In light of the ongoing restrictions and covid-19 pandemic, the Benefits Committee has voted to temporarily amend the maximum amount Unit 1 members (TAs and RAs in lieu) can claim in Childcare.

Members may soon claim a maximum of $450 dollars for any and all eligible expenses incurred between September 1st 2021 and January 31st 2022. This means that if you have already claimed your yearly maximum of $300, you will soon be eligible to claim an additional $150 dollars.

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’re 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 dependants.

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. Effective September 1, 2020, the fund increases to $40,000 per year. This was another change we secured in our most recent round of collective bargaining.

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

Register in advance for our GMM here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkf-Cppz0jEtJqptJUpdgboMFRWHDfCVPo

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

By-elections on this GMM agenda

Along with other important union business, this GMM will include by-elections to four different positions on our Executive Committee: Chief Steward Unit 1, President, Treasurer and Recording Secretary. You can find the details on each position – as well as certain eligibility criteria – in Section 5 of the CUPE 3906 Bylaws: Duties of Executive Officers.

About the virtual GMM elections process:

Nominations for both elections will be held on the (virtual) floor of the GMM, but our Bylaws also allow for those unable to attend to self-nominate in writing ahead of the meeting. If you are unable to attend the GMM but wish to run for one of the two positions up for election, you can nominate yourself by emailing your 500-word candidate statement to brad@cupe3906.org anytime before 10 AM on the day of the GMM. Because our Bylaws require that only staff accept nominations for elections, only those sent to brad@cupe3906.org will be accepted, and their CUPE 3906 membership then verified.

Voting on these elections will occur in real time (via Zoom), meaning only members in attendance will be able to cast a ballot. This is the method we have determined most closely aligns with our in-person GMM elections and the processes laid out in our Bylaws and the CUPE National Constitution. Please note: if you are attending via a phone call (instead of using the Zoom app), you will not be able to be able to vote, because all votes in elections are anonymous.

We hope to see you there!

To be 100% clear, CUPE Local 3906 believes that the Ontario government and McMaster (a publicly funded university) should be providing COVID 19 tests to all staff and students. As usual, the Ontario government prefers playing Hunger Games. We want to let members know about the following:

A rapid antigen test pop-up distribution site hosted by the Province of Ontario is scheduled for Monday, January 17, at McMaster University’s main campus.

A limited number of test kits will be available to the McMaster and wider Hamilton community outside the Bates Residence starting at 9 a.m.

You must register in advance. Advance registration to pick up kits can be booked here. Kits of five tests will be distributed two ways: drive through and walk up. One kit will be allotted per registrant.

Arriving to the distribution site:

Do not arrive earlier than your scheduled appointment time (avoid lineups).

Please use the drive through option, if possible. Walk-up is available if you do not have a car.

• Drive-through: Enter the University at the Main Street entrance and turn left onto University Avenue (before reaching the hospital), left on College Street and follow the signs to the pick-up area. Stay in your car and do not park on campus.
• Walk up: Walk to the pick up location and if a line is present join the line on the north side of Scholars Road. Remember to maintain physical distancing.

The pop-up site at McMaster is part of a larger provincial initiative to distribute tests across the province, including several university campuses.

Are you working in the Winter 2022 term (i.e., next term)? If you’d like to opt-out of our dental plan or enroll in family dental coverage for the next term, you can already check the requirements and download the forms by visiting the page below:

https://cupe3906.org/2021/12/23/dental-change-of-coverage-forms-for-u1-and-u2-members-working-in-the-winter-2022-term-now-available/

Our office is currently closed, but we’ll be happy to assist you and process the forms when we re-open in January.

Please note that the deadline for change of coverage forms for eligible members working in the Winter 2022 Term is January 31st, 2022

Register in advance for our GMM here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkf-Cppz0jEtJqptJUpdgboMFRWHDfCVPo

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

By-elections on this GMM agenda

Along with other important union business, this GMM will include by-elections to two different positions on our Executive Committee: Chief Steward Unit 1 and President. You can find the details on each position – as well as certain eligibility criteria – in Section 5 of the CUPE 3906 Bylaws: Duties of Executive Officers.

About the virtual GMM elections process:

Voting on these elections will occur in real time (via Zoom), meaning only members in attendance will be able to cast a ballot. This is the method we have determined most closely aligns with our in-person GMM elections and the processes laid out in our Bylaws and the CUPE National Constitution.

We hope to see you there!

The final pay for this term is December 31st. This date is later than usual, but the first pay was also later than usual. It is a simple reflection of the calendar and McMaster’s bi-weekly pay schedule. This final pay on December 31st represents what Service Canada refers to as an ‘interruption of earnings’  and should be the date you list on your EI application as the last pay date (not the date for which you were last paid). The ‘day for which you were last paid’  and your ‘last day worked’  should be listed as December 24th.  We would encourage all Sessionals who may utilize Employment Insurance at any point in 2022 to apply after December 31st, even if you are employed during the Winter term.

The first pay in the Winter term, for those of you who are employed, will be on January 28th and the first day of work will be January 9th. This means you should be able to collect EI from January 1st to January 8th if you have enough insurable hours. For information on EI, click here. If you have already served a withholding period in the past 52 weeks, you will be able to collect EI as of January 1st. If you have not served a withholding period, you can serve one week over the holidays and should be able to collect EI for a day or two. However, you will have served the one-week waiting period, which means you won’t need to do so again in the spring.

In certain instances, it is possible to both work and collect EI (with some clawbacks) if the amount of work have in the winter has dropped substantially from the work you had during the fall term. More information is available here.

We are told that your ROE will be issued in advance of December 31st.