CUPE 3903 Strike Newsletter: March 18, 2018

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CONTENTS

Updates

(1) Bargaining to Resume on Tuesday
(2) Funding for Teaching Assistants is Under Attack
(3) Strike Paycheques and Pay Discrepancies
(4) CUPE 3903 Hotline – Tuesday to Friday 8am – 1pm
(5) Strike School! Learning on the Line

Meetings

(6) Joint BT-Exec Meeting: March 19
(7) Strike Committee Meetings: March 19 & 21
(8) Executive Committee Meeting: March 21
(9) Special General Membership Meeting: March 22

(1) Bargaining to Resume on Tuesday

After two weeks away from the table, York University has finally agreed to resume bargaining on Tuesday, March 20. Time and location are to be confirmed.

Considering that our bargaining team provided two counter-proposals that York ignored (February 28 and March 5), we are pleased to see the employer returning to the bargaining table. Their refusal to do so has unnecessarily drawn out the strike and caused students great anxiety.

We want to come to a negotiated settlement in good faith. This means that York must table counter-proposals that address our priorities. We are willing to be flexible, but this commitment must be returned. We are concerned that York’s recent communication fails to acknowledge the key issues members have indicated on numerous occasions. Our membership is keenly aware of the options provided by York, and continue to direct the bargaining team to reaffirm our priority issues to the employer.

As such, the return to the table cannot be a simple matter of optics. It’s time to stop bargaining through the media and come to the table in good faith. We hope York’s latest gesture is a new commitment not only to work with CUPE 3903, but also to do what is best for the 50,000 undergraduate students who have been left in suspense for two weeks as York refused to bargain.

(2) Funding for Teaching Assistants is Under Attack

On March 5, 2018, Teaching Assistants (Unit 1), Contract Faculty (Unit 2) and Graduate Assistants (Unit 3) at York University went on strike. The York administration has claimed that there are no real issues on the table for Unit 1. If that were true, why would we be on strike?

Read the full post for four reasons why the proposed changes in Unit 1 funding should deeply concern every Teaching Assistant.

(3) Strike Paycheques and Pay Discrepancies

If you did not receive your strike paycheque on Friday (for whatever reason), you can pick up your cheque from Strike Headquarters.

While our team worked hard to get everyone’s pay out on time and accurately, mistakes do happen. Consult the Strike Pay page for instructions if you need to report a discrepancy in your strike pay.

(4) CUPE 3903 Hotline – Tuesday to Friday 8am – 1pm

CUPE 3903 Members and York University students seeking information can call the CUPE 3903 Hotline at 416-466-8421 (select hours only).

This service is available to members and students Tuesday to Friday, from 8 am to 1 pm **please note the corrected time**.

(5) Strike School! Learning on the Line

The group Students for CUPE 3903 is holding a series of workshops on issues relevant to students and workers on our campus. The workshops will take place Monday through Thursday at Main Gate (Keele and York blvd) at 1 pm, and include the following topics:

  • Why we strike? A brief history of strikes
  • Making the links: York and the Jane-Finch community
  • Social justice unions: Grassroots organizing to win
  • The neo-liberalization of our education

Find out more on the Facebook event page.

(6) Joint BT-Exec Meeting: March 19

Exec-BT Meeting
Monday, March 19
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Unifor Local 112
30 Tangiers Rd

Joint meetings of the Bargaining Team and Executive Committee are always open to members. We will be discussing York’s return to the bargaining table.

(7) Strike Committee Meetings: March 19 & 21

Strike Committee
Monday, March 19
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
OISE room 2279
252 Bloor St W

This is the main coordinating body for all things strike-related at CUPE 3903. Ideas for picket line strategy? Targets or ideas for creative actions? Want to coordinate some guerrilla communications, flyers, or other media? Strike Committee is the place to do so!

There will also be a Strike Committee meeting on Wednesday March 21, time and location TBC.

(8) Executive Committee Meeting: March 21

Executive Committee
Wednesday, March 21
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Unifor Local 112
30 Tangiers Rd

All members are welcome to attend and speak at executive committee meetings. Only executive committee members may vote.

If you have an issue you would like the executive to discuss, please email Dan O’Hara, Recording Secretary (recsec.cupe3903@gmail.com) prior to the meeting.

(9) Special General Membership Meeting: March 22

Strike SGMM
Thursday, March 22
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Unifor Local 112
30 Tangiers Rd

Following the strike policy, Strike SGMMs will be held weekly for the duration of the strike. The agenda will include:

  • a report from the Executive Committee on the conduct of the strike.
  • a report from the Bargaining Team on the status of negotiations.
  • a report by the Strike Committee and its subcommittees on the conduct of the strike.
  • a report from the Treasurer on the state of the finances of the union.
  • an agenda item allotted for motions from the floor that will direct the activity of the union, its committees and/or officers during the strike.

Please contact Sheila Wilmot at cupe3903.equity.officer@gmail.com if you require 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.