The Postdoctoral Support Fund is a fund secured by your Union in collective bargaining. The fund provides postdoctoral fellows with access to up to $500 to cover expenses for various circumstances. Previously the fund provided support for one-time, unanticipated emergencies. In the current COVID crisis, you and your family may find yourself in such a situation. We are happy to announce that under the terms of the new collective agreement, the fund can also provide support for childcare subsidy and extended UHIP for employee and/or dependents.

Unit 3 members are eligible to apply to the Postdoctoral Fellow Support Fund to address areas of financial need. The fund is currently limited to a maximum of $500 a person, and is administered through the School of Graduate Studies. In our most recent round of bargaining, CUPE 3906 secured a representative on the adjudication committee to advocate for our members who apply.

The fund has historically been a total sum of $20,000 per year; however, effective September 1, 2020, the fund increased to $40,000 per year. This was another change we secured through our collective bargaining efforts.

More specific details about the eligibility, process and requirements to apply for this fund is laid out in the documents found at the link below.

For more information about the fund application process and for a link to the application form, please visit: https://gs.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2020/01/postdoctoral_support_fund_2017.pdf

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 is a Standard Red Cross certificate course offered on a number of dates this spring through Athletics and Recreation (dates listed below). Further information: available here. You will need to attend both days in order to receive the certificate.

Red Cross Standard First Aid

Wed/Thurs  May 4/5

Thurs/Fri May 12/13

Tues/Wed May 17/18

Thurs/Fri May 19/20

Thurs/Fri May 26/27

Sat/Sun May 28/29

Wed/Thurs June 1/2

Tues/Wed  June 7/8

Thurs/Fri June 9/10

Tues/Wed June 14/15

Sat/Sun June 18/19

Standard First Aid Recertification

Wed May 11

Wed May 25

Thurs June 16

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.

Several of our members have started a book club on relevant issues to our union, including labour and organizing. Taking a cue from the Organizing4Power training series, we will kickstart the club with Jane McAlevey’s book No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age. Our first meeting will happen via Zoom, where we will discuss the organizing of future meetings (presentially, hybrid, Zoom etc.). If you are interested please get in touch with us: bookclub3906@proton.me

On May 1, 2022, join the province-wide day of action for a better Ontario. May 1 (or May Day) is the traditional workers’ holiday, a day that working people celebrate the gains they have won over the years and commit to fighting for a better future for everyone.

In Hamilton on May 1, we’re hosting a feeder rally and march in Gore Park (12:00 PM), followed by a May Day rally in Gage Park (1:00 PM).

It’s time for a $20 minimum wage, decent work, affordable housing, paid sick days, well-funded public services, livable income support for all, climate justice, status for all, and an end to racism and oppression. Join us!

More information: Justice for Workers and Ontario Federation of Labour

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) needs to maintain the right of unionized employees to access the tribunal. Following a Supreme Court of Canada decision which determined that issues concerning unionized employees could be solely addressed through the grievance procedure, the HRTO is now considering whether it should continue to take applications by unionized workers.

https://cupe.ca/cupe-ontario-calls-human-rights-tribunal-ontario-maintain-unionized-employees-access?utm_medium=email&utm_source=CUPEToday

The union is looking for two (2) dedicated members to book-off for member education, engagement, organizing, and campaign work in support of upcoming rounds of Unit 1 and 3 bargaining. You must be a member in good standing of CUPE 3906 from any of our three bargaining units. These positions are for roughly 10 hours per week and are compensated at the ‘Class A’ TA rate contained in the Unit 1 Collective Agreement.

Complete information about these book-off positions can be found below:

Member-Mobilizer-Book-Off-2022

Interested members should apply by the end of day May 4th, 2022 by sending a CV, cover letter, and two references to CUPE 3906 President, Chris Fairweather, at president@cupe3906.org.

Congratulations to our newly elected executive committee. These members were (re)elected today at our Annual General Membership Meeting for a term of roughly 12 months until our next AGM in April 2023. Some amazing new faces join an already solid executive team

President: Chris Fairweather

Vice President: Shalen Prado**

Vice President External: Leah McGrath-Reynolds

Treasurer: Eric Macpherson

Recording Secretary: Sarah Szymanksi

Chief Steward Unit 1: Will Foley

Chief Steward Unit 2: Carolyn Capretta

Chief Steward Unit 3: Kezhuan Gu

Benefits and Advocacy Officer: Kyle Morrison

Equity Officer: Conroy Christie

Health and Safety Officer: Anastasia Soukhov**

International Officer: Sarah Elshahat

Undergraduate Officer: VACANT

Political Action Committee (Co-Chairs): Morgan Jacques

** newly elected

Each year, we hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which all executive positions are up for election. This year, it will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. and, besides electing all the executive officers, it will also elect a 3-year trustee position.  The meeting will occur online on the “Zoom” platform.

This is a very important meeting that will decide the composition of the Executive Committee for this year and present the Annual Reports of Executive Committee Members and Committees. It is a once a year opportunity to run for positions or to vote for who you would like to represent you for the coming year. We are counting on your presence to ensure we have a good and democratic outcome.

To review the elections process and a summary of the duties of executive positions, please visit: CUPE-3906-Bylaws-updated-Dec-2021.pdf (cupe3906.org)

Please register for the meeting using the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuce6oqD4qHdd6SRi9QEuwMjS4_SUcuIhg 

You must register using your Mac email address, this is necessary for us to confirm that you are a member. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Here are the rules for the election process:

• Members may nominate themselves or others in advance of the meeting or during the nominations period of the meeting on April 6th.  Nominations will not be accepted after the nominations are declared “closed” at the online meeting.  If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else in advance of the meeting, please email brad@cupe3906.org till April 5th.
• Those candidates present at the meeting have up to 2 minutes to address the membership at the meeting to state why members should vote for them in the elections.
• Candidates can run for any positions they like (subject to the restrictions in Article 3 of the Local’s Bylaws). However, candidates can only hold one position.
• Elections happen in the order listed at https://cupe3906.org/about-us/your-executive/
• Voting for each of the three Chief Steward positions is limited to members of that Unit.
• Voting will happen in real-time during the Zoom meeting. Only members who are present at the meeting can vote. You must also be able to vote using the Zoom poll, which means that participants who have no access to the Zoom screen (i.e., anyone who is participating via a telephone call, not using the internet app) will not be able to vote. Elections are anonymous and members participating via phone call cannot tell aloud their votes.

If you still have questions about the process, please send an email to brad@cupe3906.org . You can also find more details by visiting: https://cupe3906.org/2022/04/01/elections-are-coming-agm-on-april-6/