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.
The latest Bargaining Bulletin is out with updates about Unit 3 Bargaining.
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
Including:
Click here to download the latest version of The Ally
This issue features:
Preoccupied by Occupy
Employee & Family Assistance Program
National Convention Report
Unit 1 Bargaining Results
Support Toronto City Workers
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.
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).
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?
Each of your news updates goes on the news page as a separate post. If you do a lot of news updates, you may want to set up the site so that they go right on the home page, or the headlines show up on the side of each page. Contact CUPE communications if you need help setting that up.
December 6th marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, a day set aside to commemorate the 14 women who were murdered in the 1989 massacre at L’École Polytechnique in Montreal, as well as the over 582 Aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada.
A ceremony has been organized by Anti-Violence Network at McMaster, please join us
Tuesday, December 6th
12:30pm
JHE Annex Rm 102
For more information, or for accessibility requirements, please contact Vilma at 905-525-9140 x24235.
For more information on the Day of Action, click here.