CUPE 3903 Submits Notice to Bargain

On June 1, 2017, CUPE 3903 submitted the official Notice to Bargain to York University. The collective agreements for Unit 1 (teaching assistants), Unit 2 (contract faculty) and Unit 3 (graduate assistants) all expire on August 31, 2017.

You can view the Notice to Bargain here: CUPE 3903 Notice to Bargain 2017

CUPE 3903 signed new collective agreements following a month-long strike in March 2015. Labour unionism relies on the principle that agreements are respected in between bargaining rounds. However, in the time since March 2015, York University has continuously disregarded our agreements: the violation of brand new tuition indexation language for international graduate students, widespread payment failures over the summer of 2015, the elimination of almost 700 jobs in Unit 3, delaying the provision of information mandated through the Unit 2 collective agreement, and leaving Unit 1 members without a paycheque in the summer are only some of the most egregious violations. Bargaining new collective agreements is where we show our collective power and hold the employer to account.

The membership as a whole must weigh in as the bargaining team crafts bargaining proposals. If you haven’t yet, please fill out the bargaining survey. Also, mark your calendars for the June 27 General Membership Meeting, where we will be approving the first set of bargaining proposals. The membership’s political, collective power is the source of any power at the bargaining table.