CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

(Hosted by the Local 3906)

As academic employees and members of CUPE, we are all too familiar with discussions surrounding labour issues
and the process of collective bargaining to ensure just working conditions. However, when it comes to the vital
research that we engage in day to day, members rarely get a chance to come together on these topics and interact with each others’ work. The goals of this conference are to bring our research together and to provide unique opportunities for collaboration , open up discussion about key labour issues, and ultimately facilitate a creative avenue for building union solidarity.

For this first iteration of this conference the overarching theme will focus on academia, justice and the workplace. We
invite all workers employed in academia to submit an abstract and/or proposal. We highly encourage creative
submissions in addition to the standard talking format (whether that be visual art, multimedia, etc.). Group
submissions for panel presentations are also welcome.

Topic examples include but are not limited to:
● Working in academia
● Equity and discrimination in the workplace
● Anti-black racism
● Other forms of discrimination
● Indigenous rights
● Corporatization of the post-secondary sector
● The role of unions in academia at large

Further suggestions that align with this year’s theme are welcomed.

Due to the current state of travel, this conference will be held virtually over Zoom.

● Conference is to be held between the dates of April 18th to 24th 2021 pending review of abstracts.
● Please email all submissions to organizingchair@cupe3906.org
● The deadline for submissions is January 15th 2021.
● All submissions must include an abstract or project description (250-500 words).
● Submissions must include the author’s name, affiliation, and contact information.
● Submissions from other locals are welcome and encouraged.

We are writing to inform you that the results of the Unit 2 Tentative Agreement vote have been tallied.

Members have voted 89% in favour to ratify the Tentative Agreement.

The Employer must also conduct its own ratification vote in this process.  That vote is scheduled to take place at the December 17^th Board of Governor’s meeting.  Until  the Employer ratifies the Tentative Agreement, the Collective Agreement that expired on August 31, 2020, is still in effect.

Members who would like to view the new Tentative Agreement prior to its final ratification by the Employer are welcome to contact staff@cupe3906.org to obtain a privileged link to view the Tentative Agreement.

On Behalf of everyone involved in negotiating this agreement, we thank you very much for your participation. Please monitor your emails for further developments as we are always looking for ways to engage and consult with Unit 2 members about their working conditions at McMaster.

In solidarity,

Sharoni Mitra

President, CUPE 3906

Mollie McGuire

Vice President, CUPE 3906

This is a reminder that we will be holding an online Special General Membership Meeting (SGMM) tomorrow, November 25, at 1:00 PM EST. The purpose of this meeting is to present the details of the tentative agreement reached by your Unit 2 Bargaining Team and McMaster University.

In order to preserve the security and confidentiality of our SGMM, registration for this meeting will be required. Please note that you must register with your McMaster email address before 1 PM tomorrow. 

To register for this SGMM, click the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvdu6qqTwrGNX9wunlAbX4l8qcaiHSW-qV

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to join the meeting tomorrow at 1:00 PM.

***PLEASE NOTE: While we would strongly encourage all Unit 2 members to attend tomorrow’s SGMM, this is NOT a requirement to cast your ballot for or against ratification. Voting on the tentative agreement will be open to ALL Unit 2 members in good standing – not just those who attend the SGMM – and occur online, via Helios Voting. 

By now, all eligible Unit 2 members should have received their ballot and other information required to vote from Helios (to their McMaster email address). This includes a link to the full text of the new agreement, with all changes highlighted so that each voter can cast their ballot based on informed choice. The ballot will remain closed until after tomorrow’s SGMM, around 2:00 PM EST. You will be notified via email once voting has begun. Voting will close at 5:00 PM EST on Thursday, November 26.

If you believe you are eligible to vote but still have yet to receive your ballot, please email us at staff@cupe3906.org ASAP. Please also get in touch if you have trouble registering for the SGMM via the link provided above.

Out of respect to Unit 2 members, no details about the Collective Agreement will be released until such time as the tentative agreement may be formally presented to Unit 2 members at the SGMM.

On behalf of the CUPE 3906 Executive and the entire Bargaining Team, we would like to thank members for their support during this difficult round of negotiations.  A deal would not have been possible without your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Your CUPE 3906 Unit 2 Bargaining Team

After several days of negotiation in conciliation, your Unit 2 Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with the Employer.

Details of the tentative agreement will be presented at an online Special General Membership Meeting (SGMM), which will be held on Nov 25, 2020 1:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada).

Voting on the tentative agreement will be online and will occur immediately following the SGMM and will continue until  Nov 26, 2020 5:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada).

We will send more details in a separate e-mail to members about how to participate in the SGMM (held via Zoom) and the ratification vote (held via Helios Voting).  Please note that, due to the pandemic health and safety measures, no meeting or voting will be conducted in person.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please note that, out of respect to Unit 2 members, no details about the Collective Agreement will be released until such time as the tentative agreement may be formally presented to Unit 2 members at the SGMM.

On behalf of the CUPE 3906 executive and the entire Bargaining Team, we would like to thank members for their support during this difficult round of negotiations.  A deal would not have been possible without your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Your CUPE 3906 Unit 2 Bargaining Team

Our Unit 2 Bargaining Team is meeting with the Employer today for ongoing negotiations with the McMaster University Administration. These negotiations are part of a process called conciliation, which precedes a strike or lockout and is assisted by a government-appointed Conciliation Officer.

There are a few outstanding issues at the table.  First and foremost is the Employer’s position on proration—that is, the Employer’s ability to determine, arbitrarily and unilaterally, the amount of work involved in teaching a course (and, by implication, the amount of stipend a member should be paid for teaching).  The Union is absolutely opposed to this position.

The Bargaining Team will provide an update for members following our Conciliation Session today (November 16^th).  Please check your emails for updates, and follow us on social media (@cupe3906 and @cupe_3906).

To support your Bargaining Team and to join our strike committee, please contact Sylvia at mobilizer@cupe3906.org. You can also attend tomorrow’s strike committee meeting, happening via Zoom at 1pm EST. Click here to join the meeting. We hope to see you there!

CUPE 3906 Executive Committee Opposes the Ford’s Anti-Democratic Bill-168, Which Silences Palestinians and Threatens Academic Freedom

The CUPE 3906 Executive Committee stands firm against the Ford government’s recent adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA-WDA), through an Order-In-Council, circumventing a third hearing and public debate on the associated Bill 168. The IHRA-WDA is the product of a growing movement that seeks to redefine antisemitism to include criticism of the Israeli state. We, the executives, believe that this definition poses a serious threat to critical research and scholarship in Ontario.

Recently, the Trump Administration has begun considering labelling several human rights organizations, (including Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Human Rights Watch), as “antisemitic,” and two Ontario universities have been the site of false and destructive charges of antisemitism against respected international human rights scholars. These attacks are deeply troubling for us as scholars and teachers. The IHRA-WDA is a direct attack on academic freedom, endangering our ability to engage in scholarship and teaching that explore facts and perspectives that are critical of a foreign state. It can place Ontarian academics at great risk of being falsely accused of being antisemitic, which could result in intimidation, censorship, job precarity, and costly litigation.

The conflation of antisemitism with critique of Israel is dramatically out of step with the views of most Canadians, including the executives at CUPE 3906. No Ontario university has adopted the IHRA-WDA. According to a poll released earlier this month, 80% of Canadians do not believe that criticisms of Israel are antisemitic. The Ford government has shown that it is willing to back down on reactionary decisions when it is met with robust public opposition. Strong intervention in defence of academic freedom and the necessary autonomy of university governance can prevent this neo-McCarthyist definition from being used to silence Palestinian rights defenders.

Outlawing and censoring critique of a foreign state in university research and teaching is governmental overreach. Modern universities have been defined and governed as autonomous institutions of learning for a reason. Expectations of institutional autonomy and collegial governance, like that of academic freedom, protect universities from governments or private interests wishing to set limits on what can be researched and what can be taught. Human rights research is as vulnerable to such intrusion as research in pharmaceuticals, energy, white collar crime, foreign relations, or any other potentially contentious research subject.

In solidarity,

The CUPE 3906 Executive Committee

We have confirmed that McMaster will be compensating incoming international postdocs during their mandatory quarantine period. Depending on when the individual arrives in Canada, the quarantine period may happen prior to the actual appointment start date or overlap with the appointment start date. In any case, folks will be paid their full weekly salary for each week during the mandatory quarantine period. In cases where the mandatory quarantine period falls within the start date of the appointment, the employee may be required to work, subject to them being able to complete the work remotely, during the quarantine period.

We’re back at the conciliation table on Monday and hoping to secure a fair collective agreement. Sessionals make vital contributions to McMaster and deserve a collective agreement that reflects this. Let’s go!!!