Make It Fair Campaign 2024!

We’ve joined the Canadian Association of University Teachers’ (CAUT) Make It Fair for Contract Academic Staff campaign!

Visit our campaign launch on October 30, 2024 where we’ll be tabling with free coffee and donuts near the main Carleton bus stop between Minto and Nicol Building from 10 am to 1 pm!

The campaign highlights the inequities faced by contract academic staff at Universities across the country. CIs face increasing precarity, ballooning workloads and class sizes, and poor pay and benefits. On top of being poorly paid and devalued by Carleton, and despite being highly educated and often experts in their fields, CIs must reapply for their jobs once or multiple times per year. Nearly half of all educators at Carleton are low-waged Contract Instructors. The precarious nature of contract work and juggling of multiple jobs makes it more difficult for CIs wanting to join the tenure track to engage with their academic communities and meet the scholarly production thresholds required to gain entry to tenure track positions. Carleton profits from precarity.

Keep an eye out on campus for our posters around campus!

 

We’re Hiring!

CUPE 4600 is hiring a third Staff Member for the role of Mobilization Coordinator. Don’t fret!–our current Staff Members are sticking around, but are shuffling roles over the summer.

If you or anyone you know might be a good fit, feel free to apply and/or share in your networks. See below for the job details. Applications are due on or before June 9.

Mobilization Coordinator Job Post Description

CUPE 4600 represents almost 3000 Teaching Assistants, internally funded Research Assistants, and Contract Instructors at Carleton University and is the largest union on campus. The role of the Mobilization Coordinator (MobCor) is to communicate the activities of the union to the membership, engage with members, and expand member participation in the Local. The MobCor will also provide logistical and bargaining support to the Local in the lead up to and during negotiations. Working alongside two Staff members, the MobCor will work under the direction of the CUPE 4600 Executive Board.

We are looking for a progressive individual with a robust skillset to prepare for bargaining and potential labour action. Candidates must be able to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines, deal with sensitive information in a diplomatic and tactful manner, and work collaboratively. CUPE 4600 is committed to building a strong and diverse organization that is reflective of the diversity of our members and society at large.

Responsibilities

Under direction of the CUPE 4600 Executive Board, and in coordination with other other Staff members, the Mobilization Coordinator will communicate the activities of the union to members and encourage active membership participation in the Local. Such work may include, but is not limited to:

  • Organizing and participating in member outreach/inreach, organizing, and mobilizing efforts
  • Communicating key issues of our Local with members and other relevant individuals and organizations outside of the Local
  • Producing and distributing the CUPE 4600 newsletter, print and digital materials, and social media posts
  • Organizing and conducting member orientations in both Fall and Winter semesters and orienting new members to the role of the Local and their labour rights
  • Assisting the Local with preparations for bargaining and strike support
  • Collaborating with Staff in conducting research that will inform the strategic planning, membership mapping, mobilization, and ongoing work and priorities of the Local, assigned on an as-needed basis

The full job description: CUPE 4600 (05.2024) Mobilization Coordinator Job Posting

Qualifications

The successful applicant will have:

  • Demonstrable knowledge of and experience in the labour movement
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills
  • Excellent interpersonal skills
  • Familiarity with a variety of computing software, especially software that relates to the design and distribution of creative print and digital materials (e.g., Canva)
  • Proficiency in social media and modern communication tools
  • Experience using and publishing via WordPress
  • Experience working in the post-secondary sector and an understanding of the issues affecting post-secondary education
  • Significant experience organizing and supporting member-driven campaigns
  • The ability to integrate anti-oppression principles into their work
  • Experience with collective bargaining and union representation
  • Familiarity working under the supervision of an elected Executive Board
  • The ability to work with community partners and other organizations within the labour movement
  • The ability to work independently, autonomously, and with a high degree of initiative to meet the demands of the Local

Salary

The salary range for this position is $55,379.70 – $59,944.80 per year with an increase after the probationary period.

Employment Type

Full-time indeterminate (35 hours per week), beginning with a six-month probationary period.

  • Monday to Friday, regular hours are 9 am – 5 pm
  • Some evenings are necessary
  • Weekends may be necessary if the Local is on Strike and/or in other rare circumstances

Location

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
*Must be able to work in person, with limited hybrid work options

Benefits

Enrollment in health and dental plan upon hiring

After probationary period:

  • Vacation (3 weeks/year) and other generous paid leave
  • Group Benefits (health, dental, life insurance, disability insurance)
  • Defined benefit multi-sector pension plan (employer contribution of 10% gross salary)
  • Health care spending account
  • Health and well-being fund
  • Childcare benefit
  • RESP contribution of $2,000 per year
  • Unionized membership in Unifor 567, Unit 5
  • Professional development fund
  • Paid time off from Christmas to New Year’s
  • Cell phone subsidy

CUPE 4600 encourages applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:

  • First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and all other Indigenous peoples;
  • members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, ethnicity, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
  • persons with visible and/or invisible disabilities;
  • women;
  • persons who are marginalized by family status, level of education, or socio-economic status
  • persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions.

All applicants are asked to submit a short written statement on their views of power, oppression, and the role unions play in society.

The deadline for applications is 11:59 pm, Sunday, June 9.

Please send your resume, cover letter, along with the names and contact information of 3 references, to info@cupe4600.ca with “Mobilization Coordinator Application” as the subject line.

We thank all interested applicants. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in the selection process. For accommodation needs or to obtain a copy of the documents in alternate format, please email info@cupe4600.ca.

Annual General Meeting!

APRIL 12, 2:30pm ONLINE

The AGM is open to all members, and is the meeting where we elect our executive board and council, approve our upcoming year’s budget, choose our priorities for the year, and reflect on the past year. The AGM is also where we award the Stuart Ryan Solidarity Award, which highlights the contribution of individuals who have done outstanding work for CUPE 4600, the labour movement, or local activism.

More details will be shared soon

Upcoming events (week of March 18th)

Upcoming meeting and events that may be of interest for CUPE 4600 members

  1. General Membership Meeting – Mar 21
  2. Bargaining Research Committee (Unit 1) – Mar 19
  3. Strike Anniversary event – March 27
  4. Israeli Apartheid Week – March 18-28
  5. Collective Agreements available on our website
  6. Annual General Meeting – New Date TBA soon!
  7. Hassan Diab event – Mar 20

For details about these events, please click here

Upcoming events (Week of March 4th)

below are some upcoming meetings and events which may be of interest to CUPE 4600 member

  1. Rainbow Caucus Meeting – Mar 5
  2. Bargaining Research Committee (Unit 1) – Mar 5
  3. Unit 2 Caucus Meeting – Mar 7
  4. National March For Gaza – Mar 9
  5. Palestine Educational Event (CUPE 4600 members) – Mar 13
  6. General Membership Meeting – Mar 21
  7. Annual General Meeting – Apr 15
  8. Life Under Apartheid – Mar 7
  9. Speaking Up for Palestine – Mar 15

More details about all of these can be found here

 

Upcoming Events (week of February 26th)

Below are some upcoming events that might be of interest to CUPE 4600 members

  1. General Membership Meeting – Feb 27
  2. Mobilization Committee Meeting – Today
  3. Rainbow Caucus Meeting – Mar 5
  4. Queer Histories and Queer Resistance – Mar 1
  5. Book Launch: The Regulation of Desire: Queer Histories, Queer Struggles – Feb 29

for details about these events, click here

Upcoming events (Feb. 5th onwards)

Upcoming union and community events

  1. General Membership Meeting – Feb 27
  2. Emergency Rally for Trans Youth –  Feb 5
  3. Mobilization Committee meeting – Feb 5th
  4. Educational Event on Palestine – Feb 7th
  5. Arab Awareness Week at Carleton – Feb 5-9
  6. Support PSAC workers on strike – ongoing
  7. Nonviolent Direct Action, Creative Protest and Planning Effective Campaigns Workshop – Feb 17

Find more information about these events here

CUPE 4600 stands in solidarity with Palestine

Since October 7th, 2023 the Israeli military has murdered over 26,000 Palestinian civilians, including over 10,000 children as recorded by Al Jazeera, and the death toll continues to rise daily. CUPE 4600 stands firmly in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle for liberation. We reject any conflation of the support for Palestinian life with the condoning of violence against civilians or antisemitism.

Israel’s drastic escalation of genocidal violence towards Palestinians in Gaza includes: the shutting off of water, electricity and telecommunications; the bombing of civilian infrastructure including residences, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, and refugee camps; and numerous war crimes such as collective punishment, the use of white phosphorus munitions and the indiscriminate murder of unarmed civilians and journalists. The continuation of the illegal blockade and frequent attacks on Gazans must cease immediately and permanently. A temporary truce or “humanitarian pause” is unequivocally insufficient.

CUPE 4600 recognizes the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory as “unlawful under international law,” as determined in the October 2022 report by the United Nations General Assembly. Israel’s illegal settlements and the forcible displacement and transfer of Palestinians continue to violate international law as indicated in Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

We recognize that the events of October 7th are a retaliatory escalation against the current and long history of settler-colonial systemic violence and oppression in historic Palestine against the Palestinian people. Israel has imposed a brutal blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, cutting the Palestinian people from the rest of the world and forcing them to live in an open-air prison. CUPE 4600 understands that in order to cease the continuous and tragic loss of life, the root cause of violent Israeli settler-colonialism must be addressed. We recognize that decolonization is not a metaphor and must be enacted through the repatriation of Indigenous land and life (Tuck & Yang 2012). Humanitarian justice requires the liberation of Palestine as well as an international commitment to ensuring Palestinians are granted the human rights they have been denied for over 75 years.

With this historical context, CUPE 4600 joins the growing global consensus that recognizes Israel as actively committing the international war crimes of apartheid and genocide. While Palestinians and international solidarity activists have understood that the state of Israel has been continuously committing the crime of apartheid for many decades, organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Israeli human rights NGO B’Tselem have more recently adopted the term to describe the system of racial segregation that Israel imposes on the Palestinian people.

The workers’ struggle and the struggle for liberation are inseparable. Like all peoples of the world, Palestinians have fundamental rights to freedom, justice, and equality. As trade unionists, we are compelled to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation, just as unions and workers did in the struggle for liberation from apartheid in South Africa.

CUPE 4600 presents this statement as a union on unceded and un-surrendered Anishinaabe Algonquin Territory. We recognize that the genocide of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island and in historic Palestine is inextricable. Canada is complicit in both as a colonial power embedded in the histories and development of settler-colonialism and as a current source of financial, political, and material support for Israel’s crimes.

We issue this statement of solidarity as voted on during our November 17th General Membership Meeting.

CUPE 4600 calls on the Canadian government to stand up for the inalienable human rights of the Palestinian people by calling for:

  1. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem: Canada must join the growing international call for an immediate ceasefire in the region and demonstrate unwavering commitment to peace and protection of life.
  2. The end of the siege on Gaza to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid and permanently lift the blockade as it is a contravention of international law.
  3. An end to Canada’s complicity in Israeli occupation and genocide, including an end to arms sales to Israel directly and through the United States.
  4. Freeing Palestine by opposing Israeli apartheid and taking immediate action to recognize the rights that Palestinian people have to their ancestral lands.

Upcoming events and meetings

Events, meetings, and protests coming up:

  1. CUPE 4600 trivia Night – Jan 31st
  2. External Affairs Committee meeting – Jan 31st
  3. Gender Affirmation Fund Applications – deadline Jan 31st
  4. Mobilization Committee meeting – Feb 5th
  5. Educational Event on Palestine – Feb 7th
  6. SPPA Students’ Anti-Racism Symposium – Feb 2nd
  7. March with Labour For Palestine – Feb 4th
  8. Support PSAC workers on strike – ongoing
  9. Nonviolent Direct Action, Creative Protest and Planning Effective Campaigns Workshop – Feb 17

More details here