On March 27, 2024, an overwhelming number (94.6%) of Residence Life employees at McMaster University voted to certify as a union with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. On April 10, 2024 these workers voted to join Local 3906 as “Unit 4”.
The new bargaining unit (Local 3906, Unit 4) represents “all employees of McMaster University, in the province of Ontario, employed in Residence Life save and except Residence Life Area Coordinators, persons above the rank of Residence Life Area Coordinator, and persons currently represented by an existing Trade Union.”
This new bargaining unit has close to 200 members and includes, but is not limited to, Community Advisors (CAs), Guest Registration Assistants (GRAs), Project Assistants (PAs), Graduate Community Leaders (GCLs), and Residence Orientation Planners and Assistants (ROP/As). Other positions below the rank of Residence Life Area Coordinator (RLAC) fall within the bargaining unit too.
On February 24th, 2026, 94% of Unit 4 members voted in favour of ratifying a First Collective Agreement. This agreement came into effect on March 5th, 2026 and will remain in place until its expiry on August 31st, 2026. A final version of the collective agreement has been sent to the print shop, but a summary of major gains can be found here and a full text version of the agreement can be found here.
Questions related to Unit 4 can be directed to leadsteward_reslife@cupe3906.org.
Stewards Committee
These are crucial union positions. Area stewards provide a direct link between the executive and the membership. The Stewards Committee helps to inform members in their department of the happenings of the Union, and serve as a resource to answer questions within their area about collective bargaining, working conditions, benefits, etc. If you are a Unit 4 member interested in becoming a steward, please email leadsteward_reslife@cupe3906.org.