All Out to Support USW 1005 in Ottawa on May Day

Nancy MacBain News, Political Action

Free bus to Parliament Hill – May 1st, 2011
Leaves Hamilton at 5:00am – location TBA
Back in Hamilton by midnight
RSVP by noon on April 25th by emailing steelnotsteal@gmail.com

McMaster for Steel calls on Hamilton to go all out for Parliament Hill on May Day where USW 1005, workers from across Canada and their allies will rally at 1:00pm on the eve of a federal elections for a new direction for the economy. The entire city is rallying behind this call because it is about the future of Hamilton and Canada. Read below is the call-out from USW 1005 for more information:

Join Local 1005 USW on Parliament Hill on May First! Break New Ground to Defend the Rights of All! We invite everyone to join us on May First on Parliament Hill to put forward the demands of workers in all sectors of the economy in defense of theRead More

Unit 3 Special GMM – Bargaining Team Elections

Nancy MacBain News, Unit 3, Unit 3 Bargaining

There will be a Special General Membership Meeting for all Unit 3 members (Postdoctoral Fellows) to elect a Bargaining Team for the upcoming round of negotiations.

The meeting will take place:
April 12th
4:30pm
Divinity College 136
Free food will be served, and child care subsidies are available.

Come out and participate so you can have a say in who represents you in these upcoming rounds of negotiations.

Congratulations to the new Executive and Unit 1 Bargaining Team

Nancy MacBain News, Unit 1, Unit 1 Bargaining

Thanks to everyone who came out for the AGM last night!

Elections were held for the 2011-2012 Executive – congratulations to the newly elected members:
President: Nick Longaphy
Vice President: Diana Zawadzki
Vice President External: Blake McCall
Recording Secretary: Dan Opperwall
Chief Steward Unit 1: Jonathan Bernier
Health & Safety Officer: Bridie James
Equity Officer: Sarah Batten
Benefits & Advocacy Officer: Rebecca Strung
Postings Officer: Steve Dingwall
International Officer: Sepander Sepehr
The positions of Secretary Treasurer, Chief Steward Unit 2, Grievance Officer, Communications Officer, Undergraduate Officer and 1 Trustee remain vacant.
The position of Chief Steward Unit 3 (and the Unit 3 Bargaining Team) will be elected at the Unit 3 Special GMM on April 12th at 4:30 in Divinity College 136.

The Unit 1 Bargaining Team was also elected last night. Congratulations to your new team:
Tony Gracey, Afeez Hazzan, Blake McCall, Dan Opperwall, Meaghan Ross, Rebecca Strung, Phebeann Wolframe & Diana Zawadzki

Federal Election Announcement

Nancy MacBain General

We wish to inform our membership that Staff Representative Nancy MacBain will have limited availability for the next three and a half weeks because she is running as a federal candidate in Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale.

For more info on her platform and the other candidates running in the riding, as well as the national vote boycott campaign, please see the following links:

David Sweet – Conservative
Dave Braden – Liberal
Nancy MacBain – NDP
Peter Ormand – Green
Jamilé Ghaddar – Marxist-Leninist
Anthony Giles – Libertarian
National Vote Boycott Campaign

This message does not constitute an endorsement of the Nancy MacBain campaign, or any other political candidate running for office in this or any other riding.

Protect Public Services – Rally in Toronto April 9th

Nancy MacBain News

On April 9, workers and their allies from across Ontario will rally under the slogan “Our City, Our Services, Our Future!” at 1:00 pm at Dundas Square, Toronto to oppose the anti-social course being pursued by Mayor Rob Ford and supported by the provincial government. Since elected Mayor, Ford has launched vicious attacks on the city’s public services, programs and the workers who provide them. McMaster for Steel will be joining the delegation of United Steelworkers Local 1005 as well as other local unions and organizations to this important Day of Action. Come be part of this important fightback! Get on the bus! This action is organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour, the Canadian Labour Congress, Toronto York and Region Labour Council, the Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario and others.

Get on the Bus! April 9 Toronto Day of Action

Pick-up time & location: 10am outside McMaster Student Centre
Buses are free and will be returning to Hamilton by 4:00pm
RSVP by Thursday, April 7 at 12noon at steelnotsteal@gmail.com

Congratulations to Meaghan Ross – Winner of the 2011 Mike Skinner Activist Award

Nancy MacBain General, News

Meaghan Ross accepts the 2011 Mike Skinner Activist Award from her nominator (and last year's recipient) Alex Diceanu.

Congratulations to Meaghan Ross who was awarded the 2011 Mike Skinner Activist Award at the AGM on April 6th.

Meaghan, a former member of the CUPE 3906 Executive, was nominated for her tireless activist work as a member of numerous groups around Hamilton including, but by no means limited to: Steel City Solidarity, Big Susie’s, The Skydragon Centre, Common Cause, and the Unit 1 Bargaining Team for the upcoming round of negotiations.

Congratulations to Meaghan, and thanks for all of her hard work.

Annual General Meeting – April 6th @ 5:30pm – MUMC 1A4

Nancy MacBain News

It’s time for our Annual General Membership Meeting!

The meeting is taking place on
Wednesday, April 6th at 5:30 P.M.
in MUMC 1A4 (The McMaster Medical Centre, right by the William’s Coffee Pub, follow the signs).
Pizza will be served at 5:00, and childcare costs can be reimbursed.

Agenda items include:
Read More

Important – Upcoming Bargaining Consultations

Nancy MacBain News, Unit 1 Bargaining, Unit 3 Bargaining

In order to prepare for upcoming rounds of bargaining in both Unit 1 (TAs & RAs in lieu) and Unit 3 (Post-docs), your local has organized a series consultations to gain input from members into the changes you would like to see to your collective agreement.

We strongly encourage all members to come out to at least one of the following consultation meetings:

Unit 1

Wednesday March 30th – 2:30-3:30pm – KTH B132
Wednesday March 30th – 4:30-5:30pm – MDCL 1009
Thursday March 31st – 2:30-3:30pm – PC 335
Friday April 1st – 2:30-3:30pm – JHE A101
Monday April 4th – 2:30-3:30pm – ABB 164
Tuesday April 5th – 3:30-4:30pm – TSH B106

Unit 3

Wednesday March 30th – 12:00-2:00pm  – Wentworth Lounge (beside the Phoenix)

Raise the Rates! – Rally April 1st

Nancy MacBain News, Political Action

CUPE Ontario, OCAP and the Campaign for Adequate Welfare and Disability Benefits (CAWDB) has been organizing a campaign to oppose the cuts in social assistance and disability benefits in Ontario, including the cutting of the special diet allowance.  CUPE Ontario affiliated locals (including CUPE 3906) mandated CUPE’s active participation in the Raise the Rates campaign at the 2010 CUPE Ontario convention.  Part of the campaign is a rally to be held on April 1st at noon in Toronto, the day these cuts will come into effect.

For information on the impacts of these proposed cuts and their context in Ontario, check out OCAP’s website.

For information on why this should concern you as a CUPE member, please see the educational leaflet for members.

Buses are being organized in Hamilton to get people to Toronto on April 1st.  If you are interested in reserving a spot on the bus from Hamilton, please contact politicalaction@cupe3906.org or president@cupe3906.org so that we can reserve a spot on the bus for you.

We hope to see you on the bus to Toronto on April 1st!