Dear postdocs,

We are pleased to announce that we have officially begun negotiations for postdocs with our employer, McGill University! 

Our bargaining team met with the university’s representatives Thursday, June 3^rd to present our initial package of proposals. 

Our proposals were strongly ratified by members at a meeting held Wednesday. You will find a summary of these proposals, as well as the actual proposed changes to our collective agreement language attached. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

The university also presented their proposals, which were primarily updates to reflect changes in labour legislation but McGill also included a proposal that excludes postdocs from the 9 sick days offered to other employees.

We’ve heard from you that some of the most important issues you are facing are: low wages, job insecurity, administrative issues with visas and your pay, lack of vacation and professional development. 

We can fix these problems! But we will need your help. Please join us at our next meeting to talk about how we win improvements to our working conditions through negotiations. 

This meeting will be held Wednesday, July 7^th from 12-1pm. Please RSVP to join us.

Your bargaining team,

Mazen Bahadi, Bargaining Team Member

Sneha Shankar, Bargaining Team Member

Sean Corey, Local President

Erin Sirett, Negotiator, PSAC

May 1st is the International Day of Labour. The AMURE Union stands in solidarity with farmers in India, who have been protesting three new agricultural laws since they were formally passed in September 2020. These new laws will effectively dismantle the guaranteed prices farmers receive through the government’s purchase of staple crops. Crucially, it will open up the farming sector to exploitation by large corporations. Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have braved police violence, state repression and a global pandemic to protest these laws, demanding that these reforms be rescinded.

These laws also mean that India’s food security is threatened, as the new laws will favour commodity production for trade rather than food production for the people. This spells a looming crisis for millions of daily wage labourers, farm workers and other poor and marginalized groups who rely on the price protections offered by the state. The neoliberalization of agriculture is intimately connected to food security, health justice, job security, and the well-being of millions of people in India. 

As workers and unions in Canada, we recognize the fight of India’s farmers as an issue of global importance. While our situations may be different, our fights and demands for justice have much in common. We recognize the farmers’ movement as a workers’ movement against neoliberalism and corporate greed. We stand with the farmers in their demands to repeal these laws, to protect their livelihoods, and in their democratic right to protest.

For more information about these protests and to learn more, please see: 

Backgrounder to NFU statement in solidarity with Indian farmers

Home, auto and business insurance for Association of McGill University Research Employees members.

Great news! The Personal and AMURE are pleased to announce a new partnership that not only gives AMURE members access to exclusive group rates not available to the general public.

Through this partnership, you can now enjoy the many benefits of the home, auto and business group insurance plan from The Personal, one of Canada’s leading group insurance companies.

To get a quote, you can go to thepersonal.com/amureor call 1-888-476-8737, or use the box bellow.

---

(please note we are unable to serve food at this meeting.)

Dear Members, AMURE’s Annual General Meeting is July 3rd at 5:00pm in Stewart S1/4.

The agenda is as follows:

1. Call to Order
2. Adoption of Agenda
3. Adoption of Minutes from last general assembly (April 27th. 2018)
4. AMURE Yearly Updates
5. Budget presentations
   1. 2018 report
   2. 2019 proposed budget
6. Resolutions
   1. G1 – Divestment (LINK)
   2. G2 – Bylaw Updates (merge English and French to one bilingual document)
   3. G3 – Bylaw Updates, Remuneration and pay equity for AMURE executives.
7. Election of Board Members (12 board members)
8. Election of Executive
   1. Grievances Coordinator
   2. Member Communication Coordinator
   3. Steward Network Coordinator
   4. Collective Agreement Coordinator
9. Election of auditors (2)
10. Adjournment

Meeting Documents (see below):

• MINUTES OF LAST ASSEMBLY / PROCES-VERBAL DE LA DERNIERE ASSEMBLE
• BUDGET REPORT/RAPORT 2018
• BUDGET 2019
• RESOLUTION G1 – Divestment / Désinvestissement
• RESOLUTION G2 – Bylaw updates (merge English and French bylaws)(fusion des versions anglaise et française) (we are working on completing the translations)
• RESOLUTION G3 – Bylaw updates (Remuneration and pay equity for AMURE executives)(Rémunération et équité salariale des exécutifs d’AMURE)