CUPE 3912 Membership Engagement Survey 2018

We are starting a mobilization campaign to increase member participation in CUPE 3912 activities and at events. The first step is a survey to assess reasons for non-participation and to help us determine how we can improve the timing, frequency and type of events and activities.

Please help us by completing this very short survey (approx. 5 minutes) by March 5, 2018. This link takes you to the password-protected members only page where you can access the link to the survey. The password is the same as the precedence lists password and those that have been emailed out for other members-only areas. Please send an email to webmaster.3912@gmail.com if you have lost the password.

Dalhousie collective agreement ratification votes

CUPE 3912 Dalhousie members: please click here to review the ratification document. This page is password protected and a password for access has been sent to Dalhousie members’ dal.ca email accounts.

Dalhousie members have the opportunity to vote to ratify the new tentative collective agreement at the following dates and times:

Monday, February 5, 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Dalhousie Student Union Building, room 307

Wednesday, February 7, 4:00 – 8:00 pm
Dalhousie Killam Library, room 2622

Directions to the Killam room 2622:
1) Get off the elevator and turn right; go through double doors
2) Turn right
3) Turn left at end of that small hall
4) Turn left at end of hall
5) Room 2622 is on the right hand side just down that hall.

Fair Employment Week

Fair Employment Week is coming Oct. 23-27!

Fair Employment Week is part of a CAUT-sponsored initiative called Make It Fair”. The premise of this initiative is that the tenuous and often stressful nature of part-time academic work leads not only to unfair working conditions for those academics living and working in part-time purgatory, but it also has serious implications for the quality and integrity of our post-secondary education in general. In order to address these concerns we need to work together to improve the job security and working conditions of contract faculty. To find out more about “Fair Employment Week” and the “Make It Fair” initiative, check out http://makeitfair.caut.ca/.

What can YOU do for Fair Employment Week?

1 – Pledge your support at http://makeitfair.caut.ca/.

2 – Attend one of our two round-table discussions around the theme – “Voices for Change: Share our stories to inform future action” – because your voice is important.

  • Research and Supervision – 5:30 pm, Wed. Oct 25th in Loyola 271
  • Job Security and a Living Wage – 5:30 pm, Thurs. Oct. 26 in the Loyola Private Dining Room

3 – Show these slides to your students just before or after your classes during Fair Employment Week (Fair Employment Week Powerpoint).

4 – Share your stories on social media with the hashtag #makeitfair.

5 – Complete the National Survey for Contract Academic Staff if you have not already done so survey.caut.ca.

Update: Collective bargaining

MSVU: CUPE 3912 ratified the new collective agreement with Mount St. Vincent university in two voting session (Sept 25 and 28). Now that our membership has ratified the agreement, the university’s board of governors will vote to ratify the agreement. Once the board ratifies the agreement, the union and the university will produce a new collective agreement (checking for typos, etc.). Once that is done, there will be an official signing where the university president and I, as CUPE president, will sign the collective agreement. The agreement then becomes official and all changes take effect. Those members entitled to retroactive back pay will receive it about a month after depending on where in the pay period the signing takes place.

Dalhousie: We continue to have negotiations with Dalhousie. We have not yet discussed financial issues as we are working on some language proposals that will improve working conditions for members and incorporate the new members at the former Agricultural College at Truro.

SMU: Negotiations with St. Mary’s have not yet started. The union is ready and have our proposals ready to go. We are just waiting to hear back from the university about dates.

Ratification votes for MSVU collective agreement

Next week CUPE 3912 members will vote on ratification of the new collective agreement. Any member who has taught at the Mount in the last three years, including people who are teaching for the first time this year, is eligible to vote.

Here is the ratification document you will be asked to vote on during ratification.

The document does not include new Letters of Understanding or the updated Stipend Schedule. These are still being reviewed and will be available at the meetings. It does include the percentage increase for the stipend and wage adjustments.

Ratification votes dates and times:

Monday, September 25, 5-9 p.m. Rosaria 401, Don MacNeil Room
or
Thursday, September 28, 1:30–6 p.m. Rosaria 105

We will also address any questions you may have at these meetings.

In solidarity,

Steve Cloutier
President, CUPE 3912