Bargaining Priorities for Sessional Faculty, Hourly-Rated Sessional Music Faculty, and MELD Sessional Faculty

Brad WalchukUncategorized

Your elected Bargaining Team has reviewed the results of the Unit 2 bargaining survey that was sent out to Unit 2 members earlier this spring.  Based on your responses in conjunction with three years’ worth of conversations our Executive and Staff have had with members about how to strengthen and improve your rights as frontline workers at McMaster, the Bargaining Team has created a list of priorities for you to ratify as we head into negotiations with the Employer, the McMaster University Administration.

We have grouped these priorities into six categories:  Wages, Job Security, Professional Supports, Health and Wellbeing, Workload, and Pensions.  For a more detailed explanation of what these priorities mean, please visit our website for a helpful guide.

Your participation in the ratification of our priorities package is another easy way to contribute to the bargaining process and show your support as the Bargaining Team prepares for negotiations with the Employer.  The Labour Relations Act does not require such a vote, but it’s just one more way we like to engage members during the bargaining process.

Since we are not able to hold our normal in-person meeting, voting will take place online, via Helios. The voting period will begin this Wednesday (June 17) at 5pm and end this Sunday (June 21) at 5pm. Other key details can be found below:

  • Unit 2 members will receive a voter ID and password to vote via McMaster email from an online platform called Helios.
  • Helios is the most user-friendly and secure voting platform we have found.  For more information about Helios, please visit https://heliosvoting.org/faq
  • Once the polls are open, you will be able to log in and cast your vote either in favour or opposed to referendum question regarding the six priorities identified in this presentation.
  • Your vote will then be encrypted and logged anonymously. Your email and username will only grant you access to the polls and will not be associated with your vote, nor will it be used or sold by Helios voting thereafter.  Once the polls are closed, Helios will automatically tally the results.

Thank you in advance for your participation!