Quality teaching deserves Quality pay. It’s time to pay us what we’re worth.
CUPE 4207 Unit 1 members play an essential role in delivering and supporting high-quality education to students at Brock University.
Brock’s reputation for academic excellence depends on the people who teach, grade, and support its students everyday. It’s time to invest in us: over a thousand instructors, teaching assistants, course coordinators, marker-graders, and lab demonstrators teaching the next generation of youth that will shape the future.
Austerity and precarity are choices that hurt both workers and students. We’re standing together to demand a fair contract that reflects the value of our work.
Once again we invite all members out to board game night. Come to the Sanky Chambers at 6:30 Wed Oct 29th for great board games and some chips, pop and other snacks. Wet wipes will be provided. Please send any game or snack request to Dan the M.O.O.
We need to show our presence on the Thursday BBQ and we need some good signs to help out. Come on out to lend a hand and make some amazing signs. Come to the Union office in Glenridge A121, Wednesday October 22nd 12:30-4:00pm.
Delegates at this year’s National Convention in Toronto received a copy of Judy Darcy’s Leading from the Heart. Judy Darcy is a former CUPE National President and served as the Elections Officer at the 2025 Convention.
Join the CUPE Ontario Young Workers Committee for an interactive webinar exploring the importance of pronouns in building inclusive and respectful communities. This session will help participants understand the basics of pronouns, why they matter, and how small changes in language can make a big difference in supporting gender diversity and belonging. All members are welcomed to come to the zoom meeting. Please register here.
Quality education can’t happen when learning spaces – whether in person or virtual – are packed beyond capacity.
Unit 5, Our Faculty of Education Instructors, are standing up against the normalization of overcrowded classes that undermine student success and exploit academic workers.
Unit 1 is facing the same challenges, as seminar sizes are beyond room capacity. Our online members are being exploited with dozens of extra students without extra pay.
It’s time for real investment in education, not austerity disguised as efficiency.
Join us for our CUPE 4207 Solidarity Rally & Community BBQ!
Date: Thursday, October 23rd, 2025.
Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm.
Location: Outside Glenridge A (corner of Glenridge Ave & John Macdonell St).
Parking: Paid parking in Lot E or Lot Glenridge (HONK app).
We’ll have hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks, and vegetarian options on the grill.
Both Unit 1 (Instructors, Course Coordinators, Teaching Assistants, Marker-Graders, and Lab Demonstrators) and Unit 5 (Faculty of Education Instructors) are standing together on three key priorities that resonate across the labour movement.
We’re not asking – we’re demanding!
Reasonable Class & Seminar Sizes – because we teach to students, not Stadiums;
Fair Hiring Practices – because we earned our Seniority, it’s not optional;
Fair & Comparable Wages – because we need to afford our rent and groceries.
Seniority is the backbone of fairness in our workplace. It means that jobs are awarded based on experience and service, not on favoritism, not on who the employer “prefers.” When seniority and experience is respected, members know they can build a future with job security, stability, and dignity.
Right now, the employer is trying to undermine this system by pushing for MORE “preference” in hiring of PhD students into instructor positions. This is seniority-busting, plain and simple. It threatens the job security of our Unit 1 members who are not graduate students, pits us against each other, and erodes the protections we’ve fought for at the bargaining table.
When they weaken seniority, they weaken all of us. Protecting seniority means protecting fair hiring, protecting good jobs, and protecting the quality of education for students. It also means protecting our PhD students who might unfairly be put into positions that they cannot handle or would impede the completion their graduate studies.
Seniority isn’t just a clause in our contract, it’s a principle of fairness we cannot afford to lose.
Did you know? The Unit 2, 3, and 4 collective agreements contain a Letter of Understanding that gives members the ability to request release to attend university events, activities or training related to Truth and Reconciliation if September 30 falls on a workday.
Dear CUPE 4207 Members, Today, on September 30, 2025, we observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour the Survivors of Canada’s residential school system, the children who never returned home, and the families and communities who continue to carry this legacy. This day also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, a grassroots initiative that began with Phyllis Webstad’s story of having her orange shirt taken from her on her first day at a residential school. It has since become a symbol of the profound loss of culture, identity, and dignity experienced by generations of Indigenous Peoples. This day exists because of Call to Action #80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which urged the creation of a statutory holiday dedicated to commemoration. But commemoration alone is not enough. For CUPE 4207 members, this day is both a time of reflection and a call to responsibility. As your Equity Officer, I encourage us all to journey together in consideration of what truth and reconciliation means, in the context of our work, our classrooms, and our communities and other spaces of influence. Reconciliation is not an abstract concept—it is about listening deeply to Indigenous voices, acknowledging ongoing inequities, and taking concrete steps to ensure that Indigenous perspectives and knowledges are respected and included and prioritized. It is also about holding institutions, including our own, accountable for meaningful change.
What We Can Do as Members
Read the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) 94 Calls to Action and reflect on those connected to education, equity, and justice, or whatever is your own nuanced domain.
Attend local events in Niagara marking Truth and Reconciliation Day. These gatherings are opportunities to learn directly from Indigenous community members and knowledge keepers.
Engage in ongoing learning by exploring resources such as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, CUPE’s reconciliation guides, and Brock University’s Indigenous initiatives.
Support Indigenous-led work in our communities, including through partnerships with local Indigenous organizations in the Niagara region.
Bring reconciliation into your role—whether by incorporating Indigenous authors in syllabi, ensuring equity in student services, or advocating for policies that reflect Indigenous rights and perspectives.
Resources for Our Region: For those wishing to go further, I recommend the following starting points:
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action: available on the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website and also this link
I invite all members to use this day not only to remember, but to recommit ourselves to the work of reconciliation. As a local, we must continue to ask: How can CUPE 4207 contribute to justice, healing, and equity? Let us take this opportunity to stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities—on September 30, 2025 and every day thereafter. In solidarity,
