Lunchtime Workshop

Communication OfficerGeneral, International

Dear international members,

Grazyna Drzazga is one of the PhD students in linguistics who had one of the most interesting workshops for international TAs during the TA day. Luckily, she has kindly offered to hold her workshop again this term. The description of this workshop is as follows:

Teaching in a Different Language
Communication breakdown due to limited vocabulary is one of the biggest fears of international graduate students and teaching assistants. This workshop discusses how to compensate for linguistic imperfections. An array of strategies to overcome communication barriers will be presented and discussed.

The workshop will be held on Thursday March 1st, from 12 to 2pm, at CLL (Center for Leadership in Learning) Teaching Commons Inquiry Classroom, Mills Library 504.

If you are interested, please email international@cupe3906.com before the day of the workshop in order to have an estimate of the number of people who want to come to order enough food.

CLL is kindly providing coffee and the space for the workshop.

Tentative Agreement in Unit 3 Bargaining!

Nancy MacBainNews, Unit 3, Unit 3 Bargaining

Dear Unit 3 members,

We are pleased to announce that, after an extensive negotiation period, we have reached a tentative agreement with the Employer on the Unit 3 Collective Agreement.

Details of this agreement will be put forward to the membership at an upcoming Special General Membership Meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, February the 28th at 5pm in MUMC 1A5. Details of the deal will not be released prior to the meeting. A confirmation email with the location and further details of this meeting will be sent within the next few days.

We would like to thank you all for your participation and important feedback throughout the negotiation.

David Montiel
Chief Steward, Unit 3

Support Post Docs – tell the University to reach a fair settlement

Nancy MacBainNews, Unit 3, Unit 3 Bargaining

We are very close to a deal in bargaining a new contract for Post Docs. The University continues to hold out on money for members after the first two years of the agreement. We need your support to urge the University to come to the table on the 13th with an offer that can resolve bargaining once and for all.

Click here to send a message to the McMaster administration.

In Soli? – A panel, open discussion and social event about what it means to be In Solidarity

Nancy MacBainEvents, News, Political Action

The Political Action Committee of CUPE 3906 would like to invite you to:

in soli?: A panel, open discussion and social event about what it means to be “in solidarity”

When: Thursday February 2nd, 7-9pm
Where: Artword Artbar, 15 Colbourne Street (at James N.  & Colbourne)
Cost: Free!

As a key catch-phrase for activists within and beyond organized labour, ‘in solidarity’ is often taken as a self-evident and non-contentious statement. This event aims to unpack this phrase by talking more about how we think about and practically approach ‘solidarity’ work. We will be hearing thoughts from community activists in Hamilton on how they approach being ‘in solidarity’ with others in the work that they do. Panelists’ experiences span topics such as: anti-poverty support, labour organizing, Indigenous solidarity and mobilizing against community injustice broadly defined. We hope the event can generate collective discussion and self-reflection on our various strategies and the overlaps and/or tensions that might exist between different forms of solidarity.

Panelists include: Alex, Niki, Jamila and Michelle and the artwork of Roberto Lavidez will be on display for the evening

There will be a cash bar and menu with light homemade meals available for purchase.

This event is free and open to all. Click here for more information

CUPE 3902 (U of T) Launch Bargaining Campaign

Nancy MacBainNews

CUPE 3902, representing Teaching Assistants and Sessional Faculty at the University of Toronto, have launched a campaign as part of their current round of negotiations for a new Teaching Assistant contract.

The new website, mimicking the University of Toronto’s Boundless fundraising campaign, can be found at www.boundlessutoronto.ca.

Check out the new website for more information on the current round of bargaining, and what you can do to support our sisters and brothers at U of T.

General Membership Meeting – Jan 25th

Nancy MacBainEvents, News

The next General Membership Meeting will take place on

January 25th
5:30PM
in MUMC 1A5 (by William’s)

Free food will be available at 5:00pm. There will be a short orientation session at 5:00pm for members attending their first meeting. Childcare reimbursement is available on request.

Agenda items include: Bylaw amendments, elections/ratifications, motion to endorse National Day of Action for Lower Tuition Fees.

NOTE: All General Membership Meetings this term will take place on the last Wednesday of each month, at 5:30pm in MUMC 1A5 (Feb 29, Mar 28, Apr 25 & May 30).

International Members’ FAQ

Communication OfficerGeneral, International

1. What is a union?

Perhaps you have heard the story of “the bundle of sticks” or the phrase “united we stand, divided we fall”. That’s basically, what union means. Union (or more precisely trade union), copying from Wikipedia, is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. You might also be familiar with the term ‘syndicate’ in some other languages.

The idea is that employers (intentionally or unintentionally) do not consider the best possible conditions for the workers. Therefore, workers form a union so that each individual does not have to deal with the employer directly, they can go to their union and work with others to achieve a better result; then, they will have the help of other workers and professionals working in the union to solve their issues.

2. Then, what is CUPE 3906?

CUPE stands for Canadian Union of Public Employees. CUPE is a general union of employees across all Canada, and actually the largest one in Canada. Similar to any other organizational structure, there are different levels and the lowest level includes the ‘locals’. CUPE 3906 is the local that we are part of, which includes TAs (Teaching Assistants), Sessional Faculties (the faculty members that are usually not permanent), and postdoctoral students. CUPE 3902 is for example for TAs of University of Toronto.

3. Who is a member of CUPE again?

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