The CUPE 3903 red-star logo

• Will I receive my regular pay during the strike?

University response: No. Effective March 3, the first day of the labour disruption, pay has been halted for striking employees represented by CUPE 3903 Units 1 and 3 and pay will not resume for employees who remain on strike.

CUPE 3903 response: No. Once the strike was declared, all regular pay was suspended, though the Union continues to pay for your benefits coverage. You can make money during the strike by supporting our picket lines or duties other than picketing. We also have a Strike Hardship Fund for those who need extra help with finances.

• Am I able to return to work even if the strike has not ended?

University response: Yes, members of Unit 1 and Unit 3 may choose to return to work subject to the following circumstances: 

1. Employees represented by Unit 1 may choose to return to work as a teaching assistant provided that the course(s) to which they are assigned have resumed and may resume responsibilities as a course director if the Program in which the course is offered has been approved for resumption by the Senate Executive Committee.
2. Members of Unit 3 may return to work in units whose programs have been approved by the Senate Executive Committee to resume.

You will be paid and will receive benefits based on the expired 2011-2014 collective agreement on the completion of the declaration form (please see below) and resumption of work responsibilities.

Employees who voluntarily choose to return to work and resume their work assignments are required to declare their intent to return by completing an on-line form as explained in FAQ #32 below. Employees are also asked to inform their course director or supervisor, if the work assignment is a lab/tutorial or graduate assistantship, or the Department Chair or Dean’s Office, if the work assignment is a course directorship.

CUPE 3903 response: No. As union members, members should not return to work while their union is on strike. This is called strike-breaking or scabbing.

For York to approve or encourage members to return to work is contrary to their own public announcements, which state that members would not be allowed to work, or paid to work, during a strike. York is flip-flopping, which means you can’t be sure how you’ll be treated or paid if you go back to work.

Also, York has clarified that no work done by a CUPE 3903 Unit 1 or Unit 3 member will be replaced. Instead, course directors are being asked to restructure their courses, if necessary; however, this produces a problem for the unionized members of the York University Faculty Association (YUFA) and our own Unit 2 members who may feel forced to take on extra teaching burdens.

If York is hiring you to do work during the strike, they are doing so under a new contract and without any of the protections offered by our Collective Agreements. This includes: health-and-safety guarantees, overwork protections, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment language, a progressive discipline process, guaranteed pay and benefits, etc. This means that CUPE 3903 would not be able to protect or represent members should they have trouble with these new work assignments. It is a risky move that individualizes our work and makes us extremely vulnerable to exploitation and mistreatment.

As a graduate student you do not have to cross a picket line (see Senate Policy 2).

As a worker, you can refuse to cross a picket line if you have health and safety concerns in doing so.

• Can I face sanctions or negative repercussions for returning to work during the strike?

University response: The University’s practice has been to negotiate as part of the return to work a “no reprisals” clause. In the current round of bargaining, the University has similarly sought to negotiate a return to work protocol with a “no reprisals” clause. In the meantime, employees who elect to return to work during the strike will receive pay and benefits according to the provisions of the expired 2011-2014 collective agreement as noted above.

CUPE 3903 response: Anyone crossing a picket line to do work that undermines the strike is considered a strike-breaker, more commonly referred to as a “scab.” Scabs can be sanctioned by CUPE and lose their good-standing in the Union, though this is a decision that would be made by the membership as a whole. If you return to work, you are ineligible for strike pay.

A return to work protocol does not come into effect after a strike has ended.

A “no reprisals” clause is actually something the Union pushes for, to ensure that the University does not take punitive action against members for exercising their rights. York is just trying to confuse you with this statement.

The University also does not tell you that you will likely get the vast majority of your pay anyways once the strike is over – last time everyone received 90 per cent of their regular pay, on top of the strike pay you received. It’s unclear from the University response whether or not you would actually gain any additional pay, or whether they would just take it out of the remainder of your pay.

Other FAQs

• I have marked assignments. Should I return them to the Course Director?

No. We have withdrawn our labour during the strike in order to help emphasize that York works because we work. Returning marked assignments allows the university to go back to “business as usual.” The marked assignments can be returned after the strike is over.

• I am a Unit 1 Course Director. What should I do?

As a member of Unit 1, you are on legal strike.

• The research project I was assigned is time-based. Can I complete it?

No, not if it is work done as a CUPE 3903 Unit 1 or Unit 3 member. We have withdrawn our labour during the strike in order to help emphasize that York works because we work. Continuing your Graduate Assistantship/Research Assistantship work allows the university to go back to “business as usual.” The work (though the nature of that work may change slightly) can continue after the strike is over.

• Can I write to my students?

Yes. Writing to your students to let them know what is happening is a good idea. You should not answer any questions related to the course itself.

Download this FAQ as a Word document: A response to York University FAQ for Unit 1 and 3 members

A CUPE 3903 flag is displayed prominently among picketers on the main gate picket line.

Much to the disappointment of the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team (BT), on Sunday, March 1, state-appointed mediator Peter Simpson called bargaining to a close, leaving the Union to take a paltry offer to its members the following day. At a General Membership Meeting on March 2, the offer was discussed, debated, and ultimately rejected. The next day CUPE 3903 members were on the picket line.

On Thursday, March 5, the BT again sat with Peter Simpson and discussed possible steps forward. In the end, the BT decided to make significant movement on its demands as a way to induce the Employer to put their “best offer” on the table. The following day, the BT, observed by over two dozen rank-and-file members, met at the Ministry of Labour in downtown Toronto to work out a deal with the Employer. After a full day’s negotiations, an offer was put on the table.

This offer was taken to the membership for a ratification vote, a vote in which the majority of Unit 2 members (Contract Faculty) accepted the deal. Because neither tuition indexation, funding for Master’s students, nor the inclusion of LGTBQ as an employment-equity category were adequately addressed in the offer, Units 1 and 3 (graduate students who are teaching assistants, graduate assistants and research) voted to reject the deal. The strike continued.

On Monday, March 16, the Executive Committee of York’s Senate decided to resume classes in several departments. This resulted in many more people trying to cross the Union’s pickets. Many, however, continued to respect the Union’s decision to strike: thousands of undergraduates signed a petition asserting their determination to refuse to cross the lines. As a consequence, the integrity of the classes offered at York and the safety of those who work and study here are being jeopardized. The York University Faculty Association (YUFA) filed a grievance against the Employer on these grounds on March 11, demanding that classes be suspended until the end of York’s dispute with CUPE 3903. As of today (March 19), CUPE has filed a similar grievance and asked for similar remedies to the problem.

A much easier solution is possible, however. Today the BT tabled proposals that, if accepted by the Employer, would immediately end the strike. They are three in total, and in the context of the University’s $1,000,000,000 budget, cost the Employer almost nothing. They are:

1. Strengthen tuition indexation language that would see any increases in tuition fees that have occurred since 2005 rebated to CUPE 3903 members who are full-time students. This is a provision that the Union has had in its collective agreements since the year 2000, but which the University decided to unilaterally modify in 2013. This is not a new proposal, and as such would add no new expenses to the University’s expenditures.
2. Include LGBTQ as an employment-equity category to be used when making hiring decisions at the University. The Union is proposing that York accept this category immediately, and within six months complete its implementation. This would be a significant step towards ensuring that the diversity of our workforce matches the diversity of our communities. This would cost the University nothing.
3. Guarantee full-time Masters students $12,500 as a minimum amount of funding per year. Many Masters students already make this much or more. This proposal would simply guarantee that all Masters students have at least a modest level of funding. For the over 800 members of Unit 3, the total annual cost of this proposal is about the same as the cost of President Shoukri’s salary of $500,000.

The Bargaining Team let the President know that CUPE 3903 is ready to meet as soon as Friday morning to discuss their response, and hopes that classes can resume on Monday, with all members of CUPE 3903 returning to their jobs and studies.

CUPE 3903 has filed a grievance with the University regarding the resumption of classes and its negative effect on the pedagogy of its Unit 2 Members (contract faculty), and the safety of everyone on campus. The text of the grievance can be found below.

A more detailed report on this issue, as well as a Bargaining Update, will appear on this website in the next several hours.

Greg Flemming

Grievance Officer, CUPE 3903

———————–

Statement of Grievance: The Union alleges a violation of the Unit 2 Collective Agreement in that the Employer has:

1) Jeopardized the academic integrity of courses taught by bargaining unit members, and the University as a whole;

2) Jeopardized academic freedom and the members’ freedom to design, shape, and deliver course content;

3) Created a workplace environment that makes it impossible to ensure the safety of its employees in the carrying out of their duties;

4) Failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to Unit 2 members who are encountering significant conflicts in marking and grading obligations;

5) Refused to allow members of Unit 2 to determine to what extent email responses are to be provided to students; and

6) Required members to convert courses into a new mode of delivery long after courses have been appointed and commenced.

Agreement Provisions at Issue: Articles 2, 10, 12, 14, 15, and all other relevant articles of the Collective Agreement, and relevant legislation.

Redress Sought: The Union requests that the Employer:

1) Acknowledge the violation of the Collective Agreement in writing and apologize for the physical, psychological, and professional damage that it has caused;

2) Immediately cease and desist the resumption of classes on the Keele and Glendon campuses, as well as online, until the labour dispute with CUPE 3903 Units 1 and 3 has been resolved, thereby ensuring the integrity of all classes offered by York University as well as the safety of all workers and students on campus;

3) Immediately desist from implementing any aspect of any remediation plan passed by Senate Executive that alters or affects CUPE members’ terms and conditions of work until such time as a protocol respecting workload and working conditions has been negotiated with the Union;

4) Confirm, in writing, that this violation will not occur in the future;

5) Provide a significant contribution to the Union’s Strike Hardship Fund, in an amount agreed by the parties;

6) Otherwise make whole the Union and affected members

Grievance Officer: Gregory C. Flemming

cc: Mamdouh Shoukri; Gary Brewer; Rhonda Lenton; Barry Miller;

———-

A copy of the Grievance can be found here:

2015-03-19 Union Grievance

Rank-and-file members and staff of CUPE 3903 have quickly prepared these excellent infographics on the Employer’s latest offer. They are also available on Storify here.

Download as PDFs:

• Infographic-Fees & minimum funding for incoming international students
• Infographic-Quick facts about York University’s offer to CUPE 3903
• Infographic-Who got the fair offer

View and share:

The information below has been drafted by our Executive. For an info sheet prepared by our lawyer, see U2 Post-Strike FAQ [corrected version]. CUPE 3903 has also filed a grievance related to the attempted resumption of classes.

Unit 2 members are no longer on strike, but Unit 1 and 3 members remain on strike.

The university has announced its intention to resume classes in all faculties by Monday March 23. However, Unit 1 and Unit 3 picket lines will remain around the campus. These picket lines will result in delays when attempting to enter campus. TTC and GO buses will not cross the picket lines. We do not know how many YUFA members will return to teach their classes.

Unit 1 and Unit 3 members should continue to withdraw their labour, continue with their strike duties and refuse to cross the picket lines. No one (not the administration, not YUFA members and not 3903 members) should be trying to force you back to work while engaged in a legal strike.

Striking members in Units 1 and 3 would appreciate the support and solidarity of Unit 2 members in whatever capacity is possible. Unit 2 members are welcome to join the picket lines whenever it is possible. If you must cross the picket lines to teach, you could consider picketing before and/or after you teach.

The local can’t legally advise Unit 2 members to not cross the picket lines. However, if Unit 2 members refuse to cross the picket lines for health and safety concerns, CUPE 3903 will work to defend any members threatened with discipline.

The York University Senate has stated that Unit 2 CDs have the right to determine if the academic integrity of their classes can be ensured if they are held during the strike (without Unit 1 TAs and without many students). CUPE 3903 believes that the lack of Unit 1 TAs will seriously undermine the academic integrity of courses. Tutorials and seminars that depend on student participation will be seriously undermined by the absence of students who have the right to not cross picket lines.

One thing is very clear, Unit 2 (and YUFA) members must not perform the duties of CUPE 3903 members (Unit 1 and 3) who remain on strike. For example, if you are a Unit 2 course director with Unit 1 teaching assistants, you should not perform their duties (leading tutorials, grading assignments, etc.). It is also highly recommended that you retain the academic integrity of your courses by not cancelling assignments or tests that would have otherwise been graded by a Unit 1 member.

Unit 2 members should remember that, according to Senate policy, students cannot be forced to cross picket lines to attend classes. Students who choose not to cross picket lines “are entitled to immunity from penalty, to reasonable alternative access to materials covered in their absence, to reasonable extensions of deadlines and to such other remedy as Senate deems necessary and consistent with the principle of academic integrity.” Read the full policy here.

CUPE 3903 looks forward to the achievement of fair collective agreements for Units 1 and 3 and the resulting full resumption of courses in the near future.

Infographic prepared by CUPE 3903 staff. Text reproduced below.

International PhD Student CUPE 3903 Unit 1 Members

York’s huge increases in international tuition fees in 2013 and 2014, coupled with the scrapping of the international Tuition Fee Scholarship ($4800) in 2014-15, mean that the take-home pay of an incoming PhD student shrunk from about $14,000 in 2012, to $2700 in 2014! Even with their proposed tuition freeze and other improvement, the take-home pay by the end of the contract is only $4000. Still not nearly to live on.

 International Masters Student CUPE 3903 Unit 3 Members

Masters students with a GAship didn’t have much to live on before the fee increases and scholarship cuts. Now, it’s even less. In 2012, the minimum funding package was enough to cover tuition fees. In 2013, it wasn’t. In 2014, it was about $12,000 less! With the tuition freeze and everything else the employer is offering, this deficit is still more than $11,000 by the end of the contract! And that’s not even considering the cost of food and shelter…

Let’s be clear on this. An international PhD student who started in 2012 would have about $14,000 per year to live on, over the 6 years of their program. One who started in 2014 has to get by on $2700 per year. An international Masters student starting in 2012 got enough to pay their fees. One who started in 2014 was instantly $12,000 in debt. The Union’s tuition indexation proposal, if accepted, would return fees to the 2012 level for both Masters and PhD students, and ensure they don’t go up any further.

A CUPE 3903 flag is displayed prominently among picketers on the main gate picket line.

Special General Membership Meeting on strike next steps
Wednesday, March 18
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Montecassino Hotel & Event Venue
3710 Chesswood Drive | Map

Directions:

1) Take the TTC to Downsview station.
2) Walk west along Sheppard Avenue West to Chesswood Drive (about five minutes).

Or, take bus 106 towards York University and get off at Chesswood Drive on Sheppard Avenue West (about two minutes).

Join and share on Facebook.

Agenda *

1) Roll call of the officers and the Bargaining Team (5 minutes)

2) Reading of the Equality Statement

3) Reading of the Mississauga Land Acknowledgment

4) Bargaining Team report-back (60 minutes)

Please see Bylaws Article 17 (4) (b): “The Bargaining Team, with the support of the Executive, shall have ongoing and wide consultation processes with the membership to support its work. To that end, the Bargaining Team shall give report-backs to the membership at all General Membership meetings.”

• Report from the Bargaining Team (15 minutes)
• Discussion (45 minutes)

5) Committee reports (60 minutes)

• Strike Committee
• Strike Communications Committee
• Picket captains / lines (Founders, Chimneystack, Main Gate, Pond, Sentinel, Shoreham, Glendon, 8th line)
• Executive Committee
• Hardship Fund
• Other

6) Strike next steps (60 minutes)

• Introduction (10 minutes)
• Discussion (50 minutes)

7) Good of the union

8) Adjournment

* Please note that this is only a tentative agenda. It may be slightly amended/updated by the Executive Committee in the days before the GMM.

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.

The CUPE 3903 red-star logo

1.  How should I respond to professors who ask me to return to work?

If you feel comfortable, you can refer them to York’s Senate Policy 2 and let them know that employees represented by CUPE 3903 are not invited or permitted to cross the picket lines or otherwise perform work or be paid during the labour dispute for work related to CUPE 3903. You could also just ignore them.

2. Can I continue my thesis research without resuming my teaching assistantship?

Yes! Please continue to do your academic, non-union work. You should also know that, as a student, you are protected from having to cross the picket lines in order to attend your graduate courses (see Senate Policy 2).

3. What kind of repercussions could I face if I cross the picket line to work as a teaching assistant? Could I lose health benefits?

If you do return to work, you will put yourself and CUPE 3903 in a very awkward position. Anyone crossing a picket line to do work that undermines the strike is considered a strike breaker, more commonly referred to as a “scab.” Scabs can be sanctioned by CUPE and lose their good-standing in the Union, though this is a decision that would be made by the membership as a whole. If you return to work, you are ineligible for strike pay.

4. But the university offered to pay me to return to work!

If York is hiring you to do work during the strike, they are doing so under a new contract and without any of the protections offered by our Collective Agreements. This includes: health-and-safety guarantees, overwork protections, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment language, a progressive discipline process, guaranteed pay and benefits, etc. This means that CUPE 3903 would not be able to protect or represent members should they have trouble with these new work assignments. It is a risky move that individualizes our work and makes us extremely vulnerable to exploitation and mistreatment.

5. I can’t afford to live off of what I am earning with strike pay. What can I do?

We understand that being on strike can present people with financial hardships, and we’re doing our best to ensure that we help each other out. A strike hardship fund has been set up to supplement strike pay and cover expenses like transportation, childcare, rent, food, etc. You can apply to this fund by emailing strikehardshipfund@gmail.com. More information about the Strike Hardship Fund is available here.

6. What will happen to bargaining if I return to work while bargaining is ongoing?

If the university is able to resume normal operations, our bargaining power and the outcome of this Collective Agreement are at risk. Strike-breaking may actually prolong the outcome of a strike.

Regardless of our personal views, respecting this process and acting collectively are the right things to do. It’s also strategic and helps us get the best agreement possible in the shortest amount of time possible.

Solidarity forever, strike to win!

The CUPE 3903 red-star logo

The following update has been prepared with the help of CUPE National: 

As we are now past day 10 of the CUPE 3903 strike, the funds of the CUPE National Strike Fund are now available to support us, rather than the funds of CUPE 3903.

This means that some of the local’s interpretations of strike pay, alternate duties, and so on will no longer apply. We must comply with the CUPE Strike Fund Regulations.

To be eligible for strike pay:

• You must have been on active payroll of York University and have held a position within the bargaining unit as of March 2, 2015
• You must have actively participated in the strike by performing assigned strike duties within the first ten days for at least one shift of four hours since the strike commenced
• You must sign the Strike Application form and sign in and sign out with a picket captain for each shift

The CUPE National Strike Fund allows for Strike Pay up to $300 per week and $60 per day.

In order to receive the full $300 per week of strike pay, a member must perform assigned strike duties for at least 20 hours over at least five days. The five days can include weekends, if the strike duties have been assigned by the Strike Committee and / or Alternate Duties Committee and performed on those days. As stated in other communications, alternate duties must be tasks that are specific, measureable and approved by the National Representative.

In exceptional circumstances, strike pay may be given on a daily basis and may be available to a member who is unable to perform strike duty for a full five days, subject to approval by the Strike Committee and the National Representative.

For more information about strike pay, please email CUPE3903strikecommittee@gmail.com.

For more information about alternate duties, please email CUPE3903altduties@gmail.com.

CUPE National has confirmed that we can receive strike pay on a per shift basis. As many of our members have other academic commitments, such as lab work or student placements, it is not possible for all members to picket five days per week. If members can picket only two days per week, they will be eligible to receive picket pay for two four-hour shifts, one per day, for no more than $60 per day.

If you cannot perform 20 hours of picket duty over five days, please contact the Strike Committee and indicate your reasons (academic commitments, lab work, student placement, etc.). You may be asked to provide documentation. All requests will be adjudicated by the Strike Committee. Please email CUPE3903partialpay@gmail.com.

The goal is to ensure maximum participation and settle any potential strike as quickly as possible by putting as much pressure as possible on the university administration.