AMUSE Casuals Bargaining Update #2
CASUAL WORKERS DESERVE BETTER!
On March 16th, 2026, AMUSE sat down with our Employer McGill University to table our demands. Prior to the beginning of the session, we held an event “Funeral for the 2020-2025 collective agreement” for AMUSE members, where we said goodbye to a collective agreement that no longer serves us!
The bargaining team is committed to securing better working conditions for our fellow members via our contracts, wages, and working conditions in the workplace. In a time of massive austerity measures by McGill, and overspending on Executive salaries, private security and surveillance, and legal costs to fight unionized labour at the University, we have had enough. Contract workers are workers, and we won’t settle for less.
MUSE Tabled Demands
We tabled all non-monetary demands to the Employer first, as is typically done in the collective bargaining process. We had to the chance to briefly discuss Articles 1, 4, and 5, which are articles about the purpose of our collective agreement, as well as clarifying the boundaries of the law, and fair treatment for union rights in terms of our presence and activities in workplaces, and ensuring protects against any forms of retaliation.
Our session was cut shorter than originally scheduled, because the Employer required the remainder of the afternoon to discuss our demands amongst their team.
Employer Tabled Demands
The Employer tabled a document detailing two articles they would like to see changes to, however no proposed language or specifics. Their proposals are for a discussion on the probationary period for AMUSE members (Article 17 of our expired collective agreement). They are interested in simplifying it to make it easier to track and implement.
The other proposal up for discussion is the system of notification of assignments within hiring units, prior to publishing a posting (Article 18 of the expired collective agreement).
Do you have thoughts or experience in your workplace with either of these articles? Please reach out to us!
Open Bargaining
Our talks with the Employer about open bargaining are ongoing. Our position is that we want the bargaining process to be as transparent and participatory as possible. AMUSE members who attended both 2025 and 2026 Annual General Meetings asserted this via a motion for both pursuing open bargaining, but also a code of conduct to be followed by any observers in attendance.
Transparency in labour unions is important, and a principle that AMUSE holds in the highest priority. At the negotiation table, we’re all AMUSE members, and these changes impact all of us.
Next bargaining date:
Friday, March 27th - 10 AM to 4 PM
Next mobilization event:
April 8th, 2026 - Check back here, or on our social media page for details! In order to win a better collective agreement, we need members there!
