OASIS and You: Navigating the Accommodation System and Supporting Inclusive Assessment

Of interest to our Contract Instructors:

In this workshop members of the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation and Student Accessibility Services will discuss the OASIS system and how to see the accommodations listed and what this means from an accessible pedagogy point of view. The facilitators will then share how to support inclusive assessment design in your courses using Universal Design for Learning principles. This workshop is for faculty and instructors of record (such as sessional instructors) looking to support meaningful inclusive and accessible assessment and activity design. Click here to register.

Date and Time: Tuesday, January 27 2026 at 11:00 AM EST to Tuesday, January 27 2026 at 12:30 PM EST.

Location: Online

Unit 1 Mobilizers Begin Strike-Readiness Training: What This Means for You

Our Unit 1 Mobilizers have started their strike-readiness training. We want to be clear about what this means (and what it doesn’t), so that members feel informed, supported, and confident as we move through this phase of bargaining.

First, this training does not mean a strike is inevitable or imminent. What it does mean is that your union is doing exactly what a strong, responsible union should do when negotiations get difficult: preparing early, staying organized, and ensuring that no member is left without information or support.

We are entering a bargaining environment where the pressures on workers are real. Members have been clear about their priorities: fair wages, manageable workloads, and benefits that actually meet today’s cost of living. So far, the employer has been slow to meaningfully address these issues at the table, and that creates uncertainty. Preparation is our way of staying ahead of that uncertainty instead of reacting to it later.

Strike-readiness training gives our Mobilizers the tools they need to help members in every department and every face-to-face and virtual classroom:

  • answering all of your questions,
  • keeping our communication with you clear and consistent,
  • supporting those of you who may be nervous about what’s happening (we understand!), and
  • ensuring that if job action becomes necessary, we are ready to act collectively and confidently.

This process is routine within CUPE, and it’s part of how we protect our rights while keeping members safe and supported. In fact, the stronger and more prepared we are, the less likely we are to need to take job action at all. Employers respond to organized workers, and preparation is power.

Our focus remains clear: achieving a fair agreement that reflects the value of the work we do.

We want to thank our Mobilizers for stepping up and taking on this important role. Their time, energy, and commitment help strengthen our entire local.

As always, we will continue to update members at every stage. Your questions, concerns, and feedback matter, and staying connected is how we move through this together.

Please reach out if you would like to be involved in any way. No experience necessary, we will train you.

Special General Membership Meeting – OUWCC Conference

Special General Membership Meeting

December 10th @ 4:30 pm – Zoom Only

One Agenda Item:

Election of 10 Attendees for the Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee (OUWCC) Conference, Feb. 26 – March 1 (finishes at noon). https://cupe.on.ca/sectors/university/

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KrBBLMTaSHioRBbtkRP82Q

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Note:  You must register 24 hours in advance to be able to vote. Cut off date is Dec 9th at 4:30pm.

You must be a Member in Good Standing to attend Union events, meetings, elections, and so forth. Please complete the MIGS form here, print, and you can take a picture of it and email it if you don’t have a scanner: info@cupe4207.org

Your Voice. Your Power. Your Vote. U1 Strike Mandate Vote

Dear Unit 1 Members,

We are writing to update you on the status of bargaining and to ask for your participation in a Strike Mandate Vote.

After months at the table, the employer has not moved meaningfully on the issues that matter most to Unit 1 members. We entered bargaining with clear, reasonable, and urgently needed priorities: fair wages, adequate benefit funding, and manageable workloads. These priorities came directly from you through surveys and consultations.

Unfortunately, the employer continues to fall short in all three areas:

1. Wages that reflect our work: Our wages have not kept pace with inflation, rising living costs, or the escalating demands placed on instructors, teaching assistants, course coordinators, marker-graders, and lab demonstrators. The employer’s offer so far does not address the real erosion in our pay.

We deserve compensation that recognizes the professional, academic, and emotional labour we provide every single week.

2. Benefits that actually meet members’ needs: The Unit 1 benefit fund is stretched to the breaking point. Members run out of benefit dollars long before the end of the academic year, forcing many to pay out of pocket for basic health, dental, and vision needs.

We are pushing for increased benefit funding so you are not left competing for limited resources or choosing between your health and your wallet.

3. Workload protections that keep teaching sustainable: Class sizes, course demands, and administrative tasks continue to grow without the support, compensation, or protections required to do this work effectively and fairly.

We are fighting for clearer workload language, reasonable class and seminar sizes, and protections against unpaid work.

These are not extravagant asks. These are the essentials required to maintain high-quality working and learning conditions at Brock University.

Why a Strike Mandate Now? A strong strike mandate does not mean going on strike. It means giving your bargaining team the power to demand better, and ensuring the employer finally takes our issues seriously. Historically, at CUPE 4207 and across the postsecondary sector, strong strike mandates are the single most effective tool to secure a fair deal without job action.

We have scheduled three Strike Mandate Presentations and we encourage you to attend one of the three Hybrid sessions:

Wed, Dec 3 at 10:00 AM in WH 204 & Zoom;

Thu, Dec 4 at 12:00 PM in GLN A 164 & Zoom;

Thu, Dec 4 at  6:00 PM in GLN A 164 & Zoom.

Your Vote Matters! Voting opens on Thursday, Dec 4th at 8:00 PM and closes on Thursday, Dec 11th at 8:00 PM. All current Unit 1 contract holders will be emailed a link to the electronic ballot.

This vote is your opportunity to show the employer that Unit 1 members deserve wages that keep you afloat, benefits that protect your health, and workloads that respect your time and expertise.

We can achieve this together, with a strong, united YES vote.

In solidarity,

Your Unit 1 Bargaining Committee,

Tracy Kennedy (Chair), Kendra-Lee Dupuis, Brigitte Cecckin, Tracy Stewart, Darrin Sunstrum, Phil Wachel

Click HERE for a Strike Mandate Vote FAQ

Stop Bill 60!!

Hello CUPE friends,

I want to bring to your attention an issue that I believe would be of interest to our membership. Currently, the Doug Ford government is forcing through Bill 60, without consultation or public hearings, that attacks tenant rights.

Many of our members (and I am thinking especially of our grad student members) may be among Ontario’s more than 1.7 million renters and their families (~38% of population). In 2018 Ford lifted rent control on any new construction and promised they would not touch rent control; Now, however, they refuse to promise to protect rent control and have floated proposals that would effectively end rent control in Ontario. The government has back pedaled on their most controversial proposal to end month-to-month tenancies, but it is still necessary to keep up pressure as we know they are unreliable at best. Measures remaining in the bill will still make it easier and faster for landlords to evict tenants and limit tenant rights in fighting back.

Housing is a particularly critical issue in our region. As of September, the region had 1,264 people known by name who were experiencing houselessness. As of last January, there were more than 80,000 houseless people in Ontario, which is expected to at least double in the next decade.

Student rent is already exorbitant– I have heard from students they are paying $600 or more for a room in a house, and as a young population perhaps inexperienced with renting, they may be more susceptible to maltreatment by landlords. I don’t have stats for this, just what I have heard from students while teaching.

I have [included] a flyer provided by ACORN Hamilton, a tenants’ rights advocacy group, that outlines the changes Ford is attempting. These can also be found on the ACORN website at https://acorncanada.org/campaigns/housing-tenant-unions/.

Members concerned about this attack on tenants’ rights and the risk to rent control are encouraged to:

  1. Sign the petition at ACORN, which will also send emails to the relevant politicians https://acorncanada.org/take_action/urgent-message-to-doug-ford-dont-end-rent-control/
  2. Email Premier Doug Ford  doug.fordco@pc.ola.org or web form at https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/EN/feedback/default.aspx or premier@ontario.ca (I think? An email address is hard to find for him. He can also be called or texted.)
  3. Email the Attorney General Doug Downey doug.downey@pc.ola.org
  4. Email the Housing Minister Rob Flack rob.flack@pc.ola.org
  5. Share your renting stories with NDP housing critic Catherine McKenney cmckenney-co@ndp.on.ca
  6. Email local MPPs
    1. Jenny Stevens, NDP (St. Catharines) jstevens-qp@ndp.on.ca
    2. Wayne Gates, NDP (Niagara Falls) wgates-qp@ndp.on.ca 
    3. Jeff Burch, NDP (Niagara Centre) jburch-co@ndp.on.ca
    4. Sam Oosterhoff, PC (Niagara West) sam.oosterhoff@pc.ola.org
    5. Other MPPs can be found here as needed: https://www.ola.org/en/members 
  7. Email local mayors and councilors to encourage them to push back, as we live with the results of houselessness on our streets and in our classrooms. https://www.niagararegion.ca/government/council/profiles/default.aspx
  8. Talk to friends, coworkers, neighbours to spread awareness.

Since the government has been busy trying to privatize water and sewage, removing bike lanes, cutting green roofing, cutting transit, spending millions on a tunnel study, spending millions on Ronald Regan ads, getting rid of school boards (and probably a few other things I have forgotten already), this issue has flown under many folks’ radar. I hope the union can help bring this critical issue to members’ attention and encourage them to sign the ACORN petition. 

Thank you,

A Concerned CUPE 4207 Member

Join OPIRG for their next Niagara Free Store pop-up!

A message from OPIRG Brock….

We are hosting a Free Winter and Household Item Pick Up with Brock International and Brock Faith and Life Centre. Link to event: https://experiencebu.brocku.ca/event/303042

Wednesday, November 12 2025, 1:30pm EST

Alphie’s Trough – Faith and Life Centre, Brock University

We are also in need of donations of winter gear, shoes, bedding/linens, towels, and kitchen/household items. You can drop off donations at the following locations during their open hours:

  • Fine Grind Cafe – 37 James St., St. Catharines
  • Lock Street Brewing Co. (Bedding and towels only) – 15 Lock St., St. Catharines
  • At the event

For more info & upcoming Free Store dates, visit our website at www.opirgbrock.com/niagarafreestore 

Hope to see you there!

Niagara Free Store Team

General Membership Meeting

Calling all members!
Join in person or Zoom – November 26th at 4:30 p.m. for an important union meeting. A light dinner will be served in person in Plaza 600F.

We’ll provide bargaining updates, answer your questions about the process, and hold key elections:

  • Elect the Unit 3 Bargaining Committee
  • Elect the Vice-President for Unit 1

We also have our Steward Elections!!!: Unit Stewards, Instructor Steward, International Student Steward, and Department Stewards. More information can be found in our bylaws 8.1.1 & 8.1.2 (pages 14-15). A list of departments can be found on pages 28-29.

Stewards are the heart of CUPE 4207. They’re the connection between members and the union by supporting coworkers, sharing updates, and making sure our collective agreement is respected. It’s a great way to build leadership experience, strengthen our union, and make a difference in your department.

If you care about fairness at work and want your coworkers’ voices heard, consider running for Steward. Your voice matters, and so does your leadership.

In order to vote, you must register 24 hours in advance to be eligible to vote either in person or online. You must be a Member in Good Standing to attend union meetings.

Your participation is essential — make sure your voice is heard!

Unit 5 Solidarity Breakfast!

Unit 5 Solidarity Breakfast!

Friday, November 21st
International Centre Lobby
9:30-10:30am

Join us in supporting our Unit 5 Faculty of Education Instructors while they bargain with the employer.

Complimentary Breakfast Sandwiches, Coffee, Tea, & Hot Chocolate!

TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER!

WE DEMAND FAIR WAGES! JOB SECURITY! REASONABLE CLASS SIZES!

CUPE 4207’s Solidarity Rally & Community BBQ Draws Widespread Support Across Niagara

The Niagara labour community came out in force on Thursday, October 23rd to support CUPE 4207’s Solidarity Rally & Community BBQ, held outside Glenridge A at Brock University. The event brought together workers, students, and community allies in a powerful show of solidarity and unity for CUPE 4207’s Unit 1 (Instructors, Course Coordinators, Teaching Assistants, Lab Demonstrators, and Marker-Graders) and Unit 5 (Faculty of Education Instructors) as they continue to fight for a fair deal at the bargaining table. 

The community solidarity rally highlighted three key issues central to both bargaining units:

Fair Wages: keeping pace with the rising cost of living;

Class & Seminar Sizes: protecting quality education and working conditions for in-person and virtual learning spaces;

Preference in Instructor Hiring for PhD Students: balancing teaching opportunities fairly so that there is no risk to academic progress, and so that no teaching group is used to undermine another teaching group.

The event was well attended and strongly supported by Union locals across the Niagara region, including: CUPE Locals 9102, 1263, 4156, 1317, 911, 1295, 2328, and 2977, as well as members of BUFA (Librarians and Faculty Members), OSSTF Local 35, OSSTF District 22, OSBCU, COPE 343, and the Niagara Regional Labour Council. Community organizations, such as the United Way and local political allies, including City Councillor Caleb Batzlaff and representation from MPP Jennie Stevens’ office (NDP), also joined in solidarity.

Undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows from Brock University added their voices, emphasizing that improving working conditions for CUPE 4207 members means improving learning conditions for students. “I was the last one to arrive in my seminar and it was standing room only – there was no chair for me to sit in. It was awful,” shared an undergraduate student.

“We’re fighting not just for fair wages, but for the integrity of education at Brock,” said Tracy Kennedy, Vice President Unit 1 Instructors for CUPE 4207. “When instructors and teaching assistants are overworked and underpaid, students lose out. The show of support at our Solidarity Rally and BBQ proves that this fight belongs to everyone in the Niagara Community, and the labour movement across the province.”

The message was clear: the Niagara community is united in demanding fairness, respect, and quality education at Brock. 

CUPE 4207 Unit 1 and Unit 5 members won’t back down until wages, class sizes, and hiring practices reflect the true value of the education its members deliver.