General Membership Meeting – Wed. Sept. 28th

Nancy MacBain News

This is a reminder of the first CUPE 3906 General Membership Meeting of the new academic year.

Our GMM will be held on
September 28th
5:30PM
in MDCL 3020
Refreshments will be available at 5:00PM, and the Local can cover childcare costs.

The agenda will include (but not be limited to) the following items:

– A Motion to Increase the Executive Honourarium
– A Report from the Political Committee
– Discussion and Approval of the 2011/2012 Budget
– Bargaining Updates for Unit 1 and Unit 3
– Election of Open Executive Positions
– Election of a Unit 3 Bargaining Team Members
– Election of Bargaining Support Co-Chairs for Unit 1 and Unit 3
– By-Law Amendments

Graduate Student Dental Problem

Nancy MacBain News

Dear Graduate Students,

The GSA provides a dental plan for graduate students who are *not* working at least 130hrs as a TA or RA in lieu to TA. If you are working 130 hours or more you are covered under the CUPE dental plan.

Due to a technical error all graduate students were accidentally charged for the GSA Dental Plan on their account.  If you are eligible for the CUPE dental plan (working 130hrs as a TA (or RA in lieu)), this charge will be removed from your account following the September payroll run – you do not have to take any further action.  For all other students, the charge will remain on your account and you will be enrolled in the GSA dental plan (excluding Divinity and MBA).

All graduate students will remain in the GSA Health Plan.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the GSA President Jessica Merolli at gsapres@mcmaster.ca We apologize for the inconvenience.

Take Back the Night

Nancy MacBain Equity, Events, General, News, Political Action

The annual Take Back the Night march to end violence against women will be taking place this Thursday, September 15th.

Women-Identified members of the community, and children are welcome for the main march at
City Hall (71 Main St)
6:30pm
Click here for more information

Male-Identified allies are invited to  Taking on the Man: Strategies for Challenging Sexism
Skydragon Centre (27 King William St)
6:15pm (5:30 for sign making)
Discussion followed by a cheering section while the march goes by.
Click here for more information

Political Action Committee Meeting

Nancy MacBain Events, News, Political Action

The Political Action Committee is gearing up for another year and we’d like to invite everyone who’s interested to our first meeting on Monday September 19th @4pm.  We’ll be meeting in the CUPE office in Wentworth B108 (below the Phoenix).

For those new to the local, the PAC is a member driven committee of CUPE 3906 that works to extend the union’s social justice and solidarity work within the labour movement and more broadly in McMaster, Hamilton, and the region.  Regular meetings are held to plan events and distribute the local’s donations budget.  All members of CUPE 3906 are welcome to join.  As a member-driven committee we work together on ideas, projects, and actions brought forward by our members -so if you have a specific action, issue, or group you’re interested in working on or with we’d love to hear about it!

If you have any questions, or are unable to make it out to the meeting but would like to get involved, feel free to email me and I can add you to the listserve.  We also maintain a flying-squad listserve where we send out regular updates on events, actions, rallies, or just keep you informed about local issues.  If you’re interested in being added to the list, please let me know.

You can also check us out and see some of our past work at our website.

2nd Annual Hamilton Tour of Struggle

Nancy MacBain Events, News, Political Action

Common Cause and the Political Action Committee have put together the final details for the second Hamilton Tour of Struggle (see below).  We’re pretty stoked about it and would like to invite anyone who’s interested in attending to let us know.  If you are interested, I’d just ask that you confirm by replying to politcalaction@cupe3906.org by Wednesday so we can make sure there are enough seats for everyone.

When: Saturday September 17th, 5-8pm
Where: We’ll be meeting at 5pm outside the CUPE Office, McMaster Campus (Wentworth Hall below the Phoenix)
Cost: FREE!!
And afterwards? We end off at This Ain’t Hollywood for Dance Dance and Revolution! the official all-ages hip hop after-party of Alterative Welcome Week!

OPSEU College Workers on Strike

Nancy MacBain News, Political Action

Support workers at colleges across Ontario, represented by OPSEU, are currently on strike. They are fighting for more full-time positions, which have been eroded steadily over the years.

CUPE 3906 members who work at satellite locations effected by picket lines are still required to attend work as normal. You are advised to expect delays entering and exiting college campuses.

If you are able to walk the picket lines in solidarity you are encouraged to do so. If you’d like to take a CUPE 3906 flag please contact the office to make arrangements.

Click here to sign a petition in support of OPSEU members.

Click here for more information about the strike.

Unit 1 Bargaining Update

Nancy MacBain News, Unit 1, Unit 1 Bargaining

The first Bargaining Bulletin for Unit 1 members (TAs and RAs in lieu of TAs) is now out with an update about the bargaining process so far.

We will be holding a series of information meetings across campus to answer questions from the membership about the bargaining process. As soon as we are able to confirm the dates and locations of those meetings we will send an email and update this site.

Click here to download the latest Unit 1 Bargaining Bulletin