Unit 1 (TAs/RAs in lieu) and Unit 3 (Post Docs) Bargaining Survey Launch

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Dear TAs, RAs (in lieu) and Postdoctoral Fellows,
WHAT: Bargaining Survey Launch Party
WHEN: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, any time between 10:30 and 4:30
WHERE: MUSC (the Student Centre) Room 301
Did you know that your Collective Agreement expires on August 31st, 2016?
The Collective Agreement is the contract that governs your working conditions, wages and salaries, benefits and protections as workers at McMaster University.  Every few years, your Union (as your legal bargaining agent) negotiates our contracts with the McMaster Administration.
We need your input and support to make this round of negotiations a success!  Please join us on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 in MUSC 301 any time between 10:30 and 4:30 for a bargaining survey drop-in launch party!  At the party, you can meet members of your elected bargaining teams, enjoy some light refreshments, and fill out your Bargaining Survey for your exclusive chance to win a prize (valued up to $200) that is exclusive to our launch party!
If you can’t make it to the event, you can also fill out the survey at your leisure by following the instructions that we will send out on February 3rd.
As  fellow academic workers at McMaster, I would like to thank you for your participation.  We hope to see you on the 3rd!
In solidarity,
Your CUPE 3906 Bargaining Teams and Executive Committee

Join Hamilton’s Steelworkers at City Hall Rally- Sat Jan 30th

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

We need good jobs. Our communities need a reliable tax base to fund schools and parks. And our seniors need to know that their pensions and benefits are secure.On January 30, please join the United Steel Workers in Hamilton for a rally to demand justice for workers and pensioners and to call for immediate government support for a domestic steel industry.

WHEN: Saturday, January 30, 2016 from 1 – 4pm

WHERE: Hamilton City Hall

Details on buses and transportation from the following areas to the rally and back can be found on the Facebook event page:

  • Downtown Toronto
  • Peel / Halton
  • Windsor / Chatham / London & South Western Ontario
  • Sudbury & North Eastern Region
  • Cambridge / Kitchener / Waterloo / Guelph /Fergus

Steelworkers helped build the amazing communities we live in and love today. Come out Saturday and stand with steel!

Join us for a screening of Made in L.A.

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Please join us for the screening of Made in L.A.

Made in LA is about a group of women who work under sweatshop conditions in textile factories in Los Angeles. It is a story of their 3 year battle against Forever 21 to improve their conditions.

Check out the trailer: http://www.madeinla.com/

 

Made in L.A.

MDCL 3023

Wednesday February 3rd, 2016

5-7pm

Free Admission

Snacks Provided

Office Closure- January 27th

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Please be advised that our office in KTH B111 will be closed all-day on Wednesday, January 27th as the executive and staff will be in an all day strategic planning session.

There will be limited e-mail access on the 27th as a result.

The office will re-open on Thursday, January 28th, 2015.

Next General Membership Meeting- January 20th

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Our next General Members Meeting will be taking place on Wednesday January 20th at 5 pm in CNH B-107.

The agenda includes: Election of Vice President, Election of Benefits/Advocacy Officer, Discussion of Mental Health Fee Increase, and Bargaining Update.

Pizza will be provided, and childcare costs will be reimbursed upon request.

We hope to see you there!  For more info, please contact staff@cupe3906.org

union meetings

Dental Coverage for newly employed TAs/RAs in Winter 2016 semester

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

This is an important message regarding dental coverage for new Graduate Students and newly hired TAs (or RAs in lieu) who begin their TA employment in the winter 2016 term.
CUPE 3906 provides dental coverage for TAs and RAs in lieu who i. hold and undergraduate degree and ii. hold an appointment to work as a TA or RA (in lieu) at McMaster for at least 130 hours in the current academic year.
Graduate students who are just joining your programmes and/or newly hired Classification “A” TAs for the winter term are able to enroll in family dental coverage or opt-out of dental coverage until January 31st, 2016 by filling out the appropriate change of coverage form(s) (see below) and dropping them off to our office in KTH B111.  Opt-outs and enrollment forms submitted after January 31st, 2016 cannot be processed.
The family enrollment and opt-out provisions are described in the following letter:
 The family enrollment and dependent information forms are available at the following links:
The dental opt-out form is available here:
Please note that dental opt outs require appropriate proof of alternate coverage or they will not be processed.  (For more information on what constitutes appropriate change of coverage status, please see the provisions letter that is linked above.)
Finally, please note that the family dental enrollment and opt-out provisions are only open to newly hired Classification A TAs (or RAs in lieu) and/or Classification A TAs (or RAs in lieu) who begin their academic programmes in the winter 2016 term.  (In other words, the January family dental enrollment and dental opt-out provisions do not extended to eligible TAs/RAs in lieu who were registered in September and were already contracted to work 130 hours in the winter 2016 term.)  Newly enrolled graduate students should contact the Graduate Student Association for the GSA extended health (and, where applicable, dental) coverage information by visiting http://gsa.mcmaster.ca/.
More general information on our Unit 1 dental coverage is available at http://cupe3906.org/tas-unit-1/dental-plan/
Please contact administrator@cupe3906.org wtih any specific questions regarding the opt-out or family enrollment process for new TAs/RAs in lieu.
Thank you very much and happy new year,

2016 is Here! Collective Bargaining Update

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Happy New Year!  2016 is an important year for local 3906 as we have two collective agreements that are set to expire and will need to be re-negotiated. Both the Unit 1 (TAs/RAs in lieu) and Unit 3 (Post Doctoral Fellows) collective agreements expire on August 31, 2016.

The collective agreement is a democratically decided employment contract that covers all TAs and RAs (in lieu), and includes a variety of rights and benefits, including wages, hours of work, benefits, sick days, and working conditions.  Collective bargaining is the process by which we are able to make improvements to the existing collective agreement.

We have already begun working toward securing new and improved collective agreements.  Both Unit 1 and Unit 3 have elected their bargaining committees, which will be responsible for helping to re-negotiate a collective agreement and the committees have participated in some bargaining preparation workshops.

We have also hired two member mobilizers to help the bargaining committee with membership outreach.  These folks will be conducting a series of one-on-one and small group meetings with members to inform them of the bargaining process and, most importantly, to hear their issues and gather their feedback.

We will also be launching a bargaining survey for both Unit 1 and Unit 3 to ensure that the priorities of our members are reflected in the bargaining proposals package, which will be voted on by the membership in March.

It will be a busy year, and we hope to see you at our General Membership Meetings.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact staff@cupe3906.org

Office Closure over Holidays

Brad Walchuk Uncategorized

Please be advised that the CUPE 3906 will be closed over the holidays (effective as of December 17th, but with some limited access until December 23rd) and will not re-open until January 4th, 2016. Some e-mail accounts will be monitored on a very limited basis, while others will not due to people being out-of-the-country with limited access.

In the event of an absolute emergency, please e-mail Brad Walchuk (Staff Representative) at bwalchuk {at} cupe3906.org

We hope that you enjoy a well-deserved break from school and work, and have a safe and successful 2016!

Invitation to Participate in a Study on the Effects of the Fall Break

Brad Walchuk General

 

McMaster has a new full-week fall break this year which has been introduced to help undergraduate students decrease their stress levels and manage their academic workload. A team of researchers is studying whether these goals are met, and how the Fall Break affects the wider university community. Specifically, they are interested in how the new fall break influences the workload and stress levels of instructors who are teaching in Fall 2015. 

The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete. Please complete the survey within the next few weeks; it will close on Monday, December 21 at 5:00pm.

Please click the link below for more information and to be directed to the online survey.

https://surveys.mcmaster.ca/limesurvey/index.php/394786?lang=en

Unit 2 (Sessionals) Professional Development Fund Deadline

Brad Walchuk General

This term’s Professional Development Fund (PDF) application deadline is December 8th, 2015. Please drop off your application to the CUPE office (KTH B111) by the deadline.

More information about the fund, including ineligible items and the submission form, can be found here.