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Good morning everyone!
If anyone has any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Are you a McMaster international student? Then you’re welcome to apply to the “Inspiring International Student of the Year Award” Program that has just been launched and supported by CUPE 3906! Two awards are available, each worth $300. You can find more about the award and the application by clicking here. Applications open on July 29th and close on August 31st, 2021 (6pm EST). Submit your application here.
Questions? Contact your International Officer, Sarah.
You might have seen the email from McMaster alerting us that a person who tested positive for COVID-19 had been on campus previously and that the university is taking measures to address the health risks posed by this case. Cases like these are why our local is continuing to advocate for a safe return to campus and why it is frustrating that McMaster has refused to adopt all of our return to campus priorities. If they truly want to stop the risk of outbreaks from happening in the future we need smaller class sizes, we need social distancing measures in small classrooms, we need a clear procedure for what to do if a student refuses to wear a mask.
If you haven’t done it yet, please take a minute to sign our petition for a safe and fair return to campus for all TAs: https://www.change.org/p/mcmaster-university-cupe-3906-unit-1-return-to-campus-priorities
As you’re likely aware by now, McMaster has mandated vaccinations for all those coming onto campus, effective September 7th (except those with a bona fide medical exemption). You can find more here. This is a decision that we support given the obvious health and safety concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present. Some folks on your Union’s leadership team met with representatives from HR on Tuesday to discuss the impacts of this. In particular, we stressed that paid leave for those getting vaccinated or recovering from the side effects of vaccination was vital.
If you cannot get vaccinated due to a protected human rights ground (e.g., you are immunocompromised, or your religion does not permit vaccination), we are happy to help secure you an accommodation for this fall and winter. Continuing to work remotely is one such option. If you require accommodation, we urge you to contact us and your department as soon as possible.
We’ve been informed until people are double-vaccinated, they’ll need to test negative twice weekly. We’re trying to determine the impacts of this on Sessionals, Hourly Rated Sessional Musical Faculty, and TAs who may only be on campus once per week for their work assignment. We’ll provide more details as we get them.
The provincial government currently is providing paid leave for those getting vaccinated. McMaster needs to honour this, but it remains unclear what will happen once this provincial directive ends.
Should you need to quarantine during this semester, please let us know as soon as possible and we’ll work to secure an accomodation. There are also various leave sections in the collective agreements which may apply.
CUPE 3906’s next General Membership Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 31, from 12 PM to 2 PM Eastern Time. Any members wishing to present pre-written motions should provide theirs via email to president@cupe3906.org by Tuesday, July 27.
As with recent virtual GMMs, pre-registration will be required in order to attend this meeting. Please note that you must register with your McMaster email address no later than 10 AM the day of the GMM. This is the only way we can confirm your membership prior to the meeting. Any registration requests made from non-McMaster email addresses will be denied.
Register in advance for the GMM HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We warmly congratulate Anand, Amirhossein Rakhsha, Mina Naeini, Raghd Elgamal, Nicolas Randazzo & Lindsey Johnson on winning in the “Walk Around the World” theme contest for McMaster Fun & Comfy Zone- CONGRATULATIONS! Curious to know August’s theme for McMaster Fun & Comfy Zone? Here we go, it’s “Summer Vacation Inspirations”! Submit here for a chance to win one of 6 PRIZES for winners every month! If you have not already, join our zone on Facebook & Instagram.