CUPE 3906

Attention all CUPE 3906 Members!

Our Annual General Membership Meeting (AGM) will occur on Monday, March 30th, 2026, at 2:00 P.M. via “Zoom”.

Agenda items for the AGM include:

• yearly executive officer and committee reports;
• yearly executive officer elections; and
• trustee election (position expires Fall 2028).

The registration link will be sent to members’ McMaster email address soon. Please check your “other”/”junk”/”notification”/”spam” inboxes for the invitation to register.

Please find the Local’s Bylaws at this link: https://cupe3906.org/about-us/by-laws/

For a description of the Executive Officer Positions, please see Article 5 (starting on page 14) of the Local’s Bylaws. For a description of Trustee Position, please see Article 3(a) of the Local’s Bylaws (starting on page 6).

Article 4 of the Local’s Bylaws (starting on page 8) outlines the guidelines for the nomination, campaign, and election processes.

The Nomination Form for Executive Officer Positions is available at this link: https://cupe3906.org/cupe-3906-executive-position-nomination-form/.  Please follow the instructions on the nomination form carefully. Nominations open on Monday, March 2nd, 2026, and close at the meeting. (If you intend to nominate yourself or someone else from the floor during the AGM, you are not required to submit a nomination form.)

If you have any questions, please contact president@cupe3906.org, brad@cupe3906.org, or mary@cupe3906.org.

The CUPE 3906 Executive Committee stands firmly opposed to the Ontario government’s decision to end the post-secondary tuition freeze and shift OSAP funding toward a majority-loan model.

The previous post-secondary tuition freeze was achieved through years of student organizing to make post-secondary education more accessible. Rolling it back, while simultaneously reducing funding supports for students, will only deepen inequality and push post-secondary education further out of reach for working-class and marginalized Ontarians.

As a union representing student workers and academics, we know that when we are forced to take on more debt and work longer hours to afford tuition, our entire campus community suffers.

We call on the Ford government to maintain the tuition freeze and restore OSAP funding primarily through grants.

We call on McMaster University to publicly oppose these changes and commit to protecting students from harmful tuition increases.

Our members and students deserve better.

We are excited to share that after a year and a half of bargaining, your Unit 4 bargaining team has secured an historic first tentative collective agreement with McMaster.

Your bargaining team will be recommending this tentative agreement for ratification at an online Special General Membership Meeting (SGMM) on Thursday, February 19th at 1:00 PM. During the meeting, Unit 4 members will have the opportunity to review the entire collective agreement and ask questions of the bargaining team.

Following the meeting on Thursday, a link will be sent to all Unit 4 members with a ballot to vote on ratifying the agreement. Voting will remain open following the meeting until Monday, February 23rd at 9:00 AM.

This tentative agreement would not have been possible without the immense support that members have shown since we first voted to unionize with CUPE, almost two years ago!

We hope to see you at the ratification meeting, where we’ll be able to share more details on the tentative agreement.

In solidarity,

Your Unit 4 Bargaining Team

(Caleb, Elissa, Simran, Anna, Muskaan, and Vanessa)

Our next General Membership Meeting (GMM) is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17th at 2 p.m.

The meeting will be held via Zoom and the link will be sent out shortly. You’ll need to register at least 24 hours in advance. The agenda will be posted in advance at www.cupe3906.org/gmm-materials 

Join our Equity Committee and best-selling author Desmond Cole on February 23rd at 3 p.m. in MUSC 311/13 for a discussion of his book The Skin We’re In. An event poster is attached here.

Bargaining update

Your Unit 4 Bargaining Team believes that we have the potential to reach a tentative agreement in the very near future, but there are still several items on the table.

As of today (Tuesday, February 3rd), we’re still negotiating Compensation and Hours of Work, among a few other items.

As per the Employer’s most recent proposals, they are attempting to assign additional duties for CAs. These additional duties proposed by the Employer include:

1. Mandatory move-out shifts;
2. Mandatory open house shifts;
3. Mandatory room inspection shifts.

These duties have historically been done by positions other than CAs (eg. GRAs and PAs), so by downloading this work onto CAs, the Employer is unfairly seeking to take away the paid hours of these other workers. We are of the position that these duties should not be downloaded onto CAs as this would only benefit the Employer’s own pockets, while harming Unit 4 workers.

Furthermore, the Employer is unfairly insisting that CUPE 3906 agree to a pay equity plan as part of collective bargaining. Pay equity, while important, is a process that is separate from collective bargaining and governed by separate legislation. We believe that the Employer’s assertion on this matter is highly unusual and is unreasonably delaying good faith negotiations.

What’s next?

This week, we have two more full-day collective bargaining dates booked with the Employer on Wednesday and Friday.

We believe that we are negotiating fairly and making reasonable movement in order to ensure we get the best mutually agreeable deal and the best outcome for Unit 4 workers. We are hopeful that the Employer will reconsider their proposals so that we can reach a fair deal soon.

We’ll have another update with more information on Friday!

Sincerely,

Your CUPE 3906 Unit 4 Bargaining Team

(Caleb, Elissa, Simran, Anna, Muskaan, and Vanessa)

The dental change of coverage period (i.e., for opt-outs and family coverage enrolments) for CUPE 3906 members working as a Classification “A” Teaching Assistants or Research Assistants (in lieu of TA) (Unit 1) or as a Sessional Faculty and Hourly Rated Sessional Music Faculty (Unit 2) in the Winter 2026 term is now open!

The Winter 2026 deadline for dental opt-outs and family enrolments for eligible Unit 1 members is: January 26th, 2026. For more information, and to access Unit 1 dental opt-out/family enrolment forms, please click here.

The Winter 2026 deadline for dental opt-outs and family enrolments for eligible Unit 2 members is: January 30th, 2026. For more information, and to access Unit 2 dental opt-out/family enrolment forms, please click here.

Please note that these change of coverage options are only available to Classification “A” Unit 1 members and Unit 2 members who did not work as a CUPE 3906 Unit 1 or 2 member in the Fall 2025 term.

Questions may be directed to administrator@cupe3906.org.

CUPE 3906 expresses its solidarity with the people of Iran who are participating in peaceful protests in support of fundamental rights and basic freedoms.

We note with concern ongoing reports of violence, repression, arbitrary detention, and restrictions on freedom of expression affecting protesters, students, workers, and women. The rights to bodily autonomy, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly are recognized international human rights and are central to the values of our union.

These concerns are further heightened by restrictions on communications, including digital and internet access, which have made it difficult for many people to maintain contact with family members and access reliable information.

In addition to the concerns already noted, reports from human rights organizations indicate that at least 12,000 people have been killed during the protests and their aftermath. This scale of loss of life highlights the urgent human rights implications of the ongoing repression.

As a local representing academic workers, researchers, and students, CUPE 3906 recognizes that these developments have direct impacts on members through family ties, academic relationships, and lived experience. We affirm our support for those who are seeking safety, dignity, and respect for their fundamental rights.

Many members of the CUPE community are directly affected through family, academic, and professional connections.

CUPE 3906 calls for respect for international human rights standards, including the protection of civilians and the right to peaceful dissent.

We reaffirm our commitment to solidarity, human rights and social justice, human dignity, and the principle that all people have the right to be heard.

In solidarity,
CUPE 3906 Executive

• PDF Version

“Note: All CUPE 3906 members have access to the Employee Family Assistance Program, which includes some free, confidential mental health resources and supports: https://hr.mcmaster.ca/employees/health_safety_well-being/well-being/employee-and-family-assistance-program/

Members of Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 have access to a number of leaves, such as sick leave and bereavement leave. Members can contact staff@cupe3906.org for more information.

Members of Unit 3 have access to the Post Doc Support Fund, which provides limited, one-time financial support for unexpected circumstances (such as needing to go home unexpectedly): https://cupe3906.org/postdocs-unit-3/post-doc-support-fund-unit-3/

The January General Membership Meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, January 22 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

A Zoom link will be sent soon, an agenda will be posted shortly, and you’ll be able to find all meeting materials at: www.cupe3906.org/gmm-materials