CUPE 3906

The CUPE 3906 executive extends its utmost solidarity with the people of Palestine, who have been collectively resisting against Israeli settler-colonialism and apartheid since 1948. This month, Israeli state violence against Palestinians intensified and has manifested in lynching and police brutality, heavy bombardment in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, attacks on worshippers and the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque – which is the third holiest site in Islam – and colonist violence and ethnic cleansing in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian lands of Sheikh Jarrah and the West Bank. In the last couple of weeks, Israel has killed at least 243 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded 1,910 in the Gaza Strip alone. Israel’s genocidal actions mimic those of Canada and other settler-colonial regimes. We see the fundamental connection between Palestinian resistance and decolonization of Turtle Island and thus, we call for the dismantlement of settler-colonialism everywhere it exists. Israel must provide equal rights to Palestinians and Jewish Israelis, dismantle its apartheid wall, allow Palestinian refugees to return to their land, and end its illegal occupation and colonization of Arab lands.

We reaffirm our support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel into complying with international law and call on our members to also join the movement (visit bdsmovement.net for more information). Furthermore, we demand that McMaster University boycott and divest from complicit Israeli companies and academic institutions. For instance, the University must end and not renew its exchange program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Parts of the Hebrew University were built in the illegally occupied Eastern part of Jerusalem, allowing Israeli police to use its premises to track Palestinian movement and repress the local Indigenous population. We also call on the McMaster community to educate themselves on Palestine, follow updates on Israel’s violations of the rights of Palestinians and their resistance, use social media and other platforms to raise awareness, and center Palestinian voices. In this regard, we are proud to endorse on-going solidarity marches organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement in Toronto and to support similar actions in Hamilton. We also call on workers, trade unionists, and the socialist movement across the country to act in solidarity in the fight for Palestinian freedom.

Sharoni Mitra President- CUPE 3906

On behalf of CUPE 3906 Executive Committee

CUPE 3906 Sheikh Jarrah letter May 2021

You can find the Zoom link in your McMaster email account

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