[Taken From CUPE National] Defending labour rights, equity and economic justice is more urgent than ever. Our rights and quality of life are under increasing threat from the growing push to privatize public services, the staggering rise in the cost of living, and attacks from the far right.

May 1 commemorates the massacre at Haymarket Square in Chicago in 1886. On this day, workers around the world have taken to the streets to celebrate their collective power, defend their rights, and demand equity and economic justice.

CUPE celebrates International Workers’ Day, or May Day, in solidarity with millions around the world who denounce exploitation, defend their right to unionize, and demand decent and safe working conditions.

In Canada, many workers mark May 1 with rallies. The day is a moment to remember the major victories achieved by worker activism and solidarity. These include the eight-hour workday, paid sick leave and the right to a safe workplace.

International Workers’ Day is a chance for us to celebrate the labour movement’s collective strength, and our ability to protect and fight for our public services, the working class and our hard-earned rights.

International solidarity is our best tool in the fight for workers’ rights. CUPE encourages everyone to join this worldwide mobilization.

Hello everyone! Recently, the Faculty of Health Dean’s Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism wanted to share an event with all of the members of Local 5524! So, coming from them, here is the Long COVID Awareness Event!

Did you know that some people experience ongoing health challenges after a COVID-19 infection? Long COVID, also known as Post-COVID Condition, affects millions worldwide, impacting daily life, work, and well-being. There are currently no Health Canada approved treatments.

Join the UWaterloo community for a walk on March 27 to support those with Long COVID and promote awareness. The walk starts from the Health Expansion building at noon.

Learn More & Register: bit.ly/walk-register

Hello, General Membership of CUPE 5524 – Academic Workers at UW! We have a bit of a non-standard post for you all today, but we are currently actively looking for volunteers, and need your help!

Right now, we are looking for members for our CAT team! A CAT is a team of CUPE 5524 members from across your workplace, spanning every faculty and department. This team is responsible for communicating directly with other CUPE 5524 members in their work area to ensure they are fully informed and participating in collective bargaining.

Our CATS do a lot as a team! For example, they:

• Have one-on-one conversations with assigned coworkers and take notes
• Debrief conversations and outcomes with a lead organizer and input information into shared spreadsheets
• Assess the quantity and quality of member participation in your assigned area

Our CAT members are enthusiastic, committed to collective power, and are determined to push the union forwards. Want to help out? Contact us at cupe5524.catlead@outlook.com!

Hello, CUPE 5524 (Academic Workers at UW)! We are emailing to communicate our bargaining updates with the University.

On December 18 and 19, the CUPE 5524 Bargaining Committee for Unit 0 (Sessional Instructors) met again with the employer to continue negotiating a collective agreement between the union local and the university. Several Bargaining Committee members from Unit 1 (TAs and RAs) also attended, as the items we were negotiating continue to be relevant to both groups of employees.

We have agreed to two more articles:

• Management Rights: This article defines the role the employer takes on in management of the university, course enrollment, hiring, and maintaining and making available rules and policies consistent with the Collective Agreement.
• Labour Relations Committee: This article enforces the establishment of a Labour Relations Committee formed of a small number of members of the Union and the same number from the employer. The goal of this committee is to discuss general conditions of and issues in the workplace, equity, and any other systemic issues.

The complete list of non-monetary, common items (Unit 0 & 1) is available for your perusal on our website. In summary, the list is as follows. Please note that bolded items are those that have been signed off between the local and the employer (see above).

• Employees represented
• Discrimination
• Union membership and dues
• Printing agreement
• Labour/management committees
• Grievance
• Arbitration
• Discipline
• No strikes and lockouts
• Technology and instruction
• Evaluation and employee files
• Academic freedom
• General
• Health and safety
• Code-based extension requests
• Accommodations
• Correspondence
• Indoor air quality standards

In subsequent meetings, we will aim to cover:

1. Non-monetary items particular to Sessionals.
2. Non-monetary items particular to TAs/RAs
3. Monetary items related to Sessionals
4. Monetary items related to TAs/RAs

If you have any thoughts related to your working conditions that you feel strongly about, or would like to see in the Collective Agreement, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Feel free to email us at cupe5524@outlook.com with your thoughts or a request to meet in person/virtually. If you would like to join the Bargaining Committee, and play an active role in contributing to our first Collective Agreement as a local, we would love to have you – please get in touch! 

Our next General Membership Meeting will be held Thursday, January 23 2025 at 5:00 PM. Keep your eyes peeled for a meeting notice and agenda to your email inbox during the week of January 6th, 2025.

The Bargaining Committee’s next meetings with the employer will take place sometime in January (dates TBD). We will provide you with more updates shortly after these meetings.

Last, we are still seeking volunteers for our Contract Action Team (CATs).This role involves connecting with workers, engaging in on-the-ground conversations (in-person and online both available) and supporting the union local with events and promotions. If this is a role that interests you, please reach out!

In solidarity,
CUPE Local 5524
Academic Workers at the University of Waterloo

Announcing Our New Officers!

Hello Local 5524! Just over one month ago, in our October General Membership Meeting, two members were elected to be officers of the local, ensuring it continues functioning well into the future! Now, this is your chance to meet them, so please take this opportunity to welcome our new Officers to Local 5524!

Recording Secretary – Katie Pita

As incoming Recording Secretary, Katie Pita will keep account of the proceedings of meetings, record changes to bylaws, and handle broad administrative duties for the local!

Katie is in her 4th year of her PhD in the Faculty of Environment at UWaterloo. Katie became actively engaged with OrganizeUW in Spring 2022, when she began volunteering as the liaison between OUW and UW’s Graduate Student Association. She was a consistently active member of the union drive until the successful vote in December 2023 to unionize TA’s and RA’s at Waterloo. Now, she is embarking on a new adventure as Recording Secretary for Local 5524, and is excited for this new chapter. You can find Katie most Monday evenings at the Grad House, from 5-7 PM, attending 5524’s weekly informal social event, Stammtisch (the German word for “regulars’ table”). She hopes to see you there!

Membership Officer – Gaia Noseworthy

As incoming Membership Officer, Gaia Noseworthy will be in charge of overseeing meetings of the members and handling broad communications for the local!

Gaia is in the 1st year of their Masters of Applied Mathematics with the Faculty of Mathematics at UW. Coming from their undergraduate program at the University of New Brunswick, they participated extensively in their Student Union for LGBTQ+ representation, the writing and editing of bylaws, and in building student engagement with the union. In coming to UWaterloo, they joined in with the local to support collective bargaining and representation for academic workers with the university. With a background in podcast production, communications, and union activity, they are taking the chance to be the Membership Officer of the local. You can find Gaia all over campus, and especially at the graduate house around lunch times, drinking an ice cappuccino or cortado while working on assignments and marking!

Please take this opportunity to welcome both of our new officers to the team! Remember, our next General Membership Meeting will be held Thursday, January 23 2025 at 5:00 PM. Keep your eyes peeled for a meeting notice and agenda to your email inbox soon!

In solidarity,
CUPE Local 5524
Academic Workers at the University of Waterloo

CUPE 5524 represents Sessional Faculty, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and Graduate Research Assistants at the University of Waterloo. Some of our members are participating in the student encampment that is calling for disclosure, divestment, and boycott of institutions contributing to the ongoing violence in Israel-Palestine.

On Monday, May 20th, the University administration gave formal notice to the student encampment requiring that it be removed immediately. This notice cited six University policies as the grounds for removal (Policies 2, 15, 22, 33, 34, and 71). However, the justifications provided for each policy would equally apply if our Local were to engage in legal job action. For this reason, CUPE 5524 condemns the University administration for applying these policies to quash a peaceful demonstration. In particular, we believe that Policy 33 has been grossly misapplied in a manner that could likewise be applied to a strike. A complete writeup on the misapplication of these six policies, and why we reject them as a union, can be found here.

We also condemn the University’s invocation of the Trespass to Property Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.T.21. If police force is used for the removal of peacefully demonstrating students and workers, then clearly the University prioritises its assumed property rights over student and worker safety and wellbeing. The University administration’s claim to trespass rights is especially unclear since the title to the land that the University occupies is currently under dispute and before the courts. We reiterate the University of Waterloo’s Territorial Acknowledgement and note that Six Nations of the Grand River has not invoked the Trespass Act.

On May 29th, 2024, our Membership voted to express support for many of the demands of the student encampment. Financial transparency is critical to effectively bargain for fair working conditions. Hence, limiting transparency hinders workers’ rights just as surely as it shirks accountability for how the University handles its investments. Thus we call on the University to disclose detailed financial records in a timely manner, and establish better protocols for the open access of this information going forward. We also call on the University to divest from weapons manufacturers and defense contractors, and the companies on the BDS National Committee List: HP, Siemens, AXA, Puma, SodaStream, Ahava, Sabra, and produce that comes from within illegally occupied land. We do not want our labour, nor its fruits, to be contributing to violence and genocide.

Please see the following statements from CUPE National and CUPE Ontario on university encampments and the following statements from CUPE National and CUPE Ontario on ceasefire in Gaza.

We at CUPE 5524 are deeply excited to expand our membership with the recent addition of Graduate Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants as Unit 1 of our Local! Sessional Faculty will now retain the designation of Unit 0. This addition expands our membership into the thousands, increasing our capacity to fight for fair representation and improve working conditions for Academic Workers at the University of Waterloo.

Unit 1 has already been hard at work, detailing certain things such as their membership, electing a new Unit Vice President (welcome to Nolan!), and beginning the process of electing their Bargaining Committee.

Next up for the Local will be the election of a Bylaw Committee with the aim of establishing a formal structure of the Local and its Units, as well as to build in decision making mechanisms beyond the CUPE Constitution.

In solidarity,
CUPE Local 5524 Executive Committee