CUPE Local 3908 represents over 500 talented and dedicated contract faculty and student academic workers at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

NOT SURE what UNIT you belong to?

Unit 2 Collective Agreement Ratified

On Friday, March 27th, the Trent University Board of Governors (BoG) voted to accept the tentative agreement for Unit 2. This means that the process of bargaining is now over and we have a new Collective Agreement.

The attendance at general meetings and turnout for the strike and ratification votes were the keys to success in this round of bargaining. The Bargaining Team and Executive sincerely appreciate all the participation and patience of the membership in what turned out to be a very long round of bargaining.

In the Examiner today (Monday), there is an article reporting on the BoG meeting yesterday including some erroneous information about the new contract (exactly who unit 2 members are, the number of members in the unit). We will be contacting both the University's Communication department and the Examiner on Monday asking them to send out public statements with corrections.

The new agreement is significantly more comprehensive than the previous agreement and we hope everyone will take a look at it and let the executive know what you think. There will be a new .pdf and hard copies of the agreement as soon as we are done editing the document for spelling, numbering etc. The 3% retroactive pay increase (from September 2008) has been included in your most recent paycheck, having been issued Friday March 27.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at nego@CUPE2908.org -or- info@CUPE3908.org.

Teaching Awards

CUPE 3908 Unit 1 Member Shaoling Wang Awarded 2009 CUPE Award for Excellence in Teaching

Trent University's union for contract faculty, CUPE 3908 Unit 1, is pleased to announce that Dr. Shaoling Wang, course instructor for Mandarin Chinese Language I and II in the Modern Languages & Literatures Department, has been selected as the winner of the 2009 CUPE Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Professor Wang will be among eight individuals recognized at a special reception on Monday, April 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Champlain College’s Great Hall. Presentations will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Prof. Wang has been teaching at Trent since 2007. She holds a B.A. in English, a M.A. in Linguistics, and a Ph.D. in Chinese Linguistics from the University of Hawaii. Prior to coming to Trent, she taught at many institutions, including the China Language Institute in Taiwan, University of Hawaii, Middlebury College, Harvard University and Wellesley College in the United States. Her main areas of research and teaching interests include: Chinese syntax, semantics and pragmatic; Second Language Acquisition; Multimedia Teaching Technology; Second Language Curriculum Development and Films.

The quality of nomination letters for Prof. Wang, as well as for many other CUPE 3908-1 members, speaks to the important role that contract faculty are increasingly playing in the academic lives of Trent students. All of the nominations submitted for the award commended Prof. Wang for her effective teaching methods, and for her attention to the individual learner. One student commented, “I believe she went beyond the scope of the course, which was strictly a language course, and even dipped into Chinese culture. This helped a great deal, assisting us with origins of sayings, words and sentence structure.”

Commenting on Prof. Wang’s teaching, Fred Pulfer, chair of the CUPE Teaching Awards Committee said, “Not only does she have a great love for students and teaching, but her teaching has a powerful and memorable impact on her students and their learning.”

In response to being selected for the award, Prof. Wang commented, “I am very honoured and grateful for the opportunity and support that the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures has given me. It is through their and all the dedicated students’ recognition that this award has been possible. More importantly, this award has proven that language teaching is a serious discipline which requires expertise and needs special attention.”

The CUPE Award for Excellence in Teaching was established to honour the work of contract faculty within the Trent community, providing students and colleagues with an avenue to express their appreciation and respect for the high quality of teaching provided by them. Prof.
Wang is the first recipient of the award from the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures.

Previous recipients of the award include: Adam Stibbards, Psychology
(2008) Brent Wood, English Literature (2007); Melanie Buddle, History (2006); Fred Pulfer, Mathematics and the School of Education (2005); Graham Murphy, Cultural Studies (2004); Wendy Kelly, Psychology (2003); Jim Cosgrave, Sociology (2002); and Jill Smith, Women's Studies (2001).

CUPE 3908 Unit 2 Member Molly Blyth Wins Prestigious Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching

Professor Molly Blyth started teaching at Trent on a contract basis in 1986. Since then she has been affiliated with a number of departments, including Canadian Studies, Cultural Studies, English Literature and Indigenous Studies. The Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes Prof. Blyth for her teaching, mentoring and support of students across the University.

Nominations submitted by faculty, students and alumni, speak to her “passionate ability” to encourage students to become “more critically and positively engaged citizens of the world.” Prof. Blyth is described as a teacher of great "vigour”, one “who allows for deep discussions, with constructive criticism”, and one who “pushes her students to be better scholars”.

“I am delighted to receive this award. I have always loved teaching at Trent and, from my experience, believe that we continue to attract some of the brightest and best students,” Prof. Blyth said. “I’m also honoured to be the recipient of an award named for T.H.B. Symons, our visionary first president, for whom excellence in teaching was a founding principle. As a contract faculty member, my hope is that this prestigious award also recognizes the invaluable contribution to teaching by Trent’s part-time faculty.”

Established in 1976, the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is available through the generous support of Prof. Symons and his wife, Christine, is presented annually to a faculty or staff member who displays exemplary teaching, as well as exemplary concern for students.

Prof. Blyth is the first contract faculty member to win the Symons Award to date.

CUPE 3908 Unit 2 Member Kristina Ottosen Wins Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance

“Any student would be fortunate to have a teaching assistant who is half as considerate, tolerant, and compassionate as Kristina is,”
wrote one nominator about Kristina Ottosen, the winner of the 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance.

As this year’s winner, Ms. Ottosen, a master’s student in the Public Texts M.A. program at Trent since 2007, is being recognized for the outstanding support she has provided as a teaching assistant to her students in the Medieval and Renaissance Literature course.

“I am surprised and elated to receive this award,” Ms. Ottosen said.
“Growth is important to me and I sincerely hope that every student that I have encountered has grown in some way; learned a new way of looking at something; approaching a problem; or simply asking for help when they need it. Each of my students has my deepest respect and it is my hope that this is a demonstration of their respect for me and what I do.”

All of Ms. Ottosen’s nominators praised her extensive knowledge of - and great passion for - English Literature, the variety of innovative teaching methods that she employs, and her willingness to incorporate student feedback into her lesson plans. The selection committee was particularly impressed with the extent to which Kristina “went above and beyond” to engender a learning environment that not only offered abundant encouragement to her students, but also challenged them to better themselves and the work that they submit.

The Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance acknowledges the contributions of academic assistants and those that facilitate learning in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory, and field settings.

Nominations for the teaching awards were submitted to Trent’s Teaching Awards Sub-committee on behalf of University faculty, staff and graduate student teaching assistants. This is the third year the Distinguished Teaching Awards have been awarded and the 32nd year that Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching has been conferred.

Our Office Location

We are located at STEWART HOUSE, Room 203 (292 London Street). Our phone number is (705) 775-CUPE.

Our mailing address remains the same:
CUPE Local 3908 - Unit 1 & 2
Traill College, Trent University
Box 300, 310 London Street
Peterborough, ON
K9H 7P4

Give us a call at 775-CUPE, drop in and see us at STEWART HOUSE, Room 203, or send us an e-mail.

Committees 2008-2009

Senate (non-voting) U1 and U2
Teaching Awards Sub-committee U1
(administers CUPE Teaching Award plus Trent teaching awards)
Presidential Advisory Committee on Human Rights U1
Multi-Workplace Joint Health and Safety U1 and U2

Some positions may already be filled but please get in touch if you're interested. We have positions on CUPE working subcommittees as well.