felt I had the experience. You see an opportunity and someone comes to you with it and you think, ‘Maybe I should try this.’ And I did and I’m still here.”
The agenda for her term is full, she assured, even though contract negotiations aren’t on the offering.
In 2013, UWOSA and the university agreed on a four-year contract. With that in place until 2017, Foullong and her fellow full-time UWOSA executives Boun Thai, vice-president, and Val Van Domelen, chief steward, can eye deeper issues for their membership.
During her term, Foullong plans to tackle the issue of pay equity, which follows up on the area of job evaluation, part of the previous contract agreement in 2010.
“What we’re really focusing on is our job evaluation system at Western, for UWOSA members, and that it’s pay equity compliant,” she said. “It’s tough, because our bargaining unit is 81 per cent women and a lot of the roles are traditionally female. So, we need to make sure we’re being paid appropriately.”
Foullong will also be looking into recent job losses of UWOSA members, which is “more than we’re used to seeing in a year.” This past summer, 12 full-time UWOSA members were eliminated.
“We are working with each of these UWOSA members to get them back to work as soon as possible,” she said.
Foullong’s term as president runs for two years. In that time, she hopes to grow the union numbers.
“Another more general goal that I have is to encourage even more participation in the union by the UWOSA members,” she said. “We’ve got a great slate of people on board right now, and we’re always looking for new perspectives from our diverse membership.”