One year after the murder of George Floyd, we are reposting this to remind ourselves that the fight against systemic racism and colonial violence is not over and that many of the demands including the removal of cops from CUPE have yet to be met.

An injury to one is an injury to all.

The Executive Committee of CUPE 3906, representing academic workers at McMaster University, joins unionists
around the world in declaring that enough is enough. No more liberal hand-wringing. No more promises for
inquiries and sensitivity training. No more racist cops. Period. Capitalism was built on a foundation of
colonialism, anti-Black racism, and white supremacy. Working people simply cannot afford to go on thinking we
can liberate ourselves from capitalism without also dismantling those foundations. Modern policing has its roots
in the slave patrols, and its principle functions even today are to protect private property and preserve the status
quo.

We want justice for George Floyd. We want justice for Breonna Taylor. We want justice for Tony McDade. We
want justice for Regis Korchinski-Paquet. We want justice for Eishia Hudson, Jason Collins, and Stewart Kevin
Andrews, three Indigenous people murdered by Winnipeg police over the course of just ten days back in April.
And we believe that justice for them is not simply a matter of individual cops being held to account, but the kind
of deep systemic transformation required to prevent these atrocities, which now seem like an almost daily
occurrence.

Real justice also requires us to acknowledge that policing cannot be reformed. For every racist cop willing to
abuse their authority there are hundreds more willing to cover it up or look the other way for fear of violating the
so-called “blue wall of silence.” Policing must be abolished, and in its place, new systems of accountability built
on strong foundations of community and mutual aid must be established. In the meantime, we must do
everything in our power to ensure that racist police are held to account.

We also need to reflect on the role of police unions in protecting bad cops. Every time a cop, or a prison guard, or
a spy joins our ranks, they gain access to a grievance procedure to shield themselves from accountability,
and they use their negotiations with municipalities and the state to shield themselves from reforms. In return,
our unions develop a financial incentive to lobby governments for increased budgets for policing, surveillance,
and incarceration. As working-class people, cops do not and cannot share our interests. They are the bodyguards
and foot soldiers of the bosses. There is a reason you don’t see police unions participating in Labour Day. For the
safety of our members and for the integrity of our struggle for a more just society, they must be removed from
our unions and federations, including CUPE.

A better world is possible, but only if we stand as one global labour movement in unequivocal solidarity against
every system of oppression in society, in the workplace, and in our unions.

In solidarity,
The Executive Committee of CUPE Local 3906

The original statement can be found here.

Your Union’s next General Membership Meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 1st, at 12:00. Any members wishing to present pre-written motions should provide theirs via email to president@cupe3906.org by Monday, May 31.

As always, 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 on June 1st. This is the only way we can verify your membership prior to the meeting. Any registration requests made from non-McMaster email addresses will be denied.

Please click here to register in advance for it, and we look forward to meeting you there!

Registration is now open for CUPE Ontario’s Summer School, taking place on June 19, 2021 from 12-4pm. CUPE 3906 will cover the registration costs for up to ten members to sign up for one of the seven available courses. Please take a look at the courses being offered here and if you’re interested in attending one, please send an email to Chris at treasurer@cupe3906.org so he can register you.

Newer, better CUPE 3906 face masks have arrived! These ones have adjustable ear loops and a metal nose insert to help keep your glasses from fogging up. Supplies are somewhat limited, so if you’d like to receive one from the union, please fill out the request form here.

We have the results for our Spring Photo Contest! We’d like to congratulate the five winners for the top prize of a $50 dollar gift card:

• Yi Feng
• Karim Soliman
• Diego Valencia Garcia
• Sophie Wilkinson
• Dongdong Wang

If the campus was located in a high priority area (or hot zone) of Hamilton, the rules have been changing to potentially include individuals who work in a high priority community. Members can check the websites, both provincial (https://covid-19.ontario.ca/ontarios-covid-19-vaccination-plan#hot-spot-communities) and region (https://www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines), to see if they are eligible.

A message from our friends at the Ontario Federation of Labour:

The Ford government’s Bill 124 is continuing to take its toll on our frontline workers by freezing wages and stopping any chance at good-faith negotiations.

Twenty-four nurses in Sarnia have been forced to take strike action this week after contract negotiations with VON Canada broke down. Two years after their previous contract expired and over one year into this pandemic, nurses are still fighting to get the wage increases and overtime pay they deserve.

The right to fairly and freely negotiate with their employer is a Charter right of every worker in Ontario – but because of the Ford Conservatives and Bill 124, frontline healthcare workers who sacrifice so much to save lives have had their right to collective bargaining stripped away from them.

This isn’t right. Frontline workers deserve fair compensation. Bill 124 needs to be reversed immediately so that workers can negotiate for fair wages. Help us get the word out by liking and sharing our post on social media demanding better.

Frontline workers across the province and across the country have already given so much just so they can get a fair contract at work. They’re already defending us from this deadly virus – they shouldn’t have to fight another battle on top of that.

The public understands the vital role that public sector workers play in our society. Our leaders should be paying them fairly for their service, not introducing draconian measures that trample on their rights.

Frontline workers deserve better. Join us and spread the word on social media. With enough pressure, we can force the Ford Conservatives to do the right thing and scrap Bill 124 for good.

www.facebook.com/OFLabour/posts/10158886733165660

In solidarity,

The Ontario Federation of Labour

In solidarity with Professor Azarova and in support of CAUT’s imposing censure on the University of Toronto, any requests for funds or reimbursements for speaking engagements, activities, or conference participation for any events at or affiliated with the University of Toronto are no longer eligible expenses for reimbursement under CUPE Local 3906’s Professional Development Funds for both Sessional Faculty and Post Doctoral Fellows. This policy will remain in place until CAUT’s call for censure has been resolved to their satisfaction.

Further, we strongly encourage members of all three of our bargaining units to respect the call for censure and refrain from attending or participating in events being held at the U of T.

CUPE 3906 Benefits Committee

A PDF of the letter can be found here: CUPE 3906 UofT censure letter 2021

Our postdoctoral fellows recently held a spring photo contest- and they didn’t disappoint. Despite being in the midst of the third-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, they found beauty around town.