Bargaining update #9

Members of CUPE 3903 march through Vari link on October 21, part of the 'Vision Parade' for free tuition and job security.

Members of CUPE 3903 march through Vari link on October 21, part of the ‘Vision Parade’ for free tuition and job security.

Items in this update: 

  • Bargaining news
  • Upcoming meetings

Bargaining news

The CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team (BT) expressed its disappointment and frustration again in negotiations with the Employer on October 28, particularly in regard to the inaction we are experiencing from the Employer’s side of the bargaining table.

For several weeks now, the Union has pressed the Employer on important employment equity issues, such as adding LGBTQ as an equity category to our collective agreements, and pushing for hiring practices that that take into account multiple, intersecting, lived experiences of discrimination. These are needed to meaningfully address the under-representation of equity groups in our workplace. We’ve also asserted the importance of having paid mandatory training around harassment, anti-discrimination and anti-violence and the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act). The Employer has refused to agree to each and every one of these proposals.

At the October 28 meeting, the BT advised the Employer to reconsider its position on equity and come back to the table with concrete counter proposals. If York truly values diversity and the promotion of an inclusive environment, it needs to materially demonstrate this by actively addressing the barriers that restrict opportunities for members from equity-seeking groups. Other universities do this, so why not York?

The BT also responded to the Employer’s problematic counters around Unit 1 “tickets,” Graduate Assistantships, and summer Teaching Assistantships, noting that their responses to our proposals still did not establish a fair and transparent hiring process for these positions and still did not include equity provisions. So these proposals, too, were sent back to the Employer to further work on.

Our negotiations then turned to tuition and funding. Not unexpectedly, the Employer insisted that our proposals – around minimum funding guarantees for Unit 3 members, parity between international and domestic tuition rates, and full tuition rebates for all students registered in Graduate Studies at York – were all too ‘costly.’ Barry Miller, chief negotiator for the Employer, continually stressed the “restrained” fiscal environment that the University has to operate within as a public sector institution, the “tight fetters” constraining monetary negotiations due to York’s own internal financial limitations, and the need to spread “slim” fiscal resources evenly amongst all employee groups on campus. While lots of figures were thrown our way, members of the BT pointed out that CUPE 3903’s share of York’s overall budget was in fact quite small compared to the actual work we do for the university and the tuition income we generate through our work. Not surprisingly, the Employer made absolutely no mention of the $38-million surplus it unexpectedly made from recent revisions to York’s pension plan.

As the Employer’s “costing” of our tuition and funding was far from complete – it was simply a hastily prepared presentation of rough estimates – the BT cancelled the negotiation dates set for October 30 and 31 and told the Employer that, at our next bargaining session on Tuesday November 4 at 2:30 p.m. in 305 York Lanes, we want concrete responses to each and every one of our tuition and funding proposals, with an actual costing, and meaningful counters on our equity proposals.

Upcoming meetings

All confirmed bargaining-related meetings this semester are listed below and have been posted in the Events sections of the website:

Special General Membership Meeting on bargaining priorities
Wednesday, November 5
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Vari Hall C

Bargaining Team meeting
Friday, November 7
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Open bargaining pre-meeting
Tuesday, November 11
2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Bargaining with the Employer
Tuesday, November 11
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
280A York Lanes

Bargaining Team meeting
Wednesday, November 12
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

General Membership Meeting
Monday, November 17
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location TBA

Open bargaining pre-meeting
Tuesday, November 18
2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Bargaining with the Employer
Tuesday, November 18
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
280N York Lanes

Bargaining Team meeting
Friday, November 21
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Open bargaining pre-meeting
Tuesday, November 25
2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Bargaining with the Employer
Tuesday, November 25
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
280N York Lanes

Bargaining Team meeting
Wednesday, November 26
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Bargaining with the Employer (back-up meeting)
Friday, November 28
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
280A York Lanes

Open bargaining pre-meeting
Tuesday, December 2
2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Bargaining with the Employer
Tuesday, December 2
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
280N York Lanes

Bargaining Team meeting
Friday, December 5
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

Bargaining Team meeting
Wednesday, December 10
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
CUPE office, 143 Atkinson Building

General Membership Meeting
Monday, December 15
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location TBA

If necessary, additional bargaining meetings with the Employer may take place on the Fridays following each of these meetings. If another meeting is scheduled, an announcement will be circulated to the members and posted online.

All bargaining meetings with the Employer are open to CUPE 3903 members, and details of the meetings are posted regularly on the website. Visit Events for more information.

All Bargaining Team meetings are also open to CUPE 3903 members. Visit Events for more information.

Please contact Sheila Wilmot at CUPE3903.equity.officer@gmail.com or at 416-736-5154 ext. 3 if you require any of the following: ASL interpretation, reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care, and/or transportation costs for members who are unable to secure Wheel-Trans, or other requests for accommodation.