December 4 Bargaining Report: Wages and Benefits, and Stall Tactics

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On Monday, December 4, the bargaining team for CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2, and 3 met with the employer to continue negotiating new collective agreements. Very little bargaining occurred, as the employer deployed shameful stalling tactics. At the end of the day, CUPE 3903 filed for conciliation.

A comparative table of proposals and responses has been prepared by the bargaining team: Bargaining Proposals and Responses up to December 4. All of the proposal documents which have been tabled so far are available on the Reports page, with the exception of employer counters from the last meeting, which will be added as soon as we receive digital copies.

Unprepared Employer Wastes Morning

No bargaining occurred all morning. The employer arrived without having prepared any counters, despite having received the agenda for the meeting the previous Thursday . The employer was asked to go caucus and return with their counters. We were asked to understand that printing troubles make it harder to prepare proposals. After three hours, the employer returned with a counters document which provided very little substance.

Needless to say, the CUPE 3903 bargaining team is deeply disappointed that the employer does not take bargaining seriously enough to arrive to our meetings prepared.

Some Proposals Nearing Agreement

CUPE 3903 and the employer appear to be nearing agreement in principle on an online postings and Notice of Recommended Appointment (NRA) database, seniority credit for bargaining team members, and online access to work histories. After a number of passes of proposals and counter proposals, we have also indicated agreement, with minor amendments, to new employment equity hiring language. This would include new language on how under-representation and intersectionality are defined and applied. However, nothing has been signed off as of yet.

Wages and Benefits

The union presented our proposals for wages and benefits, which include:

  • wage increase of 4% per year
  • 10% penalty on late paycheques
  • increases to the childcare fund, operating grants for the childcare centers on campus, and subsidies for members’ childcare needs
  • new childcare centres on Glendon and Markham campuses
  • increases to health benefit amounts, as well as automatic enrollment
  • post-retirement benefits
  • increased paid maternity leave
  • new Gender and Sexual Violence Leave
  • increases to the Ways and Means Fund and Trans Fund
  • funding for the Sexual Assault Survivors Support Fund, which CUPE 3903 already runs and finances
  • two new funds: Accessible Course Content Fund and Racial Discrimination Fund
  • offset for transportation costs
  • payment and experience credit for directed reading and graduate supervision by Contract Faculty

For a full account of the wages and benefits proposals, see the proposals numbered 1-34 in the full proposal package or the proposals table prepared by the bargaining team.

Bargaining Update and GMM on December 7

At the end of the bargaining meeting, CUPE 3903 filed for conciliation. This means that the process of bargaining is accelerating — now is the time to get informed and involved if you haven’t already. Join us for Thursday’s General Membership Meeting (1:00 pm, Student Centre room 430), which will act as a bargaining update and discussion.