CUPE Local 3913

Documentary & Discussion on Friday November 20th, 2009.
The Science Complex
Room 1511 at
5:30 p.m.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identifies as transgendered – that is, as a transsexual, cross-dresser, drag queen/king, or other form of “gender-bending” – each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgendered people.

We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgendered people, an action that current media does not perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgendered people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and memorializing those of us who have died by anti-transgender violence. (Information Courtesy of gender.org)

As part of the Woman Abuse Awareness Month, the Women’s Council of 3913 is launching its 1st Bathtub Project.  The Bathtub Project is a Canada-wide campus toiletry drive for women’s shelters in need of assistance.

Spousal abuse of women continues to represent the majority (83%) of reported family violent crimes.  In a 12th month period from April 1, 2007-March 31, 2008, admissions to shelters across Canada reached over 101, 000 people: 62, 000 women, and 38, 000 children (The Daily, Statistics Canada: October 15, 2009). In the Guelph-Wellington area alone, the Women in Crisis organization offers support to over 1, 500 women and children.  The Women in Crisis relies heavily on public charity and fundraising for its maintenance of services.

The Women’s Council is asking all members of 3913 and the university community for their support in the Bathtub Project.  Our local shelters are in need of toiletry items for women and their children/teenagers of both sexes.  Suggestions for donations are:

Shampoos/conditioners, Tooth brushes/tooth paste, Dental floss, Hair brushes/combs, Razors/shaving cream, Deodorant, Moisturizers, Sanitary napkins/tampons, Kleenex, Cosmetics, New socks, New underwear, Children’s toys, [bar soap is not needed]

Please bring your donations to the UC courtyard on Thursday, November 26, or Friday, November 27th from 9:30 am- 4:30 pm. Donations will continue to be collected at the GM on November 26th. If you would like more information, please contact me at the union office.

In solidarity,
Sara Lacarte – Women’s Council Chair

Featuring the Globe & Mail rankings, Transgender Day of Remembrance, CUPE 3906 TA Strike, silence in the face of workplace accidents, the Bathtub Project, the value of Sessionals, and more!

Click here to download the November-December 2009 Newsletter

Op-Ed by Howard Woodhouse from The Toronto Star – Nov 15, 2009

Governments, corporations and most university administrators regard Canadian universities as “engines of economic growth.” Their function is no longer the search for truth, but to increase global competitiveness.

Critical questions about this new orthodoxy are rarely raised. The goal of education, after all, is the advancement and dissemination of shared knowledge, whereas the goal of the corporate market is the maximization of stockholder value. Unless these opposing value systems are recognized, the distinctive features of education are subjugated to the demands of the market.
Read the rest of this entry »

There will be a General Membership Meeting

Thurs Nov 26th
5:30 – UC103
Free food and beverages provided

Click here for a copy of the agenda.

First of all, thank you so much for a very, very well-attended ITA Social. Close to 80 members showed up, had some food, chatted, and participated.

The Union presented our position in terms of International Tuition Fees; our take on the discriminatory practice of imposing UHIP Fees for Health Care for International Students; our call for a revival of the International Student Organization on campus and a call for members to start acting as Stewards for their Department.

We encourage you to become a Steward – or at least to find us a room and the best time and date – so we can have a Departmental Meeting to talk about any issues in the Department and to elect Departmental Stewards.

As agreed to at this meeting, we will be letting you know as soon as possible when we are planning our next ITA Social.

For those who could not make it you can pick up your cheque in the union office (above the Daily Grind):

Friday Nov 13th from 12:00-2:00pm
Monday Nov 16th from 10:00-11:00am

In Solidarity,
Argentina Alanis
ITA Representative

Photo by Greg Beneteau/thecannon.ca

Written by Greg Beneteau from thecannon.ca

Braving poor weather, Guelph students converged downtown to demand increased funding for post-secondary education in Ontario.

About a hundred students from the University of Guelph and local high schools converged on St. George’s Square as part of the November 5th Day of Action, a nationwide campaign organized by the Canadian Federation of Students.

Organizers hoped to draw attention to the increasing cost of attending university in Ontario. The province is ranked last in per-capita university funding and was rerecently recognized as having the highest tuition fees in the country, according to Statistics Canada.

“For us, that is unacceptable,” said Momina Mir, External Commissioner of the Central Student Association at U of G. “That one of the wealthiest provinces in the country could be last in funding post-secondary education defies belief.” Read the rest of this entry »

VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR

The following is an article from The Toronto Star about the hugely problematic Temporary Foreign Worker Program run by the Government of Canada.

Sign the petition to call on Stephen Harper and the Government of Canada to protect the rights of migrant workers in this country.

How we’re creating an illegal workforce

Controversial federal program brings in foreigners for temporary jobs, but leaves them ripe for abuse

By Sandro Contenta & Laurie Monsebraarten from the Toronto Star – Nov 1, 2009

Foreigners in Canada on temporary work permits are being pushed into Toronto’s underground economy by the recession and a controversial federal program that leaves them vulnerable to abuse, a Star investigation has found.

They include people like Tony, a 29-year-old Honduran, who left his Alberta farm job after complaining of long hours and lower-than-promised wages. He rode a bus to Toronto in mid-September with two fellow Hondurans from the same farm. He now works illegally renovating homes, and his friends work illegally cleaning schools.

“I want to be someone, to do something with my life – that’s why I’m here,” says Tony, who fears being deported.

Also citing employer abuse is a Salvadoran couple fired from their Halifax hotel jobs when the woman got pregnant. They moved here to look for work in September. Read the rest of this entry »

Tony Saxon/Guelph Mercury

Thanks to everyone who came out and participated in the Drop Fees rally on Nov 5th.

Posted below is the article from the Guelph Mercury covering the event.

Students protest high tuition fees

By Thana Dharmarajah, Guelph Mercury, Nov 6, 2009

Leandra Correale expects to graduate with a debt of $38,000.

The 23-year-old biological science student has worked nearly every summer while attending the University of Guelph, but it hasn’t helped very much.

“You can tangibly see that it’s not paying for a better education,” Correale said, about the high tuition fees she’s paying while watching cuts to programs.

Ontario’s university tuition fees are the second highest in the country, nearly $1,000 over the national average.

Read the rest of this entry »

This talk was given as part of a teach-in by faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in the midst of their budget crisis. While it’s given in an American context, the parallels to the situation in Ontario and at the U of G are striking.