Amendments to several bylaws were voted on at the October 29th, 2024 General Membership Meeting. Thanks to all members for coming out to discuss and vote. Members can find the amendment language in the October 2024 GMM Agenda Package.

Here are the results of the vote:

41 (57.7%) of 71 electors voted in this ballot.

Yes: 37 (100.0%)

No: 0 (0.0%)

Voter Summary

Total: 41
Abstain: 4 (9.8%)

Nominations for the vacant Union Trustee position closed on October 22nd, 2024 at 5:00pm. We received one nomination and are excited to announce that Gordon Craig has been acclaimed to the position!

Congratulations!

Attention Unit 1 members! You will have received an email from FGS regarding opting-in to receive your fellowship in the summer instead of in three installments in Fall, Winter, and Summer. Here is what you need to know:

1. This is not new.

   • This opt-in option has been part of your collective agreement since 2018. This year, the employer forgot to send around the form to opt-in; they are doing so late in response to the union raising the issue with them.

2. It’s your choice

   • For many members, having the fellowship implemented each term is the most convenient. For others, it’s important that they have income coming in over the summer, even if it means paying their tuition out of pocket during the year. This is why we bargained for you to have a choice! Only you can determine which option is best for you.

3. If you choose to opt-in now, you will have to pay Fall tuition

   • Typically, opting-in to this option means you pay your own tuition, instead of having it automatically deducted from your fellowship. However, since the employer is running this opt-in process late, you will have already received your fellowship. If you opt in they will deduct your Fall fellowship from your student account and you will owe money. 

If you do want to opt-in to receive your fellowship in the summer, you can fill out this form (linked).

NOTE: The opt-in period for the 2024–2025 academic year is Oct. 14—Nov. 4, 2024.

Join our Conversion and Careers Advisor, Professor Kym Bird, for the first in a series of workshops on preparing your application for conversion and other tenure-stream hiring searches at York. This first workshop will focus primarily on helping Unit 2 members in the Conversion (or “Affirmative Action”) Pool to prepare their applications for conversion appointments. Check out our calendar for links to all of these upcoming events!

Tuesday 22 October 2024, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85075819238?pwd=ujOem9hVknmWCptXaHZ1dUwmIuHkXZ.1

The workshop will focus on advising members on :

• How the conversion process works
• How to prepare strong files in teaching, research, and service
• How to yourself as attractive as possible as a candidate for potential upcoming positions at York

The best application files are constructed over time! An application for a conversion appointment, for example, must include a current curriculum vitae; letters of reference (including external letters); and an assessment by the hiring unit of the candidate’s teaching, research, and scholarly or creative work, their service potential, how their appointment fulfills departmental needs, and (where appropriate and in light of the candidate’s unique career path) an assessment of the candidate’s potential for participation in graduate teaching and supervision.

Members applying for conversion are generally required to submit their applications in February for appointments beginning July 1. (More details of the process will be communicated later by Faculty Relations and the Union.)

Conversion and Career Advice Workshops are open to all CUPE 3903 members interested in compiling a strong application package for conversion and LSTA appointments or who might, in future, be a position to apply for employment under either program.

Professor Kym Byrd is a YUFA member in the Division of Humanities and a former CUPE 3903 Unit 2 member. Her primary role as Career Advisor is to assist contract faculty members in career planning and Professional Development to prepare them to apply for conversion and tenure-stream applications at York. In addition to these workshops.

Dr. Bird will be holding two additional workshops before the conversions’ application deadline:

Wednesday 27 November 2024, 2:30–4:00 p.m. (online)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82094439307?pwd=sZ8JDhun82zAhed0RZaaHQGm5k3cXk.1

Wednesday 15 January 11:00 a.m–12:30 p.m (online)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82623493806?pwd=AOX6aPftAerzemkFtATjjRiMwzqdle.1

Dr. Bird is also available for one-on-one consultations about building your application file. Contact Dr. Byrd at kbird@yorku.ca.

A Note on the “Affirmative Action” (Conversion) Pool & the number of Conversions during 2024–25 and 2025–26:  

The “Affirmative Action” pool includes all Unit 2 members who (1) have at least five years of service to the University and who in the four years preceding the current contract year, held at least 1 Type 1 position in each year and a total of at least 12 Type 1 or equivalent positions over those four years; or (2) belong to at least one Equity Group and have at least three years of service to the University and who held at least 2 Type 1 positions in any three years and at least 7 type 1 or equivalent positions in any three years. Members of the Affirmative Action pool are eligible to apply for conversion, and those with at least five years in the pool (three, for those who belong to at least one equity groups) are eligible to apply for LSTAs. (For more information on either program, see the Unit 2 Collective Agreement, Article 23 Affirmative Action and Article 25 Long Service Teaching Appointments (LSTAs) and/or contact cupe3903vpu2@gmail.com.)

Under the 2023–26 Unit 2 Collective Agreement and the Memorandum of Settlement signed on April 14, 2024, York University is required to make a minimum of six conversion appointments in the next two years: two appointments in each of the 2024–25 and 2025–26 contract years and an additional two conversion appointments by the end of the contract (August 31, 2026). A total of 18 LSTAs must be appointed during the same period, six in each of 2024–25 and 2025–26, with an additional six appointments made by the end of August 2026.

An essential part of CUPE 3903’s work is to file grievances against violations of the Collective Agreement. The purpose of this form is to gather stories from individual members about these grievances. We’re looking to understand members’ experiences rather than the specifics and how of a given grievance, as we need to maintain confidentiality of grievances following the rules outlined in Article 6 of our Collective Agreements.

This information is being gathered as part of a larger campaign to understand the services your dues pay for. Stories shared will help promote the benefits of being in CUPE 3903 and make a case that the union needs more income to continue supporting members.

Please share your stories with us!

Questions? Contact Melvin Chan, Secretary-Treasurer, at sectreasurer3903@gmail.com.

Nominations are now open for a vacant position on the Union Trustees’ Committee.

Please use this form (linked) to nominate yourself for for the Trustee position (ending 2026; you must be available to serve until then).

The details of this position are:

One trustee is elected each year, and sits for a three-year term (in other words, the committee has a total of three members). The trustees review and audit the union’s accounts to ensure compliance with all legal requirements and to ensure transparent and legitimate usage of all union funds. The audit is carried out at the end of the fiscal year, with most meetings held in April or May. Honorarium: $1000 per member per year.

Members: Beheshta Sharifi (term ends 2025), Vacant (term ends 2026), Elena Chou (term ends 2027).

Visit the webpage about committees for more information about our Local’s different committees and their responsibilities.

The deadline for nominations is October 22, 2024 at 5pm Eastern!

Questions? Contact Melvin Chan, Secretary-Treasurer, at sectreasurer3903@gmail.com

An essential part of CUPE 3903’s work is to file grievances against violations of the Collective Agreement. The purpose of this form is to gather stories from individual members about these grievances. We’re looking to understand members’ experiences rather than the specifics and how of a given grievance, as we need to maintain confidentiality of grievances following the rules outlined in Article 6 of our Collective Agreements.

This information is being gathered as part of a larger campaign to understand the services your dues pay for. Stories shared will help promote the benefits of being in CUPE 3903 and make a case that the union needs more income to continue supporting members.

Please share your stories with us!

Questions? Contact Melvin Chan, Secretary-Treasurer, at sectreasurer3903@gmail.com. Also check out the relevant post on our website.

Concerned about admin-led restructuring at York? Sign this open letter and attend the Reclaiming York for Students and Workers rally on September 25th!

Pervasive admin-led restructuring at York University has been severely detrimental to both students and workers. The austerity measures that have been implemented are wide-ranging and have demonstrably worsened educational quality, working conditions, and the overall experience of being a member of the York University community.

Most recently, in bargaining with the York University Staff Association, the Employer has proposed numerous concessionary demands including capping sick day accruals, allowing unlimited numbers of interns to perform bargaining unit work, and allowing managers to book YUSA members off on vacation without their consent. While the number of managers has ballooned by over 40% at the university during the past 8 years, unionized support staff levels are being slashed through employee exit programs. York administration cannot claim to be “committed to the public good” and “promise excellence in research and teaching” while also axing funding to the foundations of the institution.

These cost-cutting measures are harming the quality of York as an educational institution and undermining safe working conditions. They are also fundamentally unnecessary. It is shameful that this administration has moved to funnel money into private security, expensive union busting law firms, opening additional campuses, and expanding administrative bloat rather than supporting its students and workers. It is indefensible to blame financial issues on the York community itself rather than, for example, the fact that for over 200 million dollars worth of major capital projects, “no financial analysis or evaluation was undertaken” to ensure this spending was viable.

York University has systematically deprioritized pedagogy and hired expensive consultants to implement austerity. The University’s own published data indicates a ratio of more than one manager for every two full time faculty members. Increasingly, the administration seems to be treating York University like a revenue-generating opportunity rather than a site for knowledge and learning. An educational institution cannot and should not be defined by its profitability. Putting profits over people undercuts academic quality but also stifles any free speech on campus that is deemed unfriendly to corporate interests. This has manifested in increased over-policing and suppression of both students’ and workers’ resistance.

In reclaiming York University for students and workers, we call for those in charge to re-center the community members that give this space genuine meaning and value. We call on the administration of York University to prioritize students and workers over capital gains.

Sign your name now!

After a lot of hard work and effort, our new website is available at cupe3903.org! We are soft launching it and intend to gradually migrate over material from 3903.cupe.ca to the newly updated website. There will be a transitional period where both websites are updated to some extent, after which, 3903.cupe.ca will be archived.

For all the latest CUPE 3903 news, meetings and events, information about who we are, what we fight for, and more, your new source is cupe3903.org! Special thanks to our Staff, Maija Duncan, for all of her efforts. We hope you love the new site!

For any questions about the new website, email the Communications Officer, Mackenzie Edwards, at cupe3903comms@gmail.com