About us

This is your 2020－ 2021 executive:

President: Alissa Cherry

president@cupe3907.ca

Vice President: Dhanela Sivaparan

vicepresident@cupe3907.ca

Treasurer: Gabriele Simmons

treasurer@cupe3907.ca

Recording Secretary: Kayla Webber

recordingsecretary@cupe3907.ca

Chief Steward: Wales Wong

chiefsteward@cupe3907.ca

Department Stewards:

Social Justice Education – Greer Barbazon

LHAE – if you’re a GA in LHAE and would like to be the Department Steward please contact chiefsteward@cupe3907.ca.

CTL – if you’re a GA in CTL and would like to be the Department Steward please contact chiefsteward@cupe3907.ca.

APHD – if you’re a GA in APHD and would like to be the Department Steward please contact chiefsteward@cupe3907.ca.

CUPE 3907 Committees

To learn more or get involved please contact the committee chair.

2019 Financial Trustee:

Ernest Obeng, Naifang Wang, and Yufei Zheng

Equity and Human Rights Committee

Communications and Outreach Committee

Education Committee

Bargaining Committee & Bargaining Support/Strike Committee

How do I know if I am a member?
If you are a Graduate Assistant at OISE, you are a member. If you held a GAship during the past 12 months you are a member, your membership continues 12 months after your last pay cheque. If you have a R&D position, you are represented by the United Steelworkers.

I’m a TA at the University of Toronto and I’m an OISE student. Do you represent me?
No. Local 3907 only represents Graduate Assistants at OISE/UT. TEPAs, TAs, sessional instructors, invigilators and some other job classifications at the University of Toronto are represented by CUPE Local 3902. It is possible to be a member of both Locals if you work both as a GA and as a TA.

Do I have health and dental benefits as a member of CUPE 3907?
In our recent round of bargaining (February 2016) the CUPE 3907 Bargaining Committee was able to negotiate a Health Plan for all 3907 members. This plan is the same plan that CUPE 3902 has, and will come into effect September 2016. We will be hosting work shops and information sessions for members in the fall.

How do I apply for a GAship?

If you are a funded graduate student at OISE you will be guaranteed a GAship through your funding package. If you are unfunded, or have run out of guaranteed funding, you may be eligible to apply for a Fall/Winter and Summer GA. Please see information here.

What is the deadline for applying for GAships?
If you are currently in the funded cohort, you are guaranteed a GA position. You will apply for specific jobs in August for a position in the fall, you may not get your top choice, but you will be matched with a position.

For Summer GAships, the deadline is usually in mid January for the summer of the same calendar year. Summer GA positions are not a part of guaranteed funding. All summer GAships are open to competition, with a certain number reserved for unfunded students. Information available here.

For unfunded students, you have access to a limited number of Fall-Winter GAships. You must first apply to be considered in the hiring pool for these jobs. The deadline for this application is usually the fall a year before. Please click here for deadlines and specifics of this hiring process.

How come I didn’t get a fall/winter GAship?
As you will see on the hiring criteria form, students are assess on their Ability to Assist, Seniority and also Recruitment points. You are ranked competitively against all students applying for GAships in your academic department. If you would like to see your ranking position or contest your ranking, please get in touch with your department steward or our Chief Steward.

How come I didn’t get a summer GAship?
Each year, only 30 Summer GA positions become available. This means that the ranking for summer GAships is very competitive. Your local union believes that year-round employment is a critical issue for student workers at OISE, and this was an issue we pushed at the bargaining table.

Where can I turn if I am having difficulties with my employer/supervisor?
For GAs, it can be especially difficult if you are experiencing conflict with your work supervisor when that person is also your academic supervisor. If you are experiencing difficulties around negotiating your hours of work, obtaining a safe workplace, including issues of harrassment, discrimination or other issues, please get in touch with your department steward, or Chief Steward.

I have a cause/community event/campaign that I would like my Local to support. How can I get funds or other support?
For financial support please fill out the donation request form, available here, and send to the Recording Secretary. We review donation requests at our General Members Meetings, and give members advance notice of the donation request.

Other forms of support we offer include distributing events listings to our membership; posting events on our website; writing letters of support and sending speakers and delegates to rallies and community events. Please send an email requesting these kinds of support to our Recording Secretary for inclusion on our next General Membership Meeting Agenda.

How are my union dues spent?
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in April, the treasurer provides an annual report on how the past year’s funds were spent and a budget plan for the following year. At each General Membership Meeting, the treasurer gives an update, either oral or written, on how funds are being distributed. Our single largest expense is our union dues that are paid to CUPE National.  This goes to support our webpage development, legal assistance, collective bargaining and grievance assistance, executive and steward training, and participation in the largest public sector Union in the country with more than 630,000 members.  If you would like to see more in-depth funding reports, please attend an upcoming GMM or contact our treasurer.

I want to be more active in my union. How can I get involved?
We need your enthusiasm! Members can get involved many different ways, please get in touch and we can figure out how you might want to participate!

Where can I find my union office?
CUPE 3907 is located in Room 8-104. Our office hours are posted on the door. There are also designated CUPE bulletin boards on each floor of the OISE/UT building. Check these boards for notices of upcoming events, meetings, bargaining and general union news.

Equity Principles for the Labour Movement

CUPE Anti-Racism Document – PDF

CUPE 3907 believes in a few basic principles to advance equity in the labour movement and renew its commitment to working-class members:

1. We believe in using anti-oppression principles and an intersectional framework to understand equity. This approach is necessary to understand the complex marginalization of certain individuals and groups from our union. For example, when unions seek to recruit more women to leadership positions, they must focus on more than just gender as the basis for women’s exclusion. Unions must consider how their women members might also experience exclusion based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity (among others). This intersectional approach would promote the support of women leaders who are not exclusively white, heterosexual, cis-gendered and able-bodied sisters.
2. We believe that union renewal must address the very culture and structure of our union,instead of simply adding a few token equity-based leadership and committee seats.
3. We believe in the power of mobilizing, educating and organizing equity-seeking members into autonomous groups. Groups such as the racial justice committee, or the women’s committee are necessary as a “home base” for members to share their common struggles and to engage in collective action. The labour movement should provide resources to enable the autonomy of these caucuses. Independent caucuses can then fearlessly critique entrenched leaders and suggest bolder initiatives to transform the union.
4. We believe in solidarity between oppressed groups. Each equity-seeking group must take a broad, integrated and inclusive approach to equity and learn about the struggles of others. Members must take up the union mantra of “injury to one is an injury to all.”
5. We believe in using the collective agreement to fight for equity. The collective agreement is one of the most important tools that workers have. Employment equity, transgendered and transsexual workplace accommodation, racial, sexual or psychological harassment, accommodation of Aboriginal cultural practices, violence in the workplace, pay equity are key equity issues that bargaining proposals should address. Members of equity-seeking groups should also be elected to bargaining committees so that their issues stay on the bargaining table.
6. We believe in equity representation in union delegations to conferences, conventions, educational opportunities and overseas trips. The exclusion of equity-seeking members from these key union networking and learning experiences reduces the visibility and participation of these members in key union work. Union locals can amend their by-laws to include target numbers for the representation of different equity-seeking groups.