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UNION RESEARCH SUMMER SCHOOL, June 13-18,
2010 If you are applying for EI over the
summer and have not received your Record of Employment, you must call the
university's Payroll Department (474-6632). This was
first announced on May 25, 2006 in CUPE 3909 News Briefs and News To Date,
pointing out that you need the serial number on your Record of Employment to
apply for Employment Insurance. The Federal Government of Canada instructs
employers, through Service Canada, to issue Records of Employment in a timely
manner. In general, this should be within five (5) calendar days of your last pay day
(see Service Canada). If you have further concerns after calling Payroll,
you can speak to someone at Service Canada by calling 1.800.663.0983. Proposal for a roundtable discussion at
the American Association of Geographers Conference in March 2009: May Day Connections May Day as a modern working class celebration
and commemoration began from the 1886 events in Chicago where workers were
demonstrating for an eight hour day. But the day already had special
significance for working people before then. As a working people's celebration, its origins
go back much further, with connections to Ancient Roman rituals. In pagan Europe
it was a festive holy day celebrating the first spring planting. The ancient
Celts and Saxons celebrated May 1st as Beltane or the day of fire. Bel was the
Celtic god of the sun. In the 1700s the Churches banned the pagan rituals, just
as bosses today want workers to forget any traditions of solidarity and
celebration of workers rights, but many peasants continued the tradition. Church
and state were the butt of many jokes at May Day celebrations, and this
certainly did not endear the craft guilds and others, who organised
celebrations, to the authorities. Our modern celebration of Mayday as a working
class holiday developed from the US workers struggle for the eight hour day in
1886. The working class movement in the USA began campaigning for an eight hour
day in the 1860s, following the Civil War. The historic strike of May 1st, 1886
was a culmination of a concerted struggle. Chicago was the major industrial
centre of the USA. Police attacked striking workers from the McCormack Harvester
Co., killing six. On May 4th at a demonstration in Haymarket
Square to protest the police brutality a bomb exploded in the middle of a crowd
of police killing eight of them. The police arrested eight anarchist trade
unionists claiming they threw the bombs. To this day the subject is still one of
controversy. The question remains whether the bomb was thrown by the workers at
the police or whether one of the police's own agent provocateurs dropped it in
their haste to retreat from charging workers. In what was to become one of the most infamous
show trials in America in the 19th century, but certainly not to be the last of
such trials against radical workers, the State of Illinois tried the anarchist
workingmen for fighting for their rights as much as being the actual bomb
throwers. Whether the anarchist workers were guilty or innocent was irrelevant.
They were agitators, fomenting revolution and stirring up the working class, and
they had to be taught a lesson. Albert Parsons, August Spies, George Engle and
Adolph Fischer were found guilty and executed by the State of Illinois. In Paris in 1889 the International Working
Men's Association (the First International) declared May 1st an international
working class holiday in commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs. The red flag
became the symbol of the blood of working class martyrs in their battle for
workers rights. Negotiating better wages for our
sessional lecturers has been our driving force since the Unit 2 contract was
first signed. We are proposing that the
university acknowledge the value it receives from these highly qualified and
often very experienced professional instructors. We are proposing that this
acknowledgement be in the form of wages that measure up to that value.
If you have submitted an application for
Early Right of First Refusal and it has been (20) twenty working days, then you
should have received a response from your Dean/Director. The Annual General Membership Meeting is
scheduled for Monday, March 26, 2007 at 4:30 pm in the Cross Common Room of St
John's College. Darryl is currently a T.A. in Labour
Studies. Many Sessionals have not received their
retro-pay, this may be because you earn over the minimum
stipend. If you are unemployed over the summer and
have not received your Record of Employment then you must call
payroll. Many Sessionals will apply for Employment
Insurance Benefits this Summer
The AFL-CIO and Cornell University are
sponsoring a Strategic Corporate Research Summer School on June 13-18, 2010 in
Ithaca, New York. The course (credit or non-credit) is designed for undergrad
and grad students who are interested in working as union researchers and
campaigners. The registration deadline is May 1. Credit scholarships are
available. To obtain a registration form and other information, go to http://www.sce.cornell.edu/ss/courses/on/special/scr.php, or contact
Becky Sheffield at 607-254-4749 or rjs373@cornell.edu.
May 14, 2009
October 13, 2008
May 1, 2008
by Neale Towart
PreIndustrial May Day and Working People
Industrial era
May Day
Apr 30, 2007
Feb 23, 2007
February 12, 2007
October 25, 2006
June 6, 2006
The New Language Reads: Retroactive Pay - Employees who were
employed as of September 1, 2005 and who were paid less than the new salary
minimums will be retroactively increased to the new salary minimums.
May 25, 2006
May 17, 2006
April 5, 2006
On April 3rd and 4th, Sessional
Instructors voted to ratify the proposed amendments to the Collective Agreement
between Unit II of CUPE 3909 and the University of
Manitoba. After a lot of hard work and
agitation by the Bargaining Team and Action Committee, Sessionals made
significant gains at the bargaining table this year. The most important gain
being new Job Secuirty language for Sessionals at the U of M. This language is
complicated and we are urging all Sessional Instructors to study it. Also, every
Sessional who has taught since the year 2000 should apply for Early Right of
First Refusal. To view the procedures for Early Right of First Refusal and the
new Job Security language click on the link below.
Early Right of First
Refusal
The new Executive Committee looks
promising for our local. Our current Workplace
Health and Safety Rep Dorothy Wigmore, a Sessional from Labour Studies and
member of this past year's Unit II Action Committee will be serving her first
term as CUPE 3909 President commencing April 1st, 2006. Jason Bland, the
one-time President of our local (2004-2005) and a TA from Physics, is now the
VP-Unit I, replacing Tyler Shipley who is graduating this summer. Suzanne
Grierson, a Sessional from the School of Art and member of the Unit II Action
Committee, is the new VP-Unit II. Ana Vialard is the only member from the
2005-2006 Executive who will continue her duties in this next year, serving
again as Secretary. The new Executive position of VP Social Policy will be held
by Lynne Fernandez, a Sessional from Economics/Labour Studies and member of the
Unit II Action Committee. As well, Roman Yereniuk, the 2005-2006 VP-Unit II will
continue as one of our local's Trustees and he will be joined by School of Art
Sessional Diana Thorneycroft. The only contested position is that of Treasurer.
Dianne Scoles, a Sessional from the School of Art, and Srinivas Yarlagadda from
the Math Department are the candidates for the position. The election will take
place on Thursday, April 6th at the CUPE 3909 office in St. John's College.
Additional information pertaining to the election will be added to the website
soon. To view each report, click on the
appropriate link.
March 24, 2006
President's Report
There are a number of important issues to
cover at the 29 March 2006 AGM. Among other
things, there will be the presentation of Executive Reports, by-law ammendments,
as well as, nominations for next year's Executive Committee. Nomination forms
can be picked up at the CUPE 3909 office in Room 136 St. John's College or
nominations can come from the floor at the AGM. Be sure to visit our website in
the next few days for electronic copies of the agenda, minutes from last year's
AGM, and this year's Executive Reports. Finally, it's worth mentioning that
there will be food and beverages served at the meeting. The Special Membership Meeting will be
held 13 March 2006. The bargaining team is cautiously
optimistic that an agreement will be reached. The CUPE Executive acknowledges the
solidarity of long-time GSA activists and supporters.
March 6, 2006
February 28, 2006
February 24, 2006
Or to visit the Graduates for Progressive Action website, please
click HERE
February 21, 2006
GSA unanimously expresses solidarity with
Sessionals. At the GSA Council meeting of
February 20, 2006, a motion was passed unanimously by Council to actively
support CUPE 3909 in its negotiations to win a fair Collective Agreement for
Sessional Instructors, Librarians, and Counselors (Unit II). The motion was
brought forward by the Councilor for the Department of History, Matt McLean, a
member of CUPE 3909 Unit I. The motion recognized that many members of the GSA
are also CUPE 3909 members, some of whom will likely work as Sessional
Instructors following graduation. After a brief discussion that focused on the
Winnipeg Free Press' recent article about the University's decision to lay off a
number of University One Sessionals as a cost-saving measure, the GSA council
unanimously agreed to pledge its support to CUPE 3909 until a fair Collective
Agreement has been reached. The University of Manitoba Womyn's Centre
plans on bringing activist Ann Hansen to campus during International Women's
Week. Unit II members voted in numbers
unprecedented in the history of CUPE Local 3909. In order to facilitate members who are
unable to vote next Wednesday and Thursday, it is possible to request a mail-in
ballot for our strike/ratification vote. As they had done at a meeting several
months ago, Unit II members (predominantly, but not exclusively, Sessional
Instructors) seriously contemplated the matter of strike action at last night's
Bargaining Strategy Meeting. STRIKE/RATIFICATION VOTE
206 UNIVERSITY CENTRE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH,
2006 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH,
2006 9:30am -
6:30pm The strike/ratification vote for Unit II
members has been scheduled for the 8th and 9th of February in Room 206
University Centre (directly across from the elevator on the second
floor). Important Sessional Bargaining
Meeting. The Executive and Staff of Local 3909
would like to invite all members to a welcome back party.
CUPE 3909 Executive members, staff, and
volunteers will be handing out information in UC over the next two days.
The 2004-2007 Collective Agreement was
ratified by Unit I members in the winter of 2005, following a lengthy campaign
to improve working conditions at the University of Manitoba.
From January 5, 2006 until April 1, 2006,
Susan Robinson will be filling in as Office Assistant at our local.
By order of the Labour Board,
conciliation to resolve the issue of Job Security for Sessional Instructors has
been set for January 16, 2006. CUPE 3909's Bargaining Team has applied
for Conciliation to help overcome the current impasse between the University and
the Union.
February 21, 2006
February 13, 2006
February 3, 2006
February 2, 2006
January 31, 2006
Dear Sessional Instructor, Librarian,
Counsellor:
On August 31st, 2005, the Collective Agreement which governs
your contract with the University of Manitoba expired. On January 25th, the
University delivered their proposal package to your Bargaining Team and we
cannot recommend to you to accept this offer, though the final decision is yours
to make. We realize that this is a difficult recommendation to follow but our
experience during bargaining has led us to believe that we deserve and can
obtain a better contract than the one being offered. We would like to take this
opportunity to outline to you the package as offered and our concerns with each
proposal but we'd like to begin by explaining how this all came
about.
Last spring, all bargaining unit members were mailed a survey on
their working conditions and asked to reveal their particular concerns.
Approximately 30% of you responded and from your responses the Local Office
Staff prepared a series of proposals to present to the University for
negotiation. The main concern was Job Security and the Bargaining Team made this
our priority.
At the first round of negotiations we were disappointed to
see that the University had come with only three very minor points to negotiate.
This meant that, really, there was nothing to negotiate and we were immediately
placed into a difficult position. In spite of this, negotiations continued as we
outlined your concerns to the University's Bargaining Team and, using logic and
various examples, tried to convince them of the validity of your demands. Still,
when the issue of Job Security came to the table, the University was extremely
reticent. They finally proposed language which they felt was fair (see link
below). Their greatest concern centred around our demand that the Job Security
proposal should recognize past labour. The University was completely opposed to
this notion and that is the issue that took us to conciliation.
During
conciliation, a process by which both sides' logic is filtered through a
government-appointed conciliator, the University initially maintained their
position but finally presented a proposal by which past labour could be
recognized during a narrow window of opportunity and subject to approval by the
Dean of your Faculty or Director of your School. In our view, the University's
proposal did not really recognize past labour in any significant way and,
therefore, we asked them to give us their final proposal package so that we
could put it to our members to vote for ratification or rejection.
As
stated above, the Bargaining Team cannot recommend that you accept this package.
When a Bargaining Team is given a strong mandate to reject a proposed Collective
Agreement it gives us the right to reapproach the negotiating table with a
strike mandate. We strongly believe that the University will move further on
this language if they are faced with the possibility of job action by Sessional
Instructors. Attached is a summary of the proposal package put forward by the
University and the Bargaining Team's reasons for rejecting them.
Please
be sure to vote. It is the most important contribution you can make. If for some
reason you are unable to reach the University on those days, please contact us
immediately (by phone or by e-mail) and we can arrange to have a mail-in ballot
sent out to you by courier.
Sincerely,
Your Bargaining
Team
To see a summary of the University's final offer and your bargaining
team's comments, please click HERE
January 27, 2006
January 26, 2006
In
order to generate dialogue and to gauge the support and strength of our
membership, your bargaining team strongly encourages you to attend a Bargaining
Strategy Meeting on Wednesday, February 1st, 2006 from 3:30-5:30. Based on the
popular support of our membership, your bargaining team will decide whether to
recommend accepting or rejecting the University's final offer. Consequently,
attendance for those who want to improve the Collective Agreement is absolutely
vital. If you would like to empower our bargaining team, but are unable to
attend on February 1st, please contact our office to enlist your support.
If you have not yet become involved, please remember that your
inactivity is the only thing preventing you from attaining the working
conditions that you deserve. Divided, we will continue to flounder as an
expendable and underappreciated labour force. As a unified bargaining unit,
however, we can reverse the trend towards the marginalization of labour that we
have experienced at the University of Manitoba.
January 18, 2006
January 12, 2006
January 11, 2006
January 3, 2006
December 15, 2005
December 5, 2005
Your Bargaining
Committee has decided to request the aid of a conciliator, which may put
pressure on the University to move on better Job Security language. Conciliation
involves an independent government appointed mediator to hear the arguments of
the Union and the University. We hope to begin this process as soon as
possible.
The Action Committee is beginning to mount an awareness
campaign and will be circulating information about the Bargaining Process, how a
Strike Vote works, and what type of Job Action will be necessary. Successful
collective bargaining depends on a strong and unified membership. Contact the
Union office to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this bargaining unit and
find out what you can do to help.
Check the Sessional
Bargaining Page HERE for more
information about Bargaining, Strike Campaign Materials, and Your Rights as a
Unionized Worker.
CUPE 3909 held it's General Membership
Meeting on November 17. This was an important
meeting for the Local. Significant By-Law changes have been proposed by the
By-Laws Committee and the membership was to decide whether or not to accept
these changes. Unfortunately, in the middle of debate about the By-Laws, quorum
was lost. This was an unfortunate turn of events because there are some
significant and progressive changes that must be made. By-Laws are an integral
part to any organization. They are the day to day rules of operation. Along with
CUPE's national constitution our By-Laws affect the way the Local is
governed.
We will call another special meeting to finish passing
the proposed ammendments. We will contact the membership soon about the time and
place of this meeting.
Check out the proposed ammendments to our By-LawsHERE Everything new is
underlined.
Look over the previous GMM minutes HERE
Welcome to the Canadian Federation of Students U
of M.
In the biggest
show of student political participation in many years, over 18% of the student
body at the U of M voted in a referendum on November 8, 9, 10, to join the
Canadian Federation of Students.
After many of weeks of campaigning the Executive of UMSU, the
GSA, and all those who participated in and supported the move to join the CFS,
can pat themsleves on the back and declare a sound victory. The move to join the
CFS was passed by an 86% majority and consolidates the hard work done by
progressive student groups at the U of M.
The break down of
the numbers is:
Total voters: 5153 (turnout of 18.4%!!)
'Yes' voters:
4433
'No' voters: 704
Result: 86% Yes!
Broken down by voting booth,
the %'s were:
Armes: 90% (815 Y, 94 N)
Human Ecology: 89% (295 Y, 37
N)
Music: 92% (118 Y, 10 N)
Inner City Campus: 100%!! (29 Y, 0
N)
Bannatyne: 86% (127 Y, 21 N)
University Centre: 83% (1001 Y, 201
N)
Fletcher Argue: 86% (1005 Y, 165 N)
Pembina Hall: 78% (138 Y, 38
N)
Frank Kennedy: 89% (367 Y, 46 N)
St. Paul's: 83% (240 Y, 49
N)
University College: 85% (230 Y, 40 N)
Education: 96% (68 Y, 3
N)
Check out the Canadian Federation of Student's WebsiteCLICK HERE
136 St. Johns College
University of
Manitoba
92 Dysart Rd.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3T 2M5
Ph.
204-474-8804
Fax 204-474-7610
cupe3909@mts.net