The Executive Committee of CUPE 3906, representing 3,000 Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants (in lieu), Sessional Faculty, and Postdoctoral Fellows at McMaster University, stands in full support of striking faculty at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia and Memorial University in Newfoundland. After strikes in the fall by Teaching Assistants at Dalhousie University and here at McMaster, these strikes represent a growing movement of academic workers pushing back against the increasingly corporate, neoliberal governance of our institutions. 

We know that the decision to call a strike, especially during a cold Atlantic winter, is not one taken lightly. No one does it out of greed. We do it when we have no other choice. University governance is increasingly being ceded to lawyers and human resources professionals with little to no understanding of how public education and research work, or of the profound importance they have in society. 

Precious resources are being diverted away from supporting the workers who make universities function, and being allocated instead to supporting administrative bloat. Not only do the workers suffer, especially in the context of a once-in-a-generation cost of living crisis, but the students suffer as well. This especially true in Atlantic Canada, where the cost of tuition is rising rapidly, and yet workers are being left literally out in the cold.

We also wish to express our solidarity and support for CUPE 4600 Teaching Assistants and Contract Instructors, whose members will being undertaking a strike vote tomorrow, and the Saint Mary’s University Faculty Union, who have set a strike deadline of February 24th. As many of our colleagues at universities across Ontario and the country prepare for their own rounds of bargaining and possible strikes, we hope administrations are taking notice of how serious this situation is. It’s time to restore true collegial governance, return dignity and respect to collective bargaining, and give academic workers the tools we need to do the job that students and our communities deserve, including fair pay and working conditions.

In support of these ongoing struggles, we have authorized a $500 contribution to the strike funds of the Cape Breton University Faculty Association, the Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association, and the Saint Mary’s University Faculty Union. United, we will win!

In solidarity,

The CUPE 3906 Executive Committee

At the November General Membership Meeting, the union voted to endorse Sarah Jama for MPP in the upcoming Hamilton-Centre byelection. Our union doesn’t often offer endorsements to political candidates, but many of us know from firsthand experience that Sarah is an incredible force for good in our community. We need fearless leadership and representation now more than ever, and Sarah’s candidacy is a breath of fresh air that cuts through the cynicism so many of us feel about party politics. Sarah will make an excellent MPP and we’re excited to do what we can to support her.

For more information about Sarah’s campaign and to find ways to get involved, visit https://www.sarahjama.ca/.

At the upcoming GMM we will be discussing new and existing working groups and committees that you can join to become more involved in the union. This includes:

NEW – Raise the Floor Working Group
The Raise the Floor Working Group aims to continue to push McMaster to elevate the existing funding floor for graduate students at McMaster. You can learn more about raise the floor campaign here.

Full-time graduate students at McMaster need your help. We need to come together as a community—whether you’re a student, a member of the faculty, or university staff—and call on McMaster’s Graduate Council to Raise the Floor! To get involved email: raisetheflooratmac@gmail.com 

Communications Committee
The Communications Committee designs and circulates information about CUPE3906 to the general membership and broader McMaster community. Currently, the committee is working on CUPE3906 FM , a podcast series about our union (found on Spotify).

This term the Communications Committee will meet on Thursdays, from 1:30pm to 2:30pm, and will take place on the following dates (roughly every other week):

• January 26
• February 9
• March 2
• March 16
• March 30
• April 13

If you would like to join the communications committee please contact: comms@cupe3906.org

Women’s Committee
The first Women’s Committee meeting of 2023 is scheduled for this Friday, January 20 @1pm on Zoom. In this meeting we will be reframing the objectives for this committee to be more inclusive and discussing the upcoming CUPE women’s conference.

If you would like to join this committee please contact: vicepresident@cupe3906.org

We will host our first GMM of the Winter semester on January 18th at 1pm. The meeting will take place online over Zoom.

We have some important business to take care of, including elections to fill the following positions: Recording Secretary, Chief Steward Unit 1 (TAs/RAs), CUPE Ontario Convention Delegate (8 positions), and CUPE Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee (OUWCC) Conference Delegate (5 positions).

For more information about these positions, head over to http://www.cupe3906.org/meetings

Register for the meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrdOmsqTIuHtIj1LT-TYwVyIBqkfOiNciS

Post-GMM Social at the Snooty Fox (Westdale) @4:30pm

CUPE3906 will be hosting an in-person social at the Snooty Fox after Wednesday’s General Membership Meeting, at 4:30pm.

Everyone is welcome to swing by and have a chat with us after the GMM!

Please note that we have returned to our on-campus location at Kenneth Taylor Hall B111. Our office hours are 10am to 4pm, Monday to Thursday. You can also reach us via email.

Until further advised, masks will be mandatory for those visiting the office.

Members who are not comfortable or who cannot safely visit the office are encouraged to continue to contact the union over email. We will continue to meet with members virtually as necessary. If you need to connect with us virtually to submit benefits claims, file a grievance, or any other union business, instructions for doing so can be found here.

Thank you!

As you may have noticed on your most recent pay cheque (December 2nd), the employer finally made the dental deduction ($170) from those who did not opt out of dental coverage. This means that coverage is now active (backdated to September 1, 2022 and until August 31, 2023) and you can submit claims to Equitable Life of Canada. The dental coverage provides 100% reimbursement on many procedures and offers up to $1000 in coverage for eligible expenses for each of 2022 and 2023. The amount does not carryover from year to year.

If you have received or underwent any dental procedures between September 1, 2022 and now, you can go ahead and submit these claims. If you have been waiting until your insurance is active to go to the dentist, you can go now and we encourage you to use your remaining 2022 entitlement and get to the dentist before December 31st. You can find more details about coverage, entitlement, and eligibility here: https://cupe3906.org/sessionals-unit-2/unit-2-dental-coverage/

Please note that some dentists may have you pay up front and will submit on your behalf, while others may make you submit directly to Equitable Life. Policies vary from dentist to dentist, and, whenever possible, we recommend your dentist getting you a pre-approval in advance.

Sincerely,

CUPE Benefits Committee

Under the fund, you can apply for a maximum of $300 for individuals or $600 for people with dependents. Please note that not all applications will be approved, and those which are approved may not be approved for the full amount. This fund covers over 2,600 striking workers and is available only as funds permit.

To apply, please visit https://zfrmz.com/igwkfzjJYzNQticQXRpA

Dear Sessionals,

On October 27th, the University’s Board of Governors formally ratified the new CUPE Unit 2 Collective Agreement (the agreement that you ratified in July). As such, the new Collective Agreement is in full force and effect – a tentative draft version can be found here. The Union will have hard copies printed soon for members who need one.

On the next pay period (November 18th), each Sessional who is currently being paid at the previous base rate ($7630.55) will see a one-time payment of $153.38 per 3.0 unit course taught on their pay stub. This accounts for the negotiated wage increase through to the end of the semester, but your bi-weekly pay will remain the same through to the end of the semester. New contracts beginning in January will see no less than current base rate of $7783.93 paid out over 8 equal payments. For those of you teaching a 6.0 course, the one-time payment of the wage increase will be pro-rated accordingly. Effective September 1, 2023, the base rate will increase by 3.5% to $8056.37 per 3.0 unit course.

As part of the ratification process, Hourly Rated Sessional Music Faculty will see a one-time payment representing the difference between hours paid at current rate compared to new rate (paid November 18th). Going forward, the new hourly rate will be applied for the balance of the term. We expected that Sessionals employed in MELD will also see a one-time increase representing the difference between hours paid at current rate compared to the new hourly new rate, though we are finalizing the remaining details. Going forward, the new hourly rate will be applied for the balance of the term.

The new Collective Agreement also contains important increases to the Health Care Spending Account (increased from $93,000 per year to $166,000 this year and up to $180,000 next year) and the Family Dental Supplement (increased from $10,000 per year to over $37,000 this year and up to over $41,000 next year). The benefits committee will examine any further potential changes to individual entitlements. The new agreement also contains increases to the dental fund and the professional development fund.

Resulting from these increases, our benefits committee recently announced an increase to the Health Spending Account (up to $500 per year at 100% reimbursement). We also recently announced an expansion to the Professional Development Fund to allow the submission of various technological items.

Your bargaining committee also won a supplemental benefits fund ($7,000 this year, increasing to $10,000 next year) that the Benefits Committee will earmark for a Gender Affirmation Fund, similar to what we previously secured for TAs and RAs in Unit 1. Further details are still being developed.

Finally, the new Collective Agreement also contains a $42,000 supplementary fund to be used for various benefits purposes. Your benefits committee will be meeting to determine how to best allocate this money based on the needs of our membership.

The benefits committee plays an important role in determining entitlement for all of our benefits and adjudicating various applications, such as Professional Development. The committee normally meets once every 4-6 weeks for between 1 and 2 hours. The time commitment is limited, all meetings are virtual or hybrid. We are always looking for new and diverse voices to join the committee. Please email beneifts@cupe3906.org if you would like to join or have questions about participating.

In solidarity,

Your CUPE Unit 2 bargaining committee