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McMASTER UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER / THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
www.thesil.ca
The Silhouette Striking CUPE requests mediator Est. 1930
VOLUME 80, NO. 12
University offers little revision in its proposal to striking CUPE 3906
WILL VAN ENGEN / PHOTO EDITOR
Picketers at Sterling Street entrance talk with motorists during a five minute staging on Monday afternoon. CUPE 3906 is currently pushing into its fourth day of striking. SELMA AL-SAMARRAI SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
As of Saturday Oct. 31, the University presented its best offer to the CUPE 3906, Unit 1, which was rejected by the union and consequently lead them to calling a strike. As reported by the CUPE 3906, Unit 1 communications committee, the best offer made steps back from the offer presented on Oct. 30, with the same benefit levels presented in 2006, along with a small wage increase. Some changes were made in the University’s best contract that was offered on Oct. 30, compared to the University’s previous offer. One
of the changes was a wage increase for undergraduate and graduate TA’s. Over the course of a year, the University’s best offer included an increase of graduate TA and RA wages from $38.85 to $39.40, and an increase of undergraduate TAs from $21.60 to $22.15. Other changes include an increased monthly contribution from the University to the dental plan, and protecting TAs and RAs from working past the end of the academic term. Other pressing issues for the union that weren’t addressed or changed include having class size caps, the erosion of take-home pay due to increasing tuition costs for graduate students that aren’t
compensated by an increase in wages or benefits, Rebecca Strung, a CUPE 3906, Unit 1 bargaining team member, explained that on the night of Nov. 1, a four-hour general membership meeting was held, with approximately 300 attendants, where the University’s best offer was presented. This was followed by a vote as to whether the union should take the University’s offer to ratification, and the majority voted against it. Starting Monday Nov. 2, the Union began picketing on two locations on campus, the gates of Sterling and Cootes drive. On both days, the University offered
to have meetings where Strung and fellow bargaining member Derek Sahota explained that the University made no new offers. On Tuesday Nov. 3, the union showed their most recent proposal, which was made Sat. Oct. 31 after the University left the bargaining table, to which they responded with the same offer presented on Oct. 31. Andrea Farquhar, Director of Public Relations at McMaster, added to that point, explaining, “We re-enforced the best offer… and normally when an offer is rejected by a union, it is then withdrawn… and you see what comes next. In this case we’ve taken the somewhat unusual step of leaving the offer on
the table and we’ve informed them that we will do that and it will be there until 12.01 a.m. on Nov. 10. We hope that offer is the basis for settlement. At that point it will be withdrawn.” Sahota explained that on the second day of negotiations of Oct. 30, the University made new movements on the $150,000 benefit fund. The benefit fund has been a major issue for the union, as they believe it is not enough for the 2,700 members of the union. The union rejected the offer that included the benefit fund change due to a lack of satisfaction with • PLEASE SEE UNION, A3
McMaster research in sixth place Hamilton copes JACKIE MCNAMARA THE SILHOUETTE
McMaster University was ranked sixth in the 2009 rankings of Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities conducted by Research Infosource. McMaster had $374 million dedicated to research, up from $346 million in 2008. The top five ranking included University of Toronto with $845 million, University of Alberta with $492
million, University of British Columbia with $470 million, l’Université de Montréal with $468 million, and McGill University with $419 million. McMaster is considered one of Canada’s smaller big universities, and usually ranks high in terms of research intensity, which measures the research income per full-time faculty member. “We’re a research powerhouse and our size allows for great opportunities,” stated Dr.
McMaster upsets Ottawa and will face Queens in the OUA semi-finals on Saturday. Sports, B1
Inside the Sil this week
CUPE strike FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A3 QSCC Pride Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A5 Learning from the strike . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A7 In swine and in quarantine . . . . . . . . . . . .A7
Mo Elbestawi, vice president of research and international affairs. “[We offer] opportunities for cross-disciplinary research, for example, knowing what’s going on in other departments and faculties and engaging in research with our colleagues from every discipline. It also creates incentive for us to develop strategic partnerships and areas of priority and allows for us to build a critical mass of expertise in these area.” This year, McMaster moved up to second place in the country in research intensity, improving its rank from third in 2008. McMaster was well above the national average of $165,000, pulling in an average of $312,800 per full-time faculty member, according to McMaster Daily News on Oct. 27. “We’re globally recognized for our materials, manufacturing and health sciences research,” contended Elbestawi. “The changing landscape in the automotive industry presents enormous and exciting opportunities for McMaster, particularly in the area of “green” automotive We plan to build on our research momentum and attract the best and brightest researchers and students.”
…
with H1N1 virus
SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO
LILY PANAMSKY
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
New actions to help mediate the H1N1 virus pandemic are currently being implemented in the city of Hamilton and at McMaster University. Two H1N1 Assessment Centres opened up in Hamilton on Oct. 31 in response to increased reports of H1N1 in local Emergency wards. The centres are designated for patients with flu or flu-like
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symptoms, and they will not treat patients with other illnesses. Patients are encouraged to go to their family doctor before coming to the centre. According to the news release, the centres are a collaborative effort of Hamilton Public Health Services, Hamilton HealTh Sciences, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and family physicians in the Hamilton area. • PLEASE SEE FIRST, A3
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