News

This evening, Tuesday April 25 at 7:00 pm, we will hold our next in-person/online General Meeting.

Online: RSVP to Receive Zoom Link

Please RSVP to Kim Robinson, our Membership Officer, to receive a Zoom link.

In-Person Location

Patrick J. Martin Council Chambers, 2nd floor of the Dalhousie Student Union Building.

The proposed agenda is available here.

The Agenda document has links to some other related documents.

At the General Meeting we can look back on successfully signing three new Collective Agreements in 2023 with three different employers, and be taking action to prepare for future negotiations that will begin in 2024.

We are working to develop a network of CUPE 3912 Stewards, with an initial effort and focus on Dalhousie University. These people may be on a faculty or department basis, and be involved in some initial information gathering for potential member Grievances.

At the General Meeting we will look to identify or confirm members for some committees (e.g. the Labour Management Committees with Collective Agreement), and as CUPE 3912 delegates and representatives (e.g. Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), and the Halifax-Dartmouth and District Labour Council).

In 2023 the Negotiating Committee for our members at The Language Center at Saint Mary’s University, will be bargaining for their next Collective Agreement.  We will look to confirm the committee membership at the General Meeting.

Among other things, proposed Bylaw changes will be discussed which reflect a broadening of CUPE 3912 membership (e.g. a new members from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD)). There will be a Special Membership Meeting later this summer after an appropriate review period.

CUPE 3912 seeks candidates to be potential Trustees. These people review and report on the quality of our financial record keeping. There are financial audits due by September 2023, so there would be some summer of 2023 activity. There will be more information on the CUPE 3912 website. Please consider being a potential Trustee candidate, and contact the CUPE 3912 President.

There will also be elections for various roles on the CUPE 3912 Executive.

We seek potential candidates for the following roles:

• Vice-President, Dalhousie University (Halifax) Instructors (1-year term)
• Vice-President, Dalhousie TA’s and Markers (Sexton Campus) (1-year term)
• Vice-President, Dalhousie TAs and Markers (Studley Campus) (2-year term)
• Vice-President, Dalhousie (Truro Campus, Instructors, TAs and Markers) (2-year term)
• Vice-President, The Language Centre, Saint Mary’s University (2-year term)
• Vice-President, Mount Saint Vincent University (2-year term)
• Secretary-Treasurer (2-year term)
• Communications Officer (2-year term)

Much has been accomplished over the past year, and there are opportunities in 2023 for you to contribute to our efforts in a variety of ways.

Please add to our successful efforts to improve workplace conditions for both ourselves today and for others in the future.

The Collective Agreement with Saint Mary’s University has been signed.

Highlights of the deal include:

• Considerable pay increases
  • 26% increase for base stipends
  • 11% increase for higher stipends
• $300 increase in professional development funding
• Improved internal hiring process for course assignments
• Improved restrictions on course assignments without precedence
• Pay for representation on university committee

We are happy to announce that 96.5% of CUPE 3912 MSVU members that voted supported the February 10, 2023 Tentative Agreement. There will be no 2023 CUPE 3912 strike at Mount Saint Vincent University. With the employer, we will confirm the wording of the new Collective Agreement, sign it, and post it on our website. At that point, we will also provide an update on when members may receive retroactive pay.

Information Session

On Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 7:30 p.m., we are holding a hybrid information session about the February 10 CUPE 3912-MSVU Tentative Agreement.

The in-person location is the MSVU Faculty Lounge in the Seton Building Room 403/404.

If you want to attend online, please contact outreach@cupe3912.ca for the zoom link.

Tentative Agreement

The Tentative Agreement consists of two (2) documents:

• The 2016-2020 collective agreement
• The Articles Agreed to by both negotiation committees

For your convenience, a summary of the agreed to changes is also available online.

Language that is bold is new to the articles.

Language that is struck through is being removed from the article.

Ratification Vote

Members will have the opportunity to participate in the Ratification Vote on the agreement from 00:05 Thursday February 16, 2023 to 23:55 Friday February 17, 2023. Anyone who has held a CUPE 3912 contract at MSVU since the winter 2020 term is eligible to vote.

The ratification vote will take place online, using Simply Voting. You will be receiving an email with a unique link to cast your vote by Thursday morning.

If you have not received an email to vote by Thursday morning,  please first check your spam folder and then email voting@cupe3912.ca.