Delegate report for CUPE NS Women’s Conference

El Hansen, Dalhousie TA

I had the opportunity to attend the CUPE Nova Scotia Women’s Conference this year. The experience was largely enjoyable, and I was able to converse with several fellow workers while enjoying some structured motivational speakers and educationals.

While I enjoyed the event, I overall found it lacking in political activism. Much of the conference focused on ways by which we as women might face adversary and continue to struggle despite that, which was well articulated, but the overall lack of politically oriented collective action stemming from this analysis gave me pause. 

In the agenda of the conference there was in fact no political action items specifically listed.

It was only because of a member from the floor who interrupted the proceedings to recommend the attendees sign a petition to the provincial government condemning the recent austerity budget cuts that political action was made an important facet of the conference. This I felt was a well-done element of our conference if a bit haphazard. But it was a shame that this was something that needed to be brought from the floor and not a core part of the conference’s political aims from the start.

This was especially true because the mood amongst the women in the room was one of justifiable anger and frustration at the provincial government and their recent attack on workers and our jobs as women. There was a recognition that something had to be done and the failure to utilize that righteous anger and channel it into political activism and education was a missed opportunity. 

I hope that the future women’s conference may continue to allow for inter-local fraternization but with a greater focus on militant union action. In doing so we will continue to build a mass movement of women workers and workers generally who might advance the progressive cause.

Response to NSCAD’s request for first contract arbitration

As you may have seen, NSCAD has submitted an application to the labour board requesting arbitration. Let’s be clear: This move from the employer is a sign that our strike is working! 

Despite claiming that we are “not essential to their business,” after only 4 days NSCAD is crying foul and looking for an off-ramp. They want the government to take over the process that they have refused to participate in. They are seeking to achieve through government action what they have been unable to get through bargaining. They want to break our union and for everyone to just sit down and return to work.

NSCAD’s decision to pursue arbitration is disappointing, but not surprising. Binding arbitration is a process by which both parties would allow the government to appoint a third-party arbitrator with the power to impose a legally binding contract. This process effectively circumvents the bargaining process, and the Union has been given 10 days to provide a response as to whether we accept arbitration or not.

The decision to seek arbitration after only 4 days means that our strike is having an effect. NSCAD is feeling the pressure, and now they want a way out without having to make a deal. That’s why it’s more important than ever that we all show up to the picket line and show NSCAD that the only way out is to come back to the bargaining table!

We know that our demands are reasonable: They are based on what is standard practice at other universities across Halifax. We have shown our willingness to compromise toward getting a fair deal, and we encourage NSCAD to come back to the table and to do the work of bargaining in good faith.

Until then, we will continue the strike!

In the meantime, you can email NSCAD Admin directly and tell them to come back to the table.

NSCAD Member on Strike Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I write to you as a concerned member of CUPE 3912, the union representing NSCAD Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants and Individual Course Appointees currently fighting for fair wages at NSCAD (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design).

I am keenly aware that — given the current news cycle — any prospect of our comparatively small fight for living wages garnering significant coverage is an uphill battle. As a society, we are swamped daily by anxiety in local and global news. In the “grand scheme of things” (a phrase which seems to proffer more underlying structure than can be truthfully located in the world today) the demands of a few hundred per contract staff at an arts university understandably flies under the radar of most people struggling to make ends meet in their day-to-day lives.

Of course, there is the economy. Gas prices. War.

And… art?

We get it, we really do. But, hear us out: NSCAD has not given us a pay raise since 1984!

To put that into perspective:

The year is 1984.

Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” is playing on the radio, while Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ blares on the boombox. Bruce Springsteen is letting us know he was ‘Born in the U.S.A.’

At the cinema, we choose from ‘Ghostbusters’, ‘Gremlins’, and ‘Karate Kid’. Arnold Schwarzenegger tells us he’ll “be back”.

We lose Marvin Gaye and Truman Capote that year.

The very first Apple Macintosh computer is unveiled, its design resembling a typewriter. In a now infamous Super Bowl ad referencing Orwell’s famous dystopian novel, Apple declares “You will see why 1984, won’t be like ‘1984’”. Fair enough. But, for all of us fighting for fair wages at NSCAD, it turns out 2026 is an awful lot like 1984.

Our bank statements confirm it.

Yours truly,
A worker striking in the year 2026

2026 AGM Happening Monday, March 23, 2026

On Monday March 23, 2026 at 6:30 p.m., CUPE 3912 will be holding its Annual General Membership Meeting (AGM) in accordance with Bylaw Section 10(a)(b) and will happen in hybrid format. Virtual and in-person meeting details are below.

In person location: 

CLARI Room (Atrium 340) at SMU (923 Robie Street)

Zoom Information:

Check your email for the zoom information.

At this meeting, the following Executive and Officer positions will be up for election:

  1. President
  2. Recording Secretary
  3. Secretary-Treasurer
  4. Communications Officer
  5. Membership Officer
  6. Trustees

We will also be electing Committee members and CUPE 3912 Delegates:

According to Section 17 Committees, (a) Special Committees, “A special committee may be established for a specified purpose and a specified period of time by the membership at a meeting.” If you interested in reviving or starting a new committee, please email president@cupe3912.ca and recording.secretary@cupe3912.ca and it can be established through a motion at the AGM and subsequent elections can take place.

All members in good standing who have held at least one CUPE 3912 contract since Winter 2024 are eligible for nomination. These roles are described in the CUPE 3912 Bylaws, SECTION 9 – DUTIES OF OFFICERS.

Members interested in standing for election to any of these roles can contact Renee Danker, our Office Manager, at office@cupe3912.ca. Nominations are accepted in advance, as well as ‘from the floor’ during the meeting. Self-nominations are also permitted. All nominees will be asked if they accept their nomination.

Before running for office, please complete the Member in Good Standing application  and submit it to our Outreach Coordinator at outreach@cupe3912.ca.

Election voting will be online, using Survey Monkey, without paper ballots. If attending in person, please bring your laptop or phone.

We will also be approving previous meeting minutes. Check your email for the link and password.

NSCAD Strike Picketing and Rallies Week of March 9

The NSCAD unit is heading into week two of our strike. Please see below the picketing schedule for the week so you can join us. Picketing will be at Granville Mall (5163 Duke Street) all week. 

SHIFT Mon. March 9 Tue. March 10 Wed. March 11 Thur. March 12 Fri. March 13
AM (10am-2pm) Granville

sign making

 Granville

Rally at 11:00

Legislature

Rally at 12:00

 Granville Granville

Puppet making

 Granville

Rally at 11:00

All Out for NSCAD!!!
PM (2pm-6pm) Granville

Sign making

 Granville Granville Granville

Puppet Protest

 Granville

We ask that all supporters join us at our solidarity rally at 11:00 am on MARCH 10 at the Granville Mall (5163 Duke Street). Afterwards, we will be marching to Province House to join in protesting cuts to arts funding.

Attend our other solidarity rally on Friday March 13 11:00 am at the Granville Mall (5163 Duke Street). We need everyone to show up so we can continue to make ourselves impossible to ignore! Please invite your students, professors, friends, and members of the arts community. I look forward to seeing you there.

NSCAD Unit on Strike Starting Wednesday March 4th

After the CUPE 3912 NSCAD bargaining team met for over 8 hours with NSCAD, the university decided to walk away from the bargaining table and break off negotiations. NSCAD’s bargaining team said they were no longer interested in responding to our demands for fair wages.

As a result: as of now, all ICAs, TAs, and RAs will be ON STRIKE.

We remind and ask that all supporters join the NSCAD solidarity rally happening tomorrow at 11:00 am on MARCH 4th at the Granville Mall to kick off the strike. Afterwards, we will be marching to Province House at noon to join in protesting provincial cuts to arts funding.

In the difficult times to come, it will be more important than ever that we show up for one another, and that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity. No matter how difficult things get, there is no power on earth that can stand against workers when we choose to stand together!

NSCAD Solidarity Rally March 4 at 11am

The bargaining committee and employer will meet for the final time on March 3rd for our final day of conciliation. If this meeting does not produce a deal, CUPE 3912 will be in a legal strike position as of March 4th 2026. 

We will be hosting a solidarity rally at 11:00 am on MARCH 4th at the Granville Mall (5163 Duke Street). Afterwards, we will be marching to Province House to join in protesting cuts to arts funding. All CUPE 3912 members are invited. We need everyone to show up so we can make ourselves heard LOUD and CLEAR!

Invite your students, professors, friends, and members of the arts community. A strong show of support for the union puts pressure on NSCAD to make a deal quickly.

CUPE Press Release: Dalhousie’s Part-Time Architecture Faculty Join CUPE 3912

For Immediate Release February 20, 2026 Dalhousie’s Part-Time Architecture Faculty Join CUPE 3912 

HALIFAX, NS —Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3912 is pleased to  announce that part-time faculty in the Architecture Department at Dalhousie University  (Dal) are officially members of our Local as of January 14, 2026, retroactive to  November 2025. 

Architecture was one of only four departments at Dalhousie previously exempted from  the part-time faculty collective agreement. With this change, only part-time faculty in  Computer Science, Engineering, and Law remain outside the bargaining unit. 

This move brings part-time Architecture faculty working conditions into alignment with  standards at architecture programs across Canada. Instructors will now enjoy improved  compensation, a standard hiring practice, and have their seniority recognized. 

CUPE 3912 members voted to welcome the group into the Local in November 2025. An  amendment of certification was subsequently filed with the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board and was unopposed by Dalhousie University. The Board ruled to  include the Architecture part-time faculty in CUPE 3912 several months earlier than  expected. 

Motivated by the uncertainty created by the Dalhousie Faculty Association lockout last  fall, the Architecture part-time academics completed their organizing campaign within a  single academic term. 

CUPE Local 3912 represents approximately 300 part-time faculty at Dalhousie  University. Larissa Atkison, Dal VP for part-time Academics with CUPE 3912, welcomed  the decision. “Our unit is thrilled to welcome Architecture part-time academics into the  Local and looks forward to ensuring they receive the same protections and support as  other part-time academic members on campus,” said Atkison. 

CUPE 3912’s most recent collective agreement was bargained in October 2025. 

For more information, please contact: 

Lauren McKenzie
President, CUPE 3912
president@cupe3912.ca 

Mary-Dan Johnston
CUPE Atlantic Communications Representative
mjohnston@cupe.ca

February 2026 Update

Welcome current and new members! If you are new, you can head to our website here to read our FAQs, see events happening on our calendar here, and read this article about collective bargaining updated in August. Dalhousie, MSVU, and SMU PT Faculty, and SMU TAs negotiated a CA in Fall 2025. Please reach out to your VPs if you have concerns or questions. An update about NSCAD will be below.

Keep reading for more information!

Save the Date: AGM on March 23

CUPE 3912 is holding its Annual General Membership Meeting (AGM) on Monday March 23, 2025 at 6:30PM. Elections of officers and committees will take place. More information will be communicated about this soon!

NSCAD Conciliation Update

The bargaining committee and employer met with an appointed conciliator for 8 hours on February 9th, and again on February 10th until late in the evening. During this time, we were able to come to an agreement on most of the items in our proposed collective agreement. However, there remain some key outstanding items on which no agreement was possible. Due to the remaining gulf between the union’s position and that of the employer, Conciliation has ended in an impasse.

NSCAD workers are asking for a fair and equitable hiring procedure and meaningful job security protections — basic standards the union says are necessary in a first contract. Read more in a recent CUPE brief, in this news article, or head to the bargaining page to learn more.

A final meeting has been scheduled for March 3rd in which the union and the employer will make one final attempt to make a deal. If no deal is reached, we will be in a legal strike position.

Call on the President and Senior Management at NSCAD and implore them to reach a fair deal at the last conciliation session on March 3rd!

Call for Testimonials: Impact of Program Cuts

Across our union, positions are being cut impacting our members. We are interested in what these cuts are looking like and how they have impacted members. Please fill out this form if you would like to share your experience with cuts in your department and how that is impacting your career/life.

Responses will be kept anonymous unless you consent in this form. For example, it would say “testimony from a PT Faculty member at SMU”. I am hoping to collate responses into a blog post for the website.

If you are interested, please fill out this Google form linked below by March 1st.

February is African Heritage Month

Every February across Canada and in Nova Scotia Black and African Nova Scotian’s are honoured and celebrated, recognizing that this should be done year round. The 2026 theme for African Heritage Month in Nova Scotia is: “Strength in Unity – Moving Forward with Purpose, Prosperity, Power and Progress.” I encourage you to attend events being hosted at your institution if possible or in the community. You can find a calendar of community events here: https://bccns.com/events/

“Every year CUPE honours a Black ancestor, or someone who is making history today. This year we’re honouring Carol Wall.

Carol Wall was a fearless Black feminist and union leader. She dedicated her life to dismantling barriers, confronting inequality, and inspiring people to engage in courageous, transformative conversations.”

MSVU Unit Meetings and Social

Unit meeting on Thursday, February 26, 2026 from 4pm to 5:15pm

  • Following on a request made at the unit meeting in November, this special unit meeting will be to discuss cutbacks at the post secondary level and impact on part time faculty and on students. Please feel free to send examples you would like to discuss to either Katerina or Greg.

Halfway through term, almost Springtime! Social event-Thursday, February 26, 2026 @5:15pm

  • After the special unit meeting let’s get together at the Rook to relax, chat and unwind. More detail on offerings will be sent out closer to the event.

Unit meeting on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 from 6pm to 7:30pm

  • As required in the by-laws, this meeting will consist of elections to the role of CUPE3912 Vice-President, MSVU Part time Faculty and Steward, MSVU Part time Faculty for the 2026-2027 term.

MSVU and SMU PT Faculty Strike Photos

While the strike newsletters will stay on the website and some photos are shared, the local would like to have a member only accessible way to view photos on the website. If you took any photos or videos during the strike, please email our communications officer. A link and password will be shared once the photos have been received.

CUPE NS 2026 Award, Scholarship & Bursary Applications Open Now

“CUPE Nova Scotia is pleased to circulate the application forms for our 2026 awards, scholarships and bursaries, which can be found by clicking on the individual links below. Please make note of the deadlines for submitting applications, which are specified in the notes for each individual award.”

Find the applications at, novascotia.cupe.ca/2026/02/19/cupe-nova-scotias-2026-award-scholarship-bursary-applications/.

Winter 2026 Edition of the Instructor

Please send your story ideas, letters, articles, news, summaries, pictures and any relevant information for the Membership Spotlight to our communications officer by March 1st, 2026.