Members of CUPE 3903 walk the picket line at Chimneystack Road.
For the first ten days of a strike
CUPE National does not pay any picket pay. Any picket pay that is paid out comes from the local’s strike fund.
CUPE 3903 has passed a motion to pay members and some political members picket pay for the first ten days of a strike. Our strike started on March 3, so the first ten days take us to March 12. On March 13, CUPE National will start paying picket pay.
This means that in the first ten days our local has more latitude to pay our members in the way we want to, but as of March 13, CUPE National rules will commence and will be strictly enforced.
Picket pay from the local… in the first 10 days
To be eligible for the full $300 per week of picket pay, each member must do 20 hours of picket or alternate duty.
Political members (i.e. those who are not on the Employer payroll on the day the strike commenced) will be eligible for picket pay if they had a contract from September to December 2014. Political members who did not have a contract in September 2014 are NOT eligible for picket pay.
We can pay $60 per day for four hours of picketing if some members can only picket on one or two days (with a valid reason), upon adjudication by the Alternate Duties Committee.
All members who signed in on the first day (March 3) for the main gate picket will be given pay for four hours.
For the first week, members who signed in will get paid for the time that they are recorded as being at the picket lines or authorized alternate duties. Attending Strike Committee meetings does not count as alternate duties.
If members performs fewer than 20 hours, they will be paid $15 per hour for the hours that they have performed, as recorded and signed for on the sign-in sheets.
We will not pay for increments of hours fewer than 30 minutes.
Members must sign in and out of their own picket duty. No one else can sign a member in or out.
The picket captains must sign the sheets, too.
At this time, eligible hours for strike pay do not include work at home, unless authorized in writing by the Alternate Duties Committee.
Accommodation on the picket line must be arranged on a case-by-case basis and must be authorized in writing by the Alternate Duties Committee. A list of those who are authorized for alternate duties must be sent to the Treasurer to set up their picket pay. Those members who are requesting accommodation must communicate directly with the Alternate Duties Committee.
Picket pay from CUPE National
Only members of CUPE 3903 that were on the Employer’s payroll on March 2, 2015 are eligible for picket pay from the National fund. Therefore, political members are NOT eligible for any picket pay after the first ten days.
Only members who did picket duty in the first ten days of the strike are eligible for picket pay from CUPE National.
Only members who have been properly signed in and signed out, and only those who picketed at least 16 hours will be eligible for any picket pay from CUPE National.
Because of the confusion in the first days of our strike…
The Treasurer and staff will work to sort through any confusion, especially for people who did not know they needed to sign out. Please communicate with the picket captain for the days you did not sign out, to make a note about the error. The notes can be entered on a separate sign-in sheet retroactively and the Treasurer will endeavor to sort this out. Please include notes about what the error was, and provide contact information such as a cell phone number or an email address, so the Treasurer can follow up if necessary. For more information, please email sectreasurer3903@gmail.com.
How do we get our picket pay?
The Treasurer and the staff are in the process of setting up a payroll cheque service and anticipate the first cheque run for March 26. We have opted for paper cheques because a direct deposit system will take longer to set up. If the strike continues beyond March 25, our picket pay runs will be on the 26th of each month.
We will deliver the picket pay to the picket lines on March 26 and 27 or, if we are back to work, members can pick up their picket pay at the CUPE 3903 office, 143 Atkinson Building.