(The following article is from the July 1-31, 2008, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Sean Burton, Hamilton

CUPE 3906, representing academic workers at McMaster University in Hamilton, has been in conflict with the university's administration since January of this year. The union's Unit 2, representing sessional instructors and music instructors, has sought to secure further benefits such as wage parity with other instructors, reducing the number of students they have to teach, and a host of other plans such as professional development funding, maternity leave, and drug and dental packages.

     McMaster's administration has not been receptive to these proposals. Bargaining took place between February 29 and April 11, and concluded with the university announcing that it would not speak to any demands beyond wages. On April 17, the union attempted to discuss job security and benefits, but the administration ceased negotiations, and their chief negotiator went on vacation. Little progress was made in May and early June.

     In a strike vote held from June 3 to 5, the union had strong support. CUPE 3906 led a vigorous campaign to spread the message of an impending strike. Union members picketed McMaster's convocation ceremonies at Hamilton Place for four days from June 9 to 12, and the campus was plastered with posters. The bargaining team and administration entered mediation on the 10th. Evidently, the knowledge of an imminent strike, which would have been legal as of June 15, got through to the employer, leading to a tentative agreement on the 13th.

     Union members have ratified the new contract, which expires in 2010, including many key gains. The contract represents a step forward in creating an equal and stable working environment. Sessional instructors are now officially sessional faculty, and have the right to first consideration appointments, allowing them to automatically be offered to teach a course that they have already taught two consecutive times with no limit on the number of courses. There are a host of new benefits, including maternity leave for the first time, and slightly reduced class sizes. Wage rates are also going up.

     The union was unable to win all of its demands, and some of the gains, such as the maternity leave, are not as comprehensive as they should be. Among other things, there remains no drug, dental or vision plan, no pension plan, no equal participation on faculty councils, and no guarantee of having a teaching assistant.

     Still, union officials told People's Voice that the agreement is a step towards a "real" contract, and towards making it possible for sessional faculty to make a career of their work. Some sessionals are never able to advance in their fields in the existing framework, as they are not traditional faculty members and are thus expendable. Meanwhile the number of tenured positions continues to decrease. There is still a lot to fight for, and if the university was afraid of a strike lasting even one day, there is hope that more gains will be made when the next contract comes along.