SBA Newsletter [June 21, 2017]

SBA Programming and Events

• Office Closures
• Annual General Meeting and Member package

Community Events and Resources

• Canadian Hearing Society Scholarships – due Friday
• OPIRG Statement of Solidarity for Staff at UTSU
• CWTP York is looking for new Collective Members!

SBA Programming and EventsOffice ClosuresPlease note the following office closures:

• June 28th, 4:45pm
• July 6th, all day

—————————————–Annual General Meeting and Membership PackageStudents for Barrier-Free Access will be having our Annual General Meeting and elections on June 28th, 2017. It is a great opportunity to meet with outgoing, returning, and newly elected SBA Board of Directors.If you want to read but the candidates for the board for 2017-2018, an agenda for the meeting, or the membership proxy form, please see your attached attached AGM Package.**Registration for the AGM starts at 6pm. For voting members, please be sure to sign in with either your Utoronto email address or your student/staff number.Time: 6pm – 8:30pmLocation: OISE Room 5150Access information: ASL, captioning, a light supper, and TTC tokens provided. Quiet space booked for room 5160, OISE. Accessible and gender neutral washrooms available on the same floor. Please note that this is a scent free space. For any accessibility needs or if you have any questions, please email sba@utoronto.ca.—————————————–Community Events and ResourcesThe Canadian Hearing Society Scholarships

The Canadian Hearing Society is proud to introduce a National Scholarship Program to help break down barriers to higher education and build brighter futures for Deaf and hard of hearing students.

Scholarships of up to $3,000 a year are available to those pursuing full-time, part-time or distance learning at accredited post-secondary institutions, inside or outside of Canada. Students may be awarded in more than one academic year, and awards may cover tuition, residence or educational resources.For more information, including eligibility, please visit: http://www.chs.ca/scholarships—————————————–OPIRG Statement of Solidarity for Staff at UTSU

Statement of Solidarity

The staff and board at OPIRG Toronto would like to extend our solidarity and support for the staff at the University of Toronto Student’s Union (UTSU), particularly Vita and Maria, who were unjustly laid off on Tuesday May 30, 2017. We at OPIRG Toronto stand for workers rights and workplaces free from discrimination and unfair dismissal. The UTSU has failed to uphold its duties as an employer, both by disregarding due process and by ignoring the impact that these decisions will have on students and campus organizations, let alone the staff members who have devoted so many years to the organization. We must direct our attention towards the UTSU’s exec and ask that they return both Maria and Vita to their respective positions.

Currently many students live on wages below the poverty line, are given little support or clarity around things like the Dental Benefits Plan, and are facing ever increasing cut backs to supportive services in and around campus. The fight for accessible student services and jobs like Maria’s and Vita’s is a fight for students to have a fair and equitable learning environment as they are one of the many staff committed to ensuring that students can easily access support services like Health and Dental Benefits, Student Clubs and Service Groups, and can navigate the often complex documents outlining their benefits plan.

For example, the firing of Vita has left no staff accountable to students in charge of overseeing the construction of the student centre. Vita communicates with all the clubs and service groups on campus due to move into the planned Student Centre. With Vita gone, students will lose out as this will allow the UTSU to shed it’s accountability to the student clubs that work so hard to serve them. This has the potential to greatly negatively impact a wide breadth of services currently offered to students. The position Maria held, the Health and Dental Plan Coordinator, helped students navigate the often confusing documents and process of accessing or opting out of these benefits. Benefits that again, students pay for and have the right to access or receive refunds for. Without Maria we are losing the only staff dedicated to ensuring that students are able to access a vital part of their support system while untangling problems for individual students as they arise. Further, it’s important to note that the Health and Dental Plan has recently been drastically changed, both without consultation of the student body and without proper explanation to students of the new parameters of this new provider. Without a staff member dedicated to helping students navigate this new system we are left hanging. We stand in solidarity with Vita and Maria and all campus service groups and service staff. We encourage students, faculty and staff to join the call for the UTSU to reverse its decision and reinstate both Maria and Vita with a commitment to ensuring job security for all staff that serve such vital roles for the student body.

To read more about the demands and ways to support Vita, Maria and student services on campus: https://www.facebook.com/pg/sosUTSU/

Sincerely; the board and staff of OPIRG Toronto

More information and to contact OPIRG Toronto:

opirg.toronto(at)gmail.com

Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1281
Save our services, Support our staff at UTSU—————————————–CWTP York is looking for Collective Members!The Centre for Women and Trans People at York University is seeking new Collective members from both York University and the larger Toronto community.

We actively prioritize the contributions that individuals from marginalized communities bring to our organization, and invite First Nations, Metis and Inuit people, black people, people of colour, members of racialized groups, Muslim people, two-spirited people, low-income people, queer people, trans people, sex workers, gender variant, gender fluid, and genderqueer people, working-class people, single parents, migrants, disabled and mad people, and members of the D/deaf community to apply.Deadline to apply: June 30th

The Collective

CWTP is governed by a volunteer feminist collective. The Collective is fully responsible for the smooth operation of CWTP and acts in accordance with its constitution, vision statement, mandate, collective agreement and other relevant centre policies. The Collective takes responsibility for staffing, policy, programming, services, development, budgeting, and other initiatives and operates within a non-hierarchical model of consensus decision-making. The Collective is especially looking for people with a demonstrated commitment to feminist, anti-oppressive politics (challenging cis-sexism, racism, anti-black racism, ableism, etc.) strong communication and leadership skills, and experience with non-profit organizations.Collective Member Responsibilities

• Be familiar with and act in accordance with the Centre’s constitution, vision statement, mandate, and other relevant centre policies as well as have a working knowledge of the Centre, itsoperations and resources
• Be familiar with the Collective Agreement with CUPE 1281 and fulfill duties of the employer
• Commit to collective membership for a minimum of one year
• Prepare for, attend, and contribute during Collective meetings 2-4 times per month.
• Complete annual mandatory Centre training sessions and Collective development workshops.
• Facilitate/lead 1 committee and participate in other committees (Hiring committees) and roles (such as Staff Liaison) as necessary. Standing committees include Library & Resources, Collective Development & Training, Programming & Outreach, Finance and Space Maintenance, Policy, Peer support, Trans Integration, or any other portfolio deemed necessary by the Collective.
• Hold office hours 2-3 hours twice week.
• Complete mandatory relevant training offered by the Centre, as outlined in the constitution
• Ensure that the Centre is a safer space for all members including staff
• Self-advocate within the consensus decision-making model
• Support the Centre’s space through two weekly office hours
• Attend weekly collective meetings. They shall be responsible for their own presence at meetings and in the event of their absence, conveying their regrets in a timely fashion.
• Organize two events or workshops, whether collectively or individually, on behalf of the organization for the fall and winter semesters
• Join local committees and/or coalitions on behalf of the Centre, to develop community relationships and help in an advisory capacity

Experiences:

Required:

• Minimum of 6 months working or volunteer experience in relevant organizations.
• A commitment to creating a welcoming and safer space for all of our members, one that is rooted in challenging settler colonial violence, racism, anti-black racism, xenophobia,islamophobia, anti-semitism, fatphobia, classism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, misogyny, mysoginoir, transmysoginy, ableism and sanism, discrimination on the basis of religion/spirituality, and institutionalized oppression within the university setting and in the wider community.

Asset:

• Prior non-profit/ student based board experience
• Previous anti-oppression and trans* 101 training

How to Apply:

• Submit a written application form comprised of a completed Member Application Form, and a 1-page Statement of Intent.
• If the Collective accepts your initial application, you will be invited to attend an interview.
• The collective will invite all applicants successful in the interview process to attend 2 consecutive Collective meetings and to participate in Collective responsibilities for 1 month.
• After 2 meetings, you will review your experience and involvement with current collective members and mutually decide whether you may begin your full, 1-year term as a full Collective member.

Forms: 
Collective Membership application form available HERE  (WORD), PDF

• Printed forms are available at the Centre as well. (4700 Keele Street, 322 Student Centre, York University).
• Applicants can drop it off in person, or e-mail their application to cwtpyork@gmail.com

All information provided on this form will be accessible only to staff, and collective members for the purpose of recruiting collective members. Submitting an application does not guarantee your acceptance as a Collective Member.

Thanks for your interest!For more information 

cwtpyork@gmail.com

Please come by 4700 Keele Street, York University Room 322 Student Centre

or visit our website at http://cwtpyork.ca/announcements/