CUPE 3906

The Bargaining Support/Strike Committee will also be meeting on Friday, May 27, 2022 at 1pm, also on the Zoom platform. We will discuss plans to mobilize Teaching Assistants and Postdoctoral Fellows for their upcoming rounds of bargaining, and we will also begin necessary strike preparations in case a strike or lockout of Sessional Faculty becomes unavoidable. If you are interested in attending, or to find out more information about the Committee, contact Unit 2 Mobilizer and Committee Co-Chair, Walter, at mobilizer@cupe3906.org.

The union will be holding our first General Membership Meeting of the summer on June 1, 2022 at 1pm on the Zoom platform. After the recent strike vote in Unit 2–in which Sessionals voted 85% in favour of authorizing a strike if necessary–and with Units 1 and 3 heading into bargaining soon, attendance at these meetings is more important than ever. In addition to discussing plans to support ongoing bargaining efforts, the union will also be looking to elect a new Undergraduate Officer, Chief Steward (Unit 3), and a Three Year Trustee (expiring in 2024). More information about these positions can be found in our by-laws.

Please register in advance for the General Membership Meeting by visiting the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0kc-qrrDIrHtL-p2cWoRT5Q_qZW6GvBYMl

Hamilton, ON – 13 May 2022 – The front-line instructors responsible for a significant proportion of undergraduate teaching at McMaster University have concluded a strike vote after three days of online voting.  Sessional Faculty and Hourly-Rated Sessional Music Faculty at McMaster University, comprising CUPE Local 3906 (Unit 2), voted 85% in favour of providing their Bargaining Committee with a strong strike mandate should negotiations the table with the McMaster Administration fail. 

The Local witnessed a record number of members participating in the vote between May 10^th and 12^th, held online due to pandemic safety measures. “The bargaining team is grateful that a record number of members demonstrated such strong support for the Union’s proposals on the table,” says Chris Fairweather, the Local’s President. This strong mandate speaks to the sky-high inflation rates faced by members, the increasingly precarious nature of employment at postsecondary institutions, and the compensation restrictions imposed on public sector workers by the Ford government’s ‘Bill 124’ legislation. At the same time, the Employer refuses even to discuss options for retirement security and improved job security for members, many of whom have spent decades working at McMaster.

This 85% strike mandate highlights the Employer’s need to take members’ concerns to heart immediately or face job action.  The Employer must work with the Union to find ways to improve job security to support Sessionals in continuing to provide the high quality teaching excellence on which McMaster prides itself as one of Canada’s top-ranked employers.  “We have also seen the Employer issue significant pay increases to upper management and administration over the past few years,” says Fairweather. “Now that we are coming out of our mandatory wage-restriction period, our members – who often juggle multiple jobs – deserve wages gains that address the realities of inflation and keep pace with a rising cost of living in the spirt of respect, equity, and inclusion,” he adds.

The results of this vote do not mean that a strike is forthcoming, but empower the bargaining team to call a strike should further negotiations not provide meaningful gains to members. The employer walked away from our last meeting on April 27^th after one hour of bargaining, declared an impasse, and filed for conciliation. The next step in the bargaining process is conciliation, in which a Provincially-appointed conciliator will meet with the parties.

Local 3906 is eager to put the support of its members into action at the bargaining table and is committed to membership engagement throughout the process. Please watch for further updates and additional bargaining support initiatives.

CUPE Local 3906 (Unit 2) represents over 600 Sessional Faculty and Hourly Rated Sessional Music Faculty at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario each academic year.

Contacts: 

Chris Fairweather, President – president@cupe3906.org

Brad Walchuk, Staff Representative- brad@cupe3906.org

A PDF version can be found here: https://bettermac.ca/files/2022/05/CUPE-3906-strike-vote-release-final-2022.pdf

It is the end of the semester, and many due to McMaster’s insistence on a precarious employment relationship, may sessionals will find themselves out of work. This means that you may find yourself without income – or with a major deduction in your income. We encourage you to apply for Employment Insurance, or EI.

You should be/should have been able to collect EI beginning on April 17th if you have enough insurable hours. For information on EI, click here. If you did not apply for EI immediately, it is not too late to apply. More information can be found at the link above.

If you have already served a withholding period in the past 52 weeks, you should have been able to collect EI as of April 17th. If you have not served a withholding period, you will need to serve one now (April 17 to April 23rd) and you should be able to collect as of April 24th.

If you are not working this spring semester, we would encourage you to apply to EI. Service Canada will determine your eligibility. 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.

If you are teaching in the spring semester, you should be reporting to Service Canada that you are back working as of May 2, 2022. If McMaster is your sole employer, you should report your first day worked/first day for which paid as May 2, 2022. This means that you can collect EI from either April 17th to May 1, or April 24 to May 1.

The employer has already uploaded your ROE automatically to Service Canada for the past semester.

The final pay date for the winter semester was April 22, which covers the period from April 3^rd to April 16^th. April 16^th is the date that you can report to EI as your last day of work/last day for which paid if you are applying to EI over the spring. The full pay schedule can be found here: https://cupe3906.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/501/2021/09/Pay-Dates-for-CUPE-TA-and-Sessional-Faculty_2021_22.pdf

If you have any additional questions, please contact brad@cupe3906.org or Carolyn (chiefsteward_sessionals@cupe39306.org)

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