Important Information for CUPE 3906 Unit 2 Members Regarding the Unit 2 Strike Vote and Strike Vote Special General Membership Meeting (SGMM), 2020
The SGMM is occurring on Wednesday, October 14th, at 2:00 P.M. Strike Vote voting will begin immediately following the SGMM, and will be available online (via “Helios Voting”) until 5:00 P.M. on Friday, October 16th, 2020.
Due to the health and safety concerns presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Employer’s guidelines restricting access to the campus during the pandemic, there will be no in-person meeting and no opportunity to vote in person. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.
- Who can vote in a CUPE 3906 Unit 2 [Sessional Faculty and Hourly Rated Sessional Music Faculty (HRSMF)] strike vote?
Only members of CUPE 3906 Unit 2 (Sessional Faculty and HRSMF) may vote in a Unit 2 strike vote. The following members of Unit 2 may vote in a strike vote:
- Members who are working as Sessional Faculty and HRSMF this term;
- Members who hold an Appointment to teach as a Sessional Faculty and HRSMF from Sept 1, 2020-Aug 31, 2021; (please email staff@cupe3906.org to obtain a ballot; please note that we will request a copy of your appointment letter as proof of appointment); and
- “Political” members of the union (i.e., members who have held a contract work as a Sessional Faculty and/or HRSMF in the last two academic terms—i.e., winter 2020 or spring/summer 2020).
HOW DO I ATTEND THE SGMM AND VOTE?
- Unit 2 members will receive a link to pre-register for an online “Zoom” meeting via email for our Strike Vote SGMM on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020, at 2:00 P.M. Please note that you must pre-register for the meeting. If you do not find an email outlining how to preregister in your McMaster email account, please check your “spam” and/or “other” folder. If you require further assistance, please contact us immediately at staff@cupe3906.org or mobilizer@cupe3906.org.
- Upon the conclusion of the SGMM Unit 2 members will receive a “voter ID” and password to vote via McMaster email from an online platform called “Helios”. [According to Article 12 (a) of our bylaws, voting must begin upon the conclusion of the meeting.]
- Helios is the most user-friendly and secure voting platform the Local has found. For more information about Helios, please visit https://heliosvoting.org/faq
- Once the polls are open, you will be able to log in (using your pre-registered link) and cast your vote either in favour or opposed to the strike vote question: “Do you give your CUPE 3906 Unit 2 Bargaining Committee permission to call a strike in the event that talks break down at the bargaining table?”
- Your vote will then be encrypted and logged anonymously. Your email and username will only grant you access to the polls and will not be associated with your vote, nor will it be used or sold by Helios voting thereafter. Once the polls are closed, Helios will automatically tally the results. Two scrutineers will be elected at the Unit 2 SGMM. These elected scrutineers will meet to review the results before results will be made known to members.
- If you have questions or concerns about this process, or if you did not receive a ballot from Helios via email to your McMaster email address, please contact us at president@cupe3906.org, chiefsteward_sessionals@cupe3906.org, or staff@cupe3906.org. Please check your McMaster email address “spam” and/or “other” unfocussed email folder for your registration link for the SGMM and for Helios balloting before contacting CUPE staff. Thank you!
CUPE 3906 Strike Votes are governed by the Ontario Labour Relations Act and Article 12 of the Local’s bylaws, which are available at https://cupe3906.org/about-us/by-laws/