Health and Safety: Overview
Health and safety is an essential part of our union’s work. CUPE members face a wide range of hazards. We provide tools, resources and training to help members stay healthy and safe and to encourage activism. We also conduct research on current and emerging health and safety hazards. For more information on health and safety activism from our national union, please click here.
At the local level, our Health and Safety Officer sits on our executive committee and is responsible for:
- Safeguarding the occupational health and safety of the membership by being available to members as a resource person and by using their knowledge and training to discover and improve hazardous situations and practices.
- Reviewing and preparing recommended revisions for the clauses in the Collective Agreement pertaining to the membership’s occupational health and safety, in order to continually improve the quality of the worker’s environment; and
- Serving on the University Central Occupational Health and Safety Committee.
Joint Health and Safety Committees
The Health and Safety Officer also manages the Union’s health and safety committee and coordinates with our various area/building representatives. These building representative positions are paid by the Employer under the terms of the Occupational Health Safety Act. You are paid for the workers’ prep meeting, the area/building joint committee meeting, and any inspections you perform. The payment form is available here..
Our area/building reps attend regular joint health and safety committee meetings in the building(s) they represent and “also conduct regular inspections of all McMaster work areas to help better identify any safety-related issues that need to be addressed. JHSCs also make recommendations to Senior Management regarding the identification and control of hazards. These recommendations may include building improvements, procedure implementation, training requirements, policies and programs.” There are no additional requirements (in our bylaws or CUPE Constitution) that the members need to follow (except for reporting back to the membership, where possible).
Under our Collective Agreements, the areas/buildings where we are entitled to health and safety representatives and have members regularly employed . We are entitled to representatives from each of our three units (1- TAs, 2- Sessionals, 3- Postdocs) in each of the areas listed below, and open positions are noted. If you are interested in fulfilling an open spot, please contact Anastasia (healthandsafety@cupe3906.org) and fill in the CUPE 3906 JHSC nomination form.
| JHSC Area | Building/s (address provided if not located at 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON) |
| Administration | 1MUSC, GH, Alumni Hall, President’s Residence, Student Wellness (PGCLL) |
| Arts | TSH, KTH, CNH, LRWH, UH |
| Campus Services | 1All buildings (custodial closets, penthouses, mechanical rooms), all property (grounds, parking lots, paths, roads) |
| Communications Research Laboratory | Communications Research Laboratory |
| David Braley Health Sciences Centre | David Braley Health Science Centre (100 Main St W Hamilton) |
| DeGroote School of Business | MDSB |
| Engineering | JHE2, ETB2, ABB2, BSB2, ITB, TAB2, ADL, GSB2, |
| Hamilton General | Hamilton General Hospital (237 Barton St E, Hamilton) |
| Health Sciences | HSC |
| Hospitality Services | 1 |
| Housing and Conference Services | 1 |
| Institute of Applied Health Sciences | IAHS |
| Ivor Wynne Centre/David Braley Athletic Centre | IWC, DBAC |
| Juravinski | Juravinski Hospital (711 Concession St, Hamilton, ON) |
| Libraries and Museum of Art | 1 |
| Longwood | McMaster Innovation Park (175 Longwood Rd S Suite 101A, Hamilton, ON) including: Atrium@MIP, CanmetMATERIALS, Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (BEAM) project centre |
| MARC | McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (200 Longwood Rd S, Hamilton, ON) |
| McIARS | Nuclear Research Building, Nuclear Reactor, TAB2, HP Annex |
| MDCL | MDCL |
| Niagara Regional Campus | Niagara Regional Campus (1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines, ON) |
| One James North | One James North (1 James St. N., Hamilton, ON) |
| Ron Joyce Centre – DeGroote School of Business | Ron Joyce Centre (4350 S Service Rd, Burlington, ON) |
| Science | LSB, PB, ETB2, JHE2, ABB2, BSB2, GSB2, HH |
| St. Joseph’s | St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton ( 50 Charlton Ave E, Hamilton, ON) |
| St. Joseph’s Centre for Mountain Health | St Joseph’s Centre For Mountain Health Services (100 West 5th Street, Hamilton ON) |
| Stonechurch | Stonechurch Family Health Centre (1475 Upper Ottawa St, Hamilton ON) |
| Waterloo Regional Campus | Waterloo Regional Campus (10b Victoria St S, Kitchener, ON) |
| UTS | 1 |
| 1 The Local is entitled to representation in this area but members do not typically work here.
2 Portions of the building are shared by multiple JHSC areas |
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Free First Aid Training
We would like to remind you that Free First Aid Training is a benefit guaranteed under your Collective Agreement and available to all CUPE 3906 members. This a Standard Red Cross certificate course, offered on a number of dates this spring through Athletics and Recreation (dates listed on the Athletics and Rec website). You will need to attend both days in order to receive the certificate.
The sessions are being held on campus. If you have questions about the specifics of the material being offered, please contact Athletics and Recreation at ext. 24464. They are the ones who are offering and teaching the class. Online registration is not an option. If you are a TA/RA in lieu and working in a different department/program other than the one that you are registered in as a student, registration should be done through the department in which you are employed. Normally, the Administrator from the department that employs you will need to register you as they must provide the departmental code so the cost can be billed accordingly. This charge cannot be passed on to you. There are occasionally issues here so please let us know if there are issues with your registration.
If you have any questions about our health and safety committee, please email Anastasia (health and safety officer).
Photos from Day of Mourning Ceremony, 2022. Pictures are of (L-R) K. Morrison, A. Soukhov, M.E. Campbell, and C. Fairweather.
