Unit 3 Postdoctoral Fellows meetings

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

We have an upcoming Special General Membership Meeting for our postdoctoral fellows on Wednesday, October 24th at noon. The agenda will feature two important items:

  1. election of Unit 3 Chief Steward (to represent postdocs on our executive committee)
  2. election of Unit 3 bargaining team (up to 3 members)

The meeting will be held in MUSC 203 and will feature lunch and some free swag. We hope you’ll be able to join us and be interested in representing postdocs and building a #BetterMac!

Fall 2018 General Membership Meetings

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Fall 2018 General Membership Meetings are as follows:

Weds, Oct 31st at 12:30 in MUSC 311/13 (election of Unit 1 Bargaining Team)

Weds, Nov 28th at 12:30 in BSB 108

 

We’ll also be having a Special GMM for Unit 3 members only toward the end of October, with an exact date and time TBA

Fight for 5 Years and Fairness

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

If you were at our amazing social earlier this week (or if you follow us on social media), you would have seen our delicious 5 Years and Fairness cake and the launch of our 5 Years and Fairness bargaining campaign.

As you likely know, both Unit 1 (TAs and RAs in lieu) and Unit 3 (postdocs) are heading into bargaining next spring, and we wanted to kick off our bargaining campaign with a clear message: doctoral students need 5 years of guaranteed funding. Based on information we’ve previously gathered, the average length to complete a doctoral degree at Mac is 5.5 years. The current guarantee provides doctoral students with only 4 years, and quite simply that isn’t sufficient or reflective of how long it takes to complete a degree, as virtually any PhD student can tell you.

As the year goes on, you’ll be hearing much more about this campaign and what else it contains, but the message is simple: doctoral students deserve 5 years of guaranteed funding. It’s only fair!

 

September Fall GMM reminder

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Our September General Membership Meeting is taking place on Wednesday, September 26th at 12:30 in MUSC 311-13. At this meeting we’ll be electing five new executive members and voting on our 2018-19 operating budget. As always, it features free pizza and we’re happy to reimburse child costs to facilitate your attendance.

 

Dental Plan for Sessionals (Unit 2 members)

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Over the past few years, CUPE 3906 has been in the process of negotiating and establishing a premium-based dental plan for our Unit 2 Members.
We are pleased to announce that we are finally launching the dental coverage for our members this fall.
The coverage provides 100% for most standard basic services up to $1,000 per calendar year.  Access to the benefit is subject to current eligibility, which is determined by Unit 2 employment within the current academic year.  The member cost for single dental coverage is $170.00 for the current academic year (i.e., September 1, 2018-August 31, 2019).
Members will be automatically enrolled in single coverage (unless they are otherwise covered by our Unit 1 or Unit 3 plan).  Participation in the plan is mandatory for Unit 2 members, unless members can provide proof of alternate coverage in another dental plan.  Members can elect to enroll in family coverage (which provides up to $2,000 in coverage per family per calendar year subject to the enrollment period (however there is an additional cost to enroll in family coverage).
For more general information about plan, including a link to the coverage booklet, please visit our website: https://cupe3906.org/sessionals-unit-2/unit-2-dental-coverage/
For important information about opting out of the dental plan, or enrolling in our family dental coverage, please see this important letter: https://cupe3906.org/files/2018/09/Dental-Letter-to-Members-U2-Fall-2018.pdf
To obtain a copy of the DENTAL OPT-OUT FORM, please click here: https://cupe3906.org/files/2018/09/CUPE-U2-DENTAL-OPT-OUT-2018-2019-NEW-2.pdf
Please note that we require supporting documentation (i.e., proof of alternate dental coverage with your name on it) to opt-out of the plan.
To obtain a copy of the FAMILY DENTAL ENROLLMENT FORM, please click here: https://cupe3906.org/files/2018/09/2018-Unit-2-Family-Dental-Enrollment-NEW-2-1.pdf
Please note that there are IMPORTANT DEADLINES associated with opting-out of the plan and enrolling into the family dental coverage.  THE DEADLINE for OPT-OUTS and FAMILY ENROLLMENTS is OCTOBER 1st, 2018. 
Questions can be addressed to administrator@cupe3906.org.  Due to the high volume of questions we anticipate, please do read the important letter (see: the second link above) before sending questions.

Political Action Committee Meeting- September 11th at 4 p.m.

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Hello to new members interested in joining the Political Action Committee (PAC) of CUPE 3906 at McMaster!

We hope everyone is having a good start to the new school year. This is a reminder email that we’ll be having our first PAC meeting of the semester this Tuesday September 11th at 4pm. The meeting will be held in the CUPE 3906 union office in Kenneth Taylor Hall (KTH) room B111.
We’ll be sharing updates from the summer and electing two new PAC co-chairs at this meeting – we look forward to seeing you there!
There will be snacks!
In solidarity,
-Chloe & Rosa

Dental Benefit Information for Unit 1 (TA/RAs in lieu) members

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

This message contains IMPORTANT and TIME-SENSITIVE information that may require your immediate attention.
If you (1) are employed as a Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant (in lieu of a Teaching Assistant) between September 1, 2018 and August 31, 2019, and (2) hold an undergraduate degree, you will automatically be enrolled in single dental coverage under the CUPE 3906 plan.
If you hold other coverage under a spouse or a parent, and wish to opt-out of our dental plan, you have until September 28 to do so.
If you wish to enroll in family dental coverage, you have until September 28 to do so.
For more information on how to opt-out of the plan or enroll in family coverage, please read this important information: https://cupe3906.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/501/2018/08/CUPE-3906-Unit-1-Dental-Letter-2018-2019.pdf
For general information on the plan and for links to the opt-out and enrollment form, please visit our Unit 1 dental benefits website, here: https://cupe3906.org/tas-unit-1/dental-plan/
We wish you best of luck in the upcoming year.

Labour Day 2018

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

As you likely know, Labour Day is this upcoming Monday (September 3rd). Not only is this the last long-weekend of the summer, it is an important recognition of the role of working people in Canada.
As always, your Union will be participating in the Hamilton and District Labour Council’s events, which include a parade in the downtown core and a BBQ celebration at Bayfront thereafter. Full details are available here.
We’ll be meeting around 10 a.m. at Stuart and Bay for the parade, and we hope to see you there. You can also join us for lunch at Bayfront after the parade. We’ll have free hamburgers and drinks. We’ll be sharing space with CUPE Local 5167.

We’ll also have some free swag on hand, including CUPE 3906 sunglasses, cell phone wallets, water bottles, and lanyards. CUPE National President Mark Hancock will also be joining us for the festivities.
If you have any questions, please contact our Political Action Committee: politicalaction@cupe3906.org or vpexternal@cupe3906.org

In solidarity,

Your CUPE 3906 Executive and Political Action Committee