Joint Statement Regarding Unit 1 Bargaining

Mary Ellen CampbellUncategorized

“McMaster University and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3906 Unit 1 (representing TAs and RAs in lieu working at McMaster) are currently in negotiations for a new Collective Agreement.

“The support of a Provincial Conciliation Officer from the Ministry of Labour has been requested to help facilitate a resolution; this is not an unusual process for any round of bargaining.

“The Parties will continue to meet in the interim on October 31st and November 2nd to work toward a new Collective Agreement at the Bargaining Table.”

Sarah Wahab, President, CUPE 3906

Geoff Tierney, Chief Negotiator, McMaster University

Unit 3 Agreement Ratified

Brad WalchukUncategorized

Dear Postdoctoral Fellow (Unit 3) Members,

The ballots for the Unit 3 Collective Agreement Ratification vote have been counted.
The membership has had the opportunity to vote and the majority of voting members voted in favour of ratifying the Tentative Agreement.
The Agreement will take effect if the Employer votes to ratify the Agreement according to its processes. Once this process is complete, the Agreement will be made available on the Union’s website. In the meantime, we have draft copies available for your perusal in the CUPE Office (KTH B111).
On behalf of your elected representatives on the Executive Committee, we would like to thank you for your ongoing participation and support in the process.  The Agreement would not have been possible without it!
In solidarity,
Sarah Wahab, CUPE 3906 President
Graham Baker, CUPE 3906 Vice-President

#BetterMac article in the Silhouette

Brad WalchukUncategorized

The Silhouette (campus newspaper at McMasterU) sat down with President Sarah Wahab and Vice President Graham Baker to explore the #BetterMac campaign. It means job security, mental health support, and so much more. The full story is here.

An important excerpt:

Sarah Wahab, president of CUPE 3906, clarified the conflation between mental illness and financial pressure. “It’s precarious work… Poverty can definitely amplify mental illness. So we think it is very important they have access to [mental health care]… So that’s something that was specifically mentioned in the survey: mental health care. #bettermac is trying to make a space that we already care deeply about, better. We love McMaster– we want to make it a better space for everyone to work.”

CUPE Fall Social- September 28th at 7 p.m.

Brad WalchukUncategorized

Greetings, CUPE members (and a warm welcome to our new members)!
It’s time for our annual Fall Social — which many of you know involves a whole lot of fun, food and music! This year we’ll have a surprise live musical group for you all to enjoy while you are getting to know your fellow academic workers better in a social setting.
You will also be able to enjoy a complimentary drink of your choice made by the fine folks at The Staircase (at 27 Dundurn Street North, right at a key transportation hub for many of our members).
Since the fall social this year falls on a Wednesday (Sept. 28th), we are holding it from 7pm to 11pm instead of 8pm to midnight as in previous years. So, those who have an early class the next day will hopefully be able to make it out for at least the first half :).
We will have many of our exec members and members of our Unit 1 (TA and RA in lieu) and Unit 3 (Postdoctoral Fellow) bargaining teams there to talk a bit about how things are going at the negotiating table, so it is also a good opportunity to get to know them better. On that note, please do visit bettermac.ca for a recent update on Unit 1 bargaining.
If you have dietary restrictions, let us know and we will make sure there is something suitable for you to munch on.
Hope to see you there!
Your CUPE 3906 Executive

Unit 1 Bargaining Update

Brad WalchukUncategorized

Dear Unit 1 Members,

RE: Important Bargaining Update

We have met with the Employer on several occasions in the past week to continue to re-negotiate the Unit 1 collective agreement, the contract that governs our collective working conditions as TAs and RAs in lieu at McMaster. 

The Employer has tabled a settlement offer that still contains what we view as major concessions and conflicts with the many concerns you expressed in our bargaining priorities document and bargaining survey.   

We are requesting additional dates from the Employer to meet at the bargaining table in the next few weeks to continue to work towards the priorities you set out and to attain a #BetterMac.  We will provide more updates as they arise. 

In solidarity,

Your Elected Unit 1 Bargaining Team

Unit 1 Bargaining Update

Brad WalchukUncategorized

The Unit 1 bargaining team met with the Employer on August 31 and September 1 for two full days of bargaining.  While the parties made considerable progress on some minor issues, the parties have yet to agree on many large issues that need to be addressed to make a #BetterMac, most notably the dental plan and 5th year PhD guarantees.

A full copy of our bargaining bulletin (the second that we have released) is here.  It contains the status quo language, the Union’s most recent proposal, and the Employer’s most recent response.

Our first bargaining bulletin from the end of July can be found here.