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This issue features:
Preoccupied by Occupy
Employee & Family Assistance Program
National Convention Report
Unit 1 Bargaining Results
Support Toronto City Workers
CUPE 3902 (U of T) Launch Bargaining Campaign
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
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
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?
CUPE 999 prepares for bargaining 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.
National Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against Women
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.
Stewards’ Council + Wage Theft Workshop = One Awesome Evening!
There will be two events on Monday December 5th:
Stewards’ Council:
There will be a Council meeting for all Departmental Stewards – there will be a Q&A about the new Unit 1 Collective Agreement as well as department updates. The meeting will take place
Monday, December 5th
5:30-7:00pm
MUSC 230
Wage Theft Workshop:
Steel City Solidarity and the Workers Action Centre present a workshop and discussion on how to stand up and organize around the pressing issue of wage theft. The event will be taking place
Monday, December 5th
7:30-9:00pm
Jamesville Community Centre
Click here for more info
Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee Newsletter
Click here to check out the latest version of the OUWCC Newsletter
This issue features articles on:
Ontario Election
National Convention
Trivia Contest
General Membership Meeting
There will be a regular monthly General Membership Meeting on
Wednesday, November 30th
at 5:30pm
in MDCL 2232
Free food will be served at 5:00pm and there will be an orientation session for members attending their first meeting also at 5:00pm. Childcare is reimbursed on request.
The agenda includes:
Bargaining Updates
Elections/NominationsRead More
Membership ratifies tentative agreement
The Unit 1 membership has voted to ratify the tentative agreement reached in negotiations with McMaster for a new Unit 1 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.