In the midst of across-the-board layoffs, McMaster Sessional Faculty, represented by CUPE 3906, will take to the streets to make the consequences of restructuring at McMaster known to the public.
Sessional Faculty members and their supporters from across the province plan to picket the University’s annual convocation ceremonies, at the Hamilton Convention Centre on Thursday, June 11 at 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
“Our goal is to make public and future students and their parents aware of the major restructuring plans occurring at McMaster,” says CUPE 3906 President Mary Ellen Campbell. “Many programs and courses may not be offered in the coming years as budgets are slashed and jobs are eliminated.”
The layoffs are part of restructuring plans that include program closures, reductions in course offerings for undergraduate students, the elimination of program minors, and across-the-board, maximum-level tuition increases of 4 per cent to 8 per cent.
McMaster Budget documents indicate that in the Faculty of Social Sciences 30 half-year courses taught by Sessional Faculty have been eliminated. It also details the elimination of at least 71 courses taught by Sessional Faculty in the coming budget year.
“This is a direct attack on Sessional Faculty and their families in the name of a budget crisis created by the Senior Administration,” says Janice Folk-Dawson, chair of CUPE’s Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee.
“The elimination of Sessional positions represents a fraction of the salary increase for the 800 McMaster Faculty and Senior Administrators who earn over $100,000 per year. McMaster workers and students should not pay for their crisis,” she concluded.