Upcoming CUPE NS Scholarship Opportunity

CUPE Nova Scotia Higgins Insurance Scholarship

CUPE Nova Scotia Higgins Insurance Scholarships are awarded by CUPE Nova Scotia. Two scholarships valued at $1000.00 each are available annually.

Individuals planning enrollment at an accredited post-secondary institution in the 2015-2016 academic year may make application. The successful applicant will be required to provide proof of registration.

Eligibility:

1. Union members in good standing with a local union affiliated to CUPE Nova Scotia; and,
2. Sons, daughters, or legal wards of a member in good standing of a local union affiliated to CUPE Nova Scotia.

Basis of awards shall be the applicant’s financial need and current and ongoing volunteerism/social activism in his/her community.

Application must be complete and on the prescribed form and must be received by the CUPE Nova Scotia Scholarship Committee not later than May 15th. Supporting documents must be provided with the form in order for the application to be considered.

All inquires may be directed to Dianne Frittenburg: fritt@bellaliant.net

Please click here for the full application and instructions.

CUPE 3912 General Meeting Notice

CUPE 3912 GENERAL MEETING

Date: November 14
Time: 1:00 pm
Place: Dalhousie Student Union Building, 2nd floor Council Chambers

Come out and support your union. Become informed of issues affecting YOUR paycheque, and get involved!

Better working conditions! More job security!

In solidarity,

Shiva Nourpanah,
Communications Officer
CUPE Local 3912

“Seeing the invisible academic”:  Fair Employment Week forum on contract academic staff to be held Oct. 29

Halifax, Oct. 21, 2014 – The growing use of limited term and part‐time university professors and instructors ‐‐ and the precarious employment situation they face in Canadian and Nova Scotia universities ‐‐ will be the subject of a forum which will take place at Dalhousie University on Wednesday, October 29. The event, entitled “Seeing the invisible academic”, is being held in recognition of Fair Employment Week, proclaimed by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) to raise awareness about the overuse and exploitation of contract academic staff.  The Halifax event is co‐sponsored by CAUT, the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA), the Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers (ANSUT) and CUPE 3912.  

Contract academic staff go by a lot of different names:  limited term, sessional, part‐time, adjunct, contingent. They are often described as “invisible academics” because they have no job security, their contribution to their universities often goes unrecognized, and the students they teach are frequently unaware of their employment status. It is estimated that one out of every three university teachers across Canada is working on a limited
term, part‐time or per‐course contract.

The forum will feature a panel of contract academics from Dalhousie and other Halifax universities, as well as CAUT Past President Wayne Peters, who will provide an overview of the situation across Canada. Karen Foster, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Dalhousie whose research focuses on precarious employment and the future of work, will also be a member of the panel.  It will be moderated by Catrina Brown, President of the DFA.

When: Wednesday, October 29, 7 p.m.‐9:30 p.m.
Where: Room 303, Student Union Building
6136 University Ave, Halifax  
This event is free and open to the public and the media.  Refreshments will be served following the discussion.   

For more information, contact:    
Donna Balkan, Communications Officer
Dalhousie Faculty Association
902‐494‐3722 or 902‐266‐5429 (cell)   
Email: communications@dfa.ns.ca  
For more information on Fair Employment Week (Oct. 27‐31), go to www.fairemploymentweek.ca.

Dalhousie Faculty Association
6280 South Street, Halifax, N.S. Canada B3H 1T8
Phone (902) 494-3722
Fax (902) 494-6740
Email dfa@dfa.ns.ca
Website http://www.dfa.ns.ca

FEW-HalifaxEvent-Poster

The Dalton Camp Award

Established by Friends of Canadian Broadcasting in 2002, the Dalton Camp Award honours the memory of the late Dalton Camp, a distinguished commentator on Canadian public affairs.

The 2015 winner will receive a $10,000 prize for excellence in creative, compelling essay writing on the link between democracy and the media in Canada. A discretionary $2,500 second prize may be awarded for the best essay by a post-secondary student.

More information and complete details can be found at: DaltonCampAward.ca. Deadline for entries: November 15, 2014.

GENERAL MEETING

CUPE 3912 GENERAL MEETING

Date: November 14
Time: 1:00 p.m
Place: Dalhousie Student Union Building, 2nd floor Council Chambers

Come out and support your union. Become informed of issues affecting YOUR paycheque, and get involved!

“The Invisible Academic”

Members of CUPE 3912 will be participating in a forum entitled “The Invisible Academic” during Fair Employment Week, hosted by the Dalhousie Faculty Association. For details, follow the link below:

http://dfa.ns.ca/news_items/fair-employment-week-forum-on-contract-academic-staff-planned-for-october-29

MSVU All Union BBQ

The MSVU Faculty Association will host the MSVU All Union BBQ on Friday, September 19, 2014, between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm at Vinnie’s.

All MSVU union members are invited to drop in during their lunch breaks for a BBQ lunch. Please RSVP to Linda.Mann@MSVU.ca if you plan to attend (and if you already know, let her know approximately what time you will attend, so she can have an idea of when the best time would be to have a few people speak). Any questions, also contact Linda.

CUPE Nova Scotia seeking younger workers

CUPE Nova Scotia is seeking young worker members to sit on identified standing committees. We encourage our young worker members to submit their names for a committee position. A young worker is 30 years of age or younger. All four committees will have one young worker member appointed to the committee.

The following committees have vacant young worker positions:
. Global Justice Committee
. Education Committee
. Health & Safety
. Privatization and Contracting Out Committee

Members making an application should briefly describe a bit about themselves, experiences. and why they are interested in holding the position. The application should be forwarded in writing or e-mail prior to September 25, 2014 to the following address:

Jim Laverie, Recording Secretary
CUPE Nova Scotia
5256 Highway 340, Forest Glen, Nova Scotia, B5A 5P9

Email: Laverie@eastlink.ca

New Article in MSVU Collective Agreement

Article 26: Transition to the Agreement

26.2.1 Wages for all employees shall be retroactive to September 1, 2012, or the date of hire, if later. Employees who have not held a contract with the Employer in the academic year 2013-14 shall be entitled to retroactivity upon giving the Employer notice within 30 days of the signing of this agreement

*This article is applicable only to the Mount St. Vincent University agreement. It is effective for 30 days after May 22.