The student-workers responsible for creating and maintaining safe, supportive, and inclusive communities for over 4,000 residence students at McMaster University have delivered an overwhelming strike vote mandate in support of their Bargaining Committee.
After two days of online voting, Residence Life workers in CUPE Local 3906 Unit 4 – including Community Advisors (CAs), Graduate Community Leaders (GCLs), Guest Registration Assistants (GRAs), Residence Orientation Planners and Assistants (ROPs/ROAs), and Project Assistants (PAs) – voted 90% in favour of authorizing strike action should negotiations with McMaster’s Administration break down.
These workers, who unionized in April 2024, play a vital role in residence life. They respond to mental health crises and emergencies, plan and deliver curriculum-based educational and community-building programming, and support the well-being of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students. Much of this work is done unscheduled, and often without adequate compensation. All the while, McMaster charges live-in workers thousands of dollars in mandatory fees (including a mandatory meal plan), forcing workers to pay-to-work.
“This result is clear. We are united, organized, and ready to take action to secure the fair deal we deserve,” said Caleb Smolenaars, a Community Advisor and Chair of the Unit 4 Bargaining Committee. “For too long, McMaster has profited off the backs of student-workers. It’s time to put an end to McMaster’s exploitative pay-to-work model.”
Unit 4 members are calling for a compensation model similar comparable roles at other Ontario universities, including:
- A living wage for all Residence Life workers
- A stipend for live-in positions
- An employer-paid meal plan for live-in positions, instead of the status quo mandatory employee-paid meal plan
- A supplementary benefits fund
- Stable and predictable hours
CUPE 3906 President, Oluwadamilola Babatunde, added: “Residence Life workers are on the front lines of student support. They deserve better than the exploitative model currently in place. McMaster cannot continue to ignore the value of these workers and the reality of these working conditions.”
With this strike mandate in hand, the Unit 4 Bargaining Committee will return to the bargaining table with a clear message that Unit 4 members are united and ready to take action if necessary.