General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, May 31
12:00 am – 3:30 pm
Harry Crowe Room (Atkinson 109)

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Tentative Agenda:

1. Roll call of officers
2. Reading of the Equality Statement
3. Reading of the Mississauga Land Acknowledgement
4. Approval of Agenda
5. Reading and Approval of Minutes (2016 AGM, April GMM)
6. Notices
8. Nominations, Elections or Installations
9. Unfinished Business
 a) Donation to “York Graduate Conference in Philosophy: Memory & Social Cognition” ($200)
 b) Donation to “International Campaign Against the War on the People of India (Toronto)”   ($500)
 c) Donation to “Vision(s) of Politics: The Thought of Sheldon Wolin Conference” ($240)
 d) Donation to “The Grassy Narrows River Run 2016” ($2000)
 e) Donation to the “2nd Tamil Studies Symposium” at York ($1500)
 f) Donation to “the South Asia Research group (SARG) at York Centre for Asian Research for the  event “Caste in the Diaspora: Oral Histories of South Asians in Canada” ($1000)
 g) Endorsement request from The 15 years of Imperialist War in Afghanistan Campaign
 h) Endorsement request from Fossil Free York
 i) Endorsement request from Regenesis Toronto Ecovillage Project
 j) Discussion on the new funding (fellowship) model (45 minutes)
9. Matters Arising
10. New Business
11. Reports of committees and delegates
12. Executive Reports
13. Good of the Union
14. Adjournment

An update on the new funding model proposed by York University is now available. Masters Students with a GA will primarily be affected. To learn more, please see the FAQ available here.

A set of procedures have been laid out by York administration so that members can know what to expect after lodging harassment or discrimination complaints as per Article 4 of the collective agreement. The procedure is available to view or download here.

Poll clerks are needed to staff polling stations during the Communications Officer by-elections on May 31, June 1-3 and 6-7 

Poll clerks are paid $15 per hour and may work multiple shifts. Only members of CUPE 3903 may apply. Preference will be given to members with previous poll clerk experience, though all members are encouraged to apply.

As you know, the job of poll clerks is to check the ID of members before they vote, distribute ballots to members, and monitor the ballot box during voting.

Each day, polls will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Shifts are usually 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

At the last GMM we passed a motion to strike a special sub-committee to review practices around postings, NRAs and related grievances. The committee will be made up of three members elected at the May GMM and the Chief Steward Unit 2 and will be responsible for consulting with staff and members to provide recommendations and a report-back to the general membership within six months of being struck. Please consider putting your name forward to for this committee, nominations can be sent to:cupe3903chiefstewardunit2@gmail.com

Meanwhile, at the same GMM the Communications Committee expanded from 2 rank and file members to 4. Hence, there are now 2 vacant positions to fill at the same GMM. Please contact any of the VPs if you are interested in serving on this committee. Honoraria is now $750/year (up from $500).

Long Term Disability (LTD) coverage provides the necessary financial protection for your most valuable asset – your ability to earn an income. You may be aware of the risk of becoming disabled at any age. This risk increases with age, so it is a great benefit that you are automatically enrolled for coverage. Your employer pays the cost of the coverage.

LONG TERM DISABILITY PLAN COVERAGE

CUPE 3903 Unit 1 and 2 members that meet the income requirements in the collective agreement are eligible for  coverage. For more information about the extent of this coverage, please see this brochure. A FAQ is also available here.

Our next GMM will be on May 31st, 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm in 109 Atkinson. Join us in our next membership meeting for some free food and fellowship as we come together to make vital decision for our union. Voting for the new election for the post of Communications Officer will begin at this meeting. Please note that the 3:30PM end time is a hard deadline, as the Harry Crowe room is booked for right after our meeting. Election boxes will move to the office post-meeting because of these time restrictions.

Please contact Sheila Wilmot at CUPE3903.equity.officer@gmail.com or at 416-736-5154 ext. 3 if you require any of the following: ASL interpretation, reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care, and/or transportation costs for members who are unable to secure Wheel-Trans, or other requests for accommodation.

The Communications Officer position is now open. Members have 2 weeks (May 3 – May 17) to nominate themselves for the position by filling out a nomination form in the 3903 office at 143 Atkinson. If the position is contested, elections will commence at the May 31st GMM following a 2 week campaign period.

The Communications Officer’s term will run from May 1, 2016 – March 31, 2017. Please consult the 3903 bylaws (Article 9) for more information about the duties associated with the position.

For more information please contact the CUPE 3903 Elections Officers Hossein Banitabaei <h.banitabaei@gmail.com> or Qamar Zaidi <qzaidi@yorku.ca>