Weekly Mobilizing Message from Cupe Ontario

Brad Walchuk Finance, General, News, Political Action

Whack ‘Em Wednesday – Week Four

On Monday, the Ontario Liberals swung a deal that allowed the budget to pass a key vote.

Because so much was changing, CUPE Ontario decided to delay our weekly Mobilizing Mondays email until today.

As a result, here is Whack ‘Em Wednesday. We need to whack the MPPs with the message that the budget still isn’t good enough for Ontario.

The budget will kill jobs, cut public services and hurt communities. The budget is not a done deal. There is still time for us to win amendments that will preserve the vital public services on which every Ontarian relies, every day. We need to add our voice by telling all MPPs the budget must change.

Every week, we will send you three simple actions you can take to help protect public services and get Ontario the budget it deserves. If you can, please do all three, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

One-minute action– Friend your MPP on Facebook. Then write a status update about the budget. If you use @ and your MPP’s name, they’ll be alerted to your message.

Sample message: Budget amendments are chump change. Still waiting for a budget that protects services and programs in my community. [Better yet, point to a program you or your family rely on that’s being attacked]

Five-minute action– Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Say that you support increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations, but only to preserve quality public services. If it’s published, let CUPE Ontario know at info@cupe.on.ca

Twenty-minute action– Make an appt to see your MPP and call Maureen Giuliani at CUPE Ontario (905-739-9739), who assist with speaking notes and meeting preparation.

Need more information about the budget? Visit cupe.on.ca/budget

Mobilizing Mondays, Get Involved! Week 2

Communication Officer Events, News

Mobilizing Mondays – Week Two

On March 27, the Ontario government released an austerity budget that includes billions of dollars in public service cuts. It is a budget that will kill jobs, gut public services and hurt communities. We need to tell our MPPs that they must amend the budget.

This is the second Mobilizing Monday. Every week, we will send you three simple actions you can take to help protect public services and get Ontario the budget it deserves. If you can, please do all three, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
One-minute action

Visit budget.messageyourmpp.ca and enter your address to automatically send your MPP an email. You can do this even if you have visited the site and sent a message before. A new message will be posted every week.
Five-minute action

Email five friends or family members and ask them to also go to budget.messageyourmpp.ca. The more emails MPPs get, the more likely they are to push to remove the worst cuts from the budget.

Also share the link with your followers and friends on Twitter and Facebook!
20-minute action

Call your MPP’s constituency office and request a meeting to discuss the budget. You can find a lobby guide with information to help you with this meeting at cupe.on.ca/budget. Let CUPE Ontario and your district council know so that we can help you prepare and track which MPPs are getting these requests.

Congratulations to the new Executive!

Nancy MacBain News

At the Annual General Meeting last night a new Executive was elected for 2012-13 year. Your new executive members are:

President – Anthony Gracey
Vice President – Diana Zawadzki
Vice President External – Blake McCall
Secretary Treasurer – Herman Poon
Recording Secretary – Angela Harrison
Chief Steward Unit 1 – Ian Myhra
Grievance Officer – Hayley Goodchild
Communications Officer – Will Jaques
Health & Safety Officer – Mitch LaPointe
Equity Officer – Sarah Batten
Benefits & Advocacy Officer – Rebecca Strung
Postings Officer – Nick Longaphy
International Officer –  Valentin Cassano

There are nominations for the positions of Chief Steward – Units 2 & 3 that will go forward to the executive committee next week. Elections were unable to be conducted for these two positions due to lack of quorum.

Congratulations to the new executive, and  a huge thanks to outgoing executive members for your excellent service!

CUPE 3906 TA/RA Award – Nominations EXTENDED

Nancy MacBain Events, News

In recognition of the diverse work carried out by TAs and RAs (in lieu) in the various Faculties across McMaster, CUPE Local 3906 is proud to announce it will be giving out TA awards to members.

Successful candidates will receive a $200.00 prize, a letter of recognition from the current CUPE 3906 Executive, a copy of the nomination form and a certificate of achievement.

Any CUPE Local 3906 member may be nominated for the award by their students, fellow TAs or RAs (in lieu) or by supervising Professors.

There will be six awards given in total, one for each of the following faculties: DeGroote School of Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Science, and Social Science

The nomination form is available here. The completed form must be returned to the CUPE 3906 office in room B108 of Wentworth House (below the Phoenix) by Friday April 6th. Forms can also be emailed here.  The successful nominees will be notified by email in April and will receive their prizes at the end of our April General Membership Meeting (April 25).

Correction in the form: if you are nominating your colleagues, you can have two other TAs to sign the bottom of the form (“Student 1” and “Student 2” signatures) instead of two students.

Annual General Meeting & Executive Nominations

Nancy MacBain News

The Annual General Membership Meeting will take place on 
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
5:30pm
in MUMC 1A5 (beside the William’s)

There will be free food served at 5:00pm. Childcare reimbursement is available on request.
Elections will take place for the CUPE 3906 Executive for the 2012-2013 year.
Nominations for elections need to be submitted in writing using the Executive Nomination Form.
A list of positions available can be found here. Descriptions of the portfolios can be found here.

International Womens’ Day Events in Hamilton

Nancy MacBain Events, News, Political Action

Thursday, March 8th:

11:30 – 12:30 pm, Rally at City Hall, then 12:30 – 2:30 pm, March to YWCA.
Entertainment and refreshments. Presented by the International Women’s Day Committee coordinated by SACHA.  Click here for more info.

1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning (MDCL) room 3024, McMaster University
“The BIAS FREE Framework – How to Avoid Biases Deriving from Social Hierarchies such as Sexism, Racism, Ableism etc. in Research”. Dr. Margrit Eichler, Professor Emerita OISE/University of Toronto. Presented by The Department of Sociology, Gender Studies and Feminist Research, Human Rights & Equity Services, and the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community. Click here for more info.

2:30 – 4:30 pm, Gilmour Hall room 111 (Council Chambers), McMaster University
“’Feminism that isn’t screechy’: Talking about gender amongst our (Indigenous) selves”, Dr. Alice Te Punga Somerville, Māori Scholar, Victoria University of Wellington and “Out of the Shadows: Shining a light on the epidemic of violating Haudenosaunee women”, Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill, Haudenosaunee Scholar, Indigenous Studies Program, McMaster University. Presented by the Indigenous Studies Program and School of Graduate Studies. Click here for more info.

Click here for a list of other events happening in the Hamilton community.

 

Rape Awareness Cafe Night

Nancy MacBain Events, News

On March 7th Feminist Alliance McMaster (FAM) will be hosting a Rape Awareness Cafe Night at Homegrown Hamilton.

This FREE event seeks to…
> Raise students’ awareness of rape & sexual assault
> Offer information about victim support (Male, Female & Trans)
> Challenge traditional attitudes towards rape
> Confront the myths of ‘stranger danger’, and focus on friend/partner rapes
◦In cases reported to police, 80% of survivors knew their assailant. (Statistics Canada, 2003)

The goal of this free event is to promote rape awareness education within our community with intentions of creating a more mindful and cohesive campus. This event reaches out to men and woman, victims, survivors, friends and family for a stronger, safer campus.

We will be hosting:
>Live bands including local band AV Duo
>Poetry slam and creative writing
>Food and Drinks
>Speaker Dr.Montour, McMaster’s Six Nation’s Family Health Team

So come out, get informed and have fun!!
Together we’ll build a safer, stronger Hamilton.

Unit 3 Members Vote to Ratify New Contract

Nancy MacBain News, Unit 3, Unit 3 Bargaining

The Unit 3 membership has voted to ratify the tentative agreement reached in negotiations with McMaster for a new Unit 3 Collective Agreement.

Thanks to everyone for your hard work and support throughout the bargaining process, we wouldn’t have been able to reach this deal without the support of members from across campus.

Rally & March for International Womens’ Day

Nancy MacBain Events, News, Political Action

The annual rally and march to commemorate International Womens’ Day will be taking place in Toronto on March 3rd (see details below). This year’s theme will be “Reclaim the City: Good Jobs, Services, Dignity – Together we are Stronger

The rally will take place:
Saturday, March 3, 2012
11:00am 
OISE (252 Bloor St W) 

The rally will be followed by a march leaving OISE at 1:00pm and ending at the Ryerson Student Centre (55 Gould St) at 2:00pm.