CUPE 3906

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.

It has been a few long months of negotiation and research for our CUPE 3906 Unit 2 Bargaining Committee. As you have likely heard through our ongoing phone calls and personal emails, we left the table in August with a request for more detailed information from the Employer to draft proposals that comply with what is commonly referred to as “Bill 124”.

Bill 124 refers to the Ontario Conservative Party Government’s restriction to increases to wages and other Collective Agreement entitlements to a maximum of 1% per year over a 3-year “moderation period”. Unit 2 has already been through one year of these restrictions, and we have two years remaining under the legislation (i.e., until September 2023). The legislation also restricts unions’ abilities to “make up” for the three years of restrictions in the year following the restriction period. (It is unclear what exactly is prohibited under this portion of the legislation.) This legislation makes negotiating meaningful improvements in the first two years of the Collective Agreement extremely difficult.

The Bargaining Team has spent weeks trying to maximize the gains in years 1 and 2 in creative ways, and offering proposals in year 3 that take into account the consequences of inflation and underfunding in several benefits. Items such as improvements to job security cost the employer nothing, but they continue to say ‘no’ and seem content with the current level of precarious work.

Even our proposals that deal with equity between Sessional Faculty and other employees on campus—such as recognition for our members who have been teaching for five, ten, and even thirty years or more—have not
been adopted by the Employer. We met with the Employer again on December 6th and 9th, 2021, with a modified package of proposals to attempt to meet the employer’s proposals partway, but unfortunately the Parties were not close in key priority areas such as Job Security, Wages, and Retirement Security.

The employer continues to say ‘no’ to improvements to job security, ‘no’ to meaningful retirement security, and insists on keeping wage increases to a minimal level that falls well below inflation. We are continuing to negotiate, but we are getting to the end of what can be negotiated without arriving at an impasse. In the event that the Parties reach an impasse, the Bargaining Team may request a Strike Vote from Members.

A strong Strike Vote gives the Bargaining Team the option of calling a Strike in the event that talks break down entirely at the table. It does not automatically lead to a strike, but demonstrates that the Union and its members are serious about their proposals in the process of Conciliation (or else the Employer “holds all of the cards”). Conciliation is a process involving an authorized third-party Conciliation Officer who attempts to guide the Parties to an agreement. If an agreement is not achieved during Conciliation, either Party can file a “No Board Report”, which is a document filed with the Government that starts a 17-day countdown to a legal strike by the Union or a lockout by the Employer.

The Bargaining Team anticipates more bargaining dates in the Winter Term and we are asking for your continued support. It is necessary to achieve an improved Collective Agreement that you deserve. Without your demonstration of support, it is unlikely that we will be able to negotiate anything other than a “roll-over” agreement for the next few years. We think you deserve more in wages, benefits, resources, and retirement planning. We think that you deserve to be treated in a way that is more equitable with other instructional staff on campus. The Employer will need to hear your voices united in this demand in the coming weeks.

A PDF version can be found here

Dear Members,

If you are a Classification “A” (i.e., holding an undergraduate degree) TA or RA (in lieu of TA) (Unit 1) Member or a Sessional Faculty or Hourly Rated Sessional Music Faculty (Unit 2) Member who is working in the Winter 2022 Term (and did not work as a CUPE 3906 Member in the Fall 2021 Term) and would like to opt-out of dental coverage or enroll in family dental coverage, your change of coverage forms are now available!

Unit 1 Members fitting the description above can find dental opt-out and family dental enrollment forms at Dental Plan | CUPE 3906.  An important letter describing the dental plan is available here: 2021-2022-Dental-Letter-U1-Members-WINTER-VERSION.pdf (cupe3906.org)

Unit 2 Members fitting the description above can find dental opt-out and family dental enrollment forms at Unit 2 Dental Coverage | CUPE 3906.  An important letter describing the dental plan is available here: 2021-2022-Dental-Letter-U2-Members-WINTER.pdf (cupe3906.org)

Please note that, if you wish to keep your single dental coverage and do not wish to opt-out of dental or enroll in family dental, you do not need to fill out any forms.  The deadline for change of coverage forms for eligible Unit 1 and Unit 2 members working in the Winter 2022 Term is January 31st, 2022.

Have a safe and happy holiday from your CUPE 3906 Staff!

We have been in regular contact with Facilities Services at McMaster, and they are doing or have already done the following as part of McMaster’s ventilation plan for teaching and non-teaching spaces.

1.       Increase outside air/fresh air in all our main air handling systems as the system design and outdoor temperature permits
2.       Replaced all return air filters with MERV 13 filters
3.       Inspected and verified that air dampers in air handling systems are operating as per design.

Our amazing postdoc stewards wish you a happy and safe holiday season!

Check our their holiday greeting below:

Congratulations!! You’ve reached the end of the semester and the end of your fall term TAship. While you will be getting one additional pay cheque (December 31st), your work obligations are over, regardless of whether you have any hours remaining from the Hours of Work form. This means that you are officially on vacation and cannot be compelled to perform TA work or other employment tasks for McMaster. Article 20.03 of the Collective Agreement states that: All hours of work assigned to the TA for the fall term, including those allocated for marking exams and associated duties, shall be completed as assigned but no later than the close of business on December 24. 

Please contact Brad (brad@cupe3906.org) if you have any questions about the information provided. Please note this grievance and resulting settlement applied only to returning TAs in the Faculty of Engineering. All other TAs were paid the full 5 hours as per the Collective Agreement.

The official release by the parties that was sent to your inbox can be found here.

If you experience any issues registering for this training, please contact David Ryan at ryandv@mcmaster.ca