Sorry I don't have time to write up a full post on this yet, but there is a deadline in place but 12:01AM on Saturday October 31st. This doesn't necessarily mean there will be a strike / lockout at this time, but it means at any point after 12:01AM, either side would be in a legal position to cause a labour disruption. If progress is being made at the table, both sides may agree to extend the deadline.

So in short your Friday midterm will certainly happen, but Monday morning is potentially a different story, depending on what happens at the bargaining table.

Two more days of marathon bargaining are scheduled for October 29th and 30th and we certainly hope that we'll be able to reach an agreement during this time. However, the McMaster community should also be aware that a labour disruption is a significant possibility and be prepared for that eventuality. If a tentative agreement is reached, or if a labour disruption is to occur, the information about it will be posted on our blog as soon as it is available.

I'll post more and answer questions in a bit, but I do have a couple of midnight errands I need to run off and complete.

Derek
CUPE 3906 Unit 1 Bargaining Team Member

There might not be online tests, they might just weight everything to the final to make it easier. Hence your final exam could be incredibly weighted like 80% or more.

I commend the TA's who will still go to work even if there is a strike.

TAs - You're getting more than enough compensation for what you do, stop your damn b*tching and get to work.

Originally Posted by A.Marlowe

I've heard more TAs saying that they would work regardless of what the Union decides than I've heard TAs saying they would picket.

I have mandatory picketting hours I believe (which I don't get paid for, for the first week or two).

But I too plan to continue holding office hours, tutorials and grading. (In all honesty, if I don't grade during the strike, I'll end up just coming back to a massive pile of grading when the strike's over :p).

Originally Posted by Mowicz

I have mandatory picketting hours I believe (which I don't get paid for, for the first week or two).

But I too plan to continue holding office hours, tutorials and grading. (In all honesty, if I don't grade during the strike, I'll end up just coming back to a massive pile of grading when the strike's over :p).

Just a quick note:

1) Picket duty isn't mandatory, but if you want to get paid you obviously have to do it or some alternative duty if you are unable to picket.

2) There is some confusion about the first two weeks because of CUPE national policy. CUPE National doesn't kick in towards strike pay until 10 days in the strike, but the local, if it can afford to, can offer strike pay during that period. Because CUPE 3906 has only gone on strike once in 30 years, we've got enough money saved up to pay out strike pay for the first two weeks. So the short version is, you will get offered $10 / hour for 20 hours for strike pay in the event that a strike/lockout occurs, there is no blackout or delay period. Picketing is of course always the choice of the TA, we're not here to make you do anything.

Originally Posted by Stan

There might not be online tests, they might just weight everything to the final to make it easier. Hence your final exam could be incredibly weighted like 80% or more.

Right, that's another example. Either way they will have to get around it somehow. If there is a strike that is.

ITT: People who were not around for the TA strike several years ago. Also people who don't know what a strike is and what being a part of a union is about.

Originally Posted by Goce

Oh there is credibility to it. The TA's should be paid for what they do because it is definitely not an easy thing. I just worry that at the end of the day it is use, the students, that have to pay the bills for their increased wages and/or benefits when the school is actually decreasing the quality of the learning experience.

use should read us...it was bothering me.

Originally Posted by fasailuddin

Im worried because i have a test next friday, and there are about 30 sections in the course. How are the tests going to be administered without the TA's

Shouldn't that be the prof's problem and not yours?

If you want things to stress over needlessly, go for it, but how the course is going to be administered without TA's is your prof's problem.

Originally Posted by dsahota

1) Picket duty isn't mandatory, but if you want to get paid you obviously have to do it or some alternative duty if you are unable to picket.

For many students/TAs (like myself), payment => mandatory, haha. I'm not sure if I can afford to not work entirely, it could jeopardize my next month's rent since I'm just crawling by as it is (or something equally dramatic).

But in light of these new details, maybe I won't picket...it's certainly kind of dry, haha.

Originally Posted by jhan523

Lecture will go on as planned. The professors aren't in the same union, at least that's what a bunch of my profs have said. So lectures will continue. If there is a strike the professors will have to work around it. Midterms may be cancelled and an alternate form of testing may be produced (such as online tests).

I was talking to someone who works at Mac, who was apart of that possible CAW strike when school started. She said some professors don't even bother to come into work if even a strike of that kind is happening, partially due to picketing and the difficulties of coming into school and other things. So I don't want to think about what would happen should TA's strike. I mean, TA's striked at York and everybody stopped working. I really hate to regurgitate the York example over and over, but yeah...

Originally Posted by feonateresa

I was talking to someone who works at Mac, who was apart of that possible CAW strike when school started. She said some professors don't even bother to come into work if even a strike of that kind is happening, partially due to picketing and the difficulties of coming into school and other things. So I don't want to think about what would happen should TA's strike. I mean, TA's striked at York and everybody stopped working. I really hate to regurgitate the York example over and over, but yeah...

I'm pretty sure their union included both TAs and Professors (or at least a certain kinds of professors).

Some of my professors have said that if there is a strike they will continue teaching. My other profs haven't said anything...

Originally Posted by jhan523

I'm pretty sure their union included both TAs and Professors (or at least a certain kinds of professors).

Some of my professors have said that if there is a strike they will continue teaching. My other profs haven't said anything...

For CAW employees (support staff) and other CUPE employees at McMaster (which include sessional faculty and post-doctoral fellows) there is a requirement in their contracts to cross picket lines and come into work. For professors, they're not actually a Union, but rather an association and as far as I know there's no requirement for them to cross a picket line in their contract. In practice, many professors have tenure and also supposedly have academic freedom thus the decision would largely be up to them. The University Administration certainly expects all of its professors to continue teaching lectures.

One of the many differences between York and McMaster is that the sessional faculty contract is negotiated separately (their contract ends April 30th, 2010). Even at York, the University could have chosen to continue classes that were taught by faculty, but the University actually made the choice to shutdown. McMaster has said publicly and in no uncertain terms that they will NOT shutdown campus. However, the duties that TAs normally perform (tutorials, labs, marking, etc) will not occur in the event of the TAs being on strike / locked out.

Obviously, a TA strike would have an effect on students, and the presence of pickets would delay vehicular traffic onto campus. However, the University will still operate, just in a different way and with some inconveniences, especially for those driving onto campus.

That all being said, we're still hopeful we can reach an agreement at the table. There's a lot of bargaining still to be done and still time left to do it, as long as both sides send their decision makers to the table.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

Not gonna lie, regardless of the strike or not, I'm still showing up to work.

(I'm a T.A.)

I love you, let's get married?

Yes, i heard it's almost up and running. Profs will either not show up, or somehow restructure their course to make it manageable to mark and such. October 30th i believe at midnight.

If it does occur, i hope students are not too at loss financially and academically.