On Solidarity: Or, CUPE in the Community
We have an idea of contract instructors as alienated and solitary ‘road scholars,’ always in a desperate rush, never completely present wherever they teach – at least compared to tenure-track …
CUPE 3908
Against All Odds, Contract Instructors Work at the Cutting Edge of Their Fields
A common myth about universities is that while permanent professors make brilliant contributions to the state of knowledge in their area of expertise, contract faculty are simply harried teachers with …
“What are You Teaching Next Year?”: A Window into the World of the Contract Instructor
It happens like this: the academic term is winding down, and a student, realizing they had unexpectedly learned a lot in a class they’d maybe taken because it was required …
Increase in Wages and Professional Development for Trent’s Academic Workers
On September 27th, CUPE 3908s’ second unit reached a 4 year agreement with Trent University that secured increases in wages for 350 academic workers at Trent University. Most of the …
CUPE 3908 goes back to bargaining
Well, it is coming up to that spooky time of year again for part-time employees at Trent. No, not Halloween or mid-terms. CUPE 3908 Unit 1 will be heading back …
The plight of PhD students: Part II
At some universities, PhD students are offered instructor positions in their upper years or at least put into a pool of possible PhD student instructors. At Trent, conversely, PhD students …
Trent teaching assistants avoid strike, but with reservation
Members of CUPE 3908 Unit 2, which represents 350 graduate students, have voted to ratify a three-year collective agreement with 77% in favour, alas with reservation, says the bargaining team. …
Contextualizing the collective agreement as TAs vote on ratification
[Please note: this article was written to give context to the collective agreement between CUPE 3908 Unit 2 and Trent University. It was written before the ratification vote had …
CUPE 3908 Unit 2 and Trent reach tentative agreement
Bargaining teams representing student workers—Local 3908 Unit 2 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 3908)—and Trent University’s administration reached a tentative agreement at around 4am Friday morning …
CUPE 3908 Unit 2 members strongly mandate strike action
Over 77 percent of CUPE 3908 Unit 2 members voted ‘yes’ to give their bargaining team a mandate to call a strike if they cannot achieve a deal that they …