Bargaining Testimonial- Job Security

Brad WalchukUncategorized

“Job security means, to me, that I don’t have to re-apply for my job every four months.  More importantly, it means I have some certainty in knowing that I will have a job to return to each year.  It means not having to guess if there will be courses to teach and if the departments I’ve worked in will hire me back or not.” -Dr. Tim Fowler, Faculty of Social Sciences and DeGroote School of Business

Bargaining Begins- August 9th

Brad WalchukUncategorized

Your Union has schedule six bargaining dates with the Employer- August 9, 11, 13, 23, 25, and 27. We’ll be tabling our first package on the 9th and pushing hard to secure your key priorities: 1) Respect, Equity, and Inclusion; 2) Compensation; 3) Job Security; 4) Health and Wellbeing; 5) Workload; and 6) Professional Support and Training.

Find out more about these priorities here: https://bettermac.ca/key-issues-unit2/

Sessional Testimonials: Make your voice heard!

Brad WalchukUncategorized

The Bargaining Support Committee is asking sessional instructors to share their stories with us. The brief testimonials will be shared on social media in order to build awareness and solidarity as we head into bargaining in August.

If you want your voice heard, just submit a 2 to 3 sentence answer to the question: What does _______ mean to you? (Fill in the blank with ANY of the six bargaining prioritiesrespect, equity, and inclusion; compensation; job security; health and wellbeing; workload; and professional supports and paid training.)

Send your testimonials to Rob at bargainingsupport@cupe3906.org

We’d love for you to draw on your own personal experience as a sessional instructor.

We want people to see that these bargaining priorities are not just abstract concepts, but that they make a real, tangible impact on the lives of our members.

Bargaining Priorities Ratified

Brad WalchukUncategorized

The results are in!  Unit 2 members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratifying the bargaining priorities presented by your elected Unit 2 Bargaining Team.  These priorities will guide our negotiations with the McMaster University Administration, which begin this summer for a new Collective Agreement.  The Collective Agreement is the contract that determines your workplace rights (such as wages, benefits, job security, workload, health and safety and more) as a Sessional Faculty at McMaster University. The existing Collective Agreement expires on August 31st, 2021.

The priorities are represented by six categories:

  • Respect, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Compensation
  • Job Security
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Workload
  • Professional Supports and Paid Training

For more information on what these categories entail, please visit https://cupe3906.org/unit-2-proposed-bargaining-priorities-2020/

We are still awaiting conformation of our first contract negotiation session with the Employer, but we expect that to be at some point in August.  Your Bargaining Team is currently drafting language to propose to the Employer at these negotiation sessions.

Due to ongoing health and safety measures required as a response to COVID-19, our negotiation sessions will be conducted online.  Neither the Union nor the Employer prefers online negotiations, but in the interests of moving forward with in a timely manner, this is how we must proceed.

Your Bargaining Team will keep you up-to-date on how negotiations are progressing. Please visit www.bettermac.ca to keep up to date with our negotiations. We need you to stay informed and be involved for the benefit of all Sessional Faculty at McMaster. Please contact mobilizer@cupe3906.org to find ways to get involved and look out for emails regarding Bargaining Support Team meetings.

Whether you are pro-union, anti-union, or indifferent, the outcome of these contract negotiations will impact your job. The only way to stop McMaster rolling back previous gains and getting some wins of our own is to make sure they feel the pressure to deliver a fair contract from the whole membership.

Priorities Ratification Vote

Brad WalchukUncategorized

We wanted to send you a final reminder about the Unit 2 bargaining priorities ratification vote, which is happening now and ending today (Wednesday, June 9 at 11:55 p.m.) You should have received an email earlier this week.
A ballot should have been sent to your McMaster University from Election Runner. Please check your junk/spam folder if it is not in your inbox. That email contains a secure link to the ballot.
Based on the results from this year’s bargaining survey, the bargaining team has identified some key priorities to pursue at the bargaining table.

Bargaining Survey Now Open- Give Feedback, Win Prizes!

Brad WalchukUncategorized

As you are likely aware, your union will be re-negotiating your Collective Agreement with the Employer (McMaster University) later this summer. You already elected a bargaining team of five sessionals who have been hard at work creating a bargaining survey. They bargaining survey is an important part of this process because it allows you to provide feedback to the bargaining team to ensure that your priorities and needs are reflected in the proposals that we bring forward to the Employer this summer. You’ll have the opportunity to ratify those priorities in mid-May. Your feedback on this survey will help create a better and stronger Collective Agreement.
The survey is open now and will remain open until May 6th. You can access the survey through a link provided in your McMaster email account. If you didn’t receive one, please let us know and we can send it to you directly.
All participants who provide an e-mail address will be entered into a draw to win a grand prize of a $100 grocery gift card, or one of four secondary prizes of a $50 grocery gift card.
If you have any questions, feel free to email us: staff@cupe3906.org
In solidarity,
Your Unit 2 Elected Bargaining Team (Peter, Kojo, Zoi, Carolyn, and Leon)

Sessional (Unit 2) Bargaining Team Election Results

Brad WalchukUncategorized

Our bargaining team has been elected! We are excited to welcome to the team Carolyn Capretta (DeGroote School of Business)Kojo Damptey (Intersession)Leon Karan (Music)Peter Graham (Labour Studies) and Zoi Bogdanova (Engineering). Congratulations on your election! Thank you to those of you who took the time to attend the nomination meeting and vote in the election. You’ll soon be receiving a bargaining survey to gather input on your priorities for the upcoming round of bargaining.

Sessionals Vote to Ratify their Collective Agreement

Brad WalchukUncategorized

We are writing to inform you that the results of the Unit 2 Tentative Agreement vote have been tallied.

Members have voted 89% in favour to ratify the Tentative Agreement.

The Employer must also conduct its own ratification vote in this process.  That vote is scheduled to take place at the December 17th Board of Governor’s meeting.  Until  the Employer ratifies the Tentative Agreement, the Collective Agreement that expired on August 31, 2020, is still in effect.

Members who would like to view the new Tentative Agreement prior to its final ratification by the Employer are welcome to contact staff@cupe3906.org to obtain a privileged link to view the Tentative Agreement.

On Behalf of everyone involved in negotiating this agreement, we thank you very much for your participation. Please monitor your emails for further developments as we are always looking for ways to engage and consult with Unit 2 members about their working conditions at McMaster.

In solidarity,

Sharoni Mitra

President, CUPE 3906

Mollie McGuire

Vice President, CUPE 3906

Ratification Meeting and Vote Details

Brad WalchukUncategorized

This is a reminder that we will be holding an online Special General Membership Meeting (SGMM) tomorrow, November 25, at 1:00 PM EST. The purpose of this meeting is to present the details of the tentative agreement reached by your Unit 2 Bargaining Team and McMaster University.

In order to preserve the security and confidentiality of our SGMM, registration for this meeting will be required. Please note that you must register with your McMaster email address before 1 PM tomorrow. 

To register for this SGMM, click the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvdu6qqTwrGNX9wunlAbX4l8qcaiHSW-qV

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to join the meeting tomorrow at 1:00 PM.

***PLEASE NOTE: While we would strongly encourage all Unit 2 members to attend tomorrow’s SGMM, this is NOT a requirement to cast your ballot for or against ratification. Voting on the tentative agreement will be open to ALL Unit 2 members in good standing – not just those who attend the SGMM – and occur online, via Helios Voting. 

By now, all eligible Unit 2 members should have received their ballot and other information required to vote from Helios (to their McMaster email address). This includes a link to the full text of the new agreement, with all changes highlighted so that each voter can cast their ballot based on informed choice. The ballot will remain closed until after tomorrow’s SGMM, around 2:00 PM EST. You will be notified via email once voting has begun. Voting will close at 5:00 PM EST on Thursday, November 26.

If you believe you are eligible to vote but still have yet to receive your ballot, please email us at staff@cupe3906.org ASAP. Please also get in touch if you have trouble registering for the SGMM via the link provided above.

Out of respect to Unit 2 members, no details about the Collective Agreement will be released until such time as the tentative agreement may be formally presented to Unit 2 members at the SGMM.

On behalf of the CUPE 3906 Executive and the entire Bargaining Team, we would like to thank members for their support during this difficult round of negotiations.  A deal would not have been possible without your ongoing support.

Tentative Agreement Secured

Brad WalchukUncategorized

After several days of negotiation in conciliation, your Unit 2 Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with the Employer.

Details of the tentative agreement will be presented at an online Special General Membership Meeting (SGMM), which will be held on Nov 25, 2020 1:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada).

Voting on the tentative agreement will be online and will occur immediately following the SGMM and will continue until  Nov 26, 2020 5:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada).

We will send more details in a separate e-mail to members about how to participate in the SGMM (held via Zoom) and the ratification vote (held via Helios Voting).  Please note that, due to the pandemic health and safety measures, no meeting or voting will be conducted in person.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please note that, out of respect to Unit 2 members, no details about the Collective Agreement will be released until such time as the tentative agreement may be formally presented to Unit 2 members at the SGMM.

On behalf of the CUPE 3906 executive and the entire Bargaining Team, we would like to thank members for their support during this difficult round of negotiations.  A deal would not have been possible without your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Your CUPE 3906 Unit 2 Bargaining Team