On Friday, January 22nd, the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team met with the Employer. The Bargaining Team would like to thank members in the room for attending as observers, as per our open bargaining practice.
In this meeting, the Employer presented their counter to the Union’s Extension Framework from December 14, 2020. Read below for more information on the Employer’s response.
Employer’s Proposals
The Employer began with an opening statement in which they emphasized their desire for an expedited process, and argued that adding more proposals to the table will extend the bargaining process. The Employer also reiterated their commitment to a joint committee model. The Union’s position remains that these issues can and should be dealt through the bargaining process; the Employer, despite claiming they do not necessarily disagree, maintained that some issues (including some Unit 2 job security provisions) would benefit from a committee approach, where outstanding issues could be bargained in 2023.
The Employer further argued that in the interest of an expedited process, they were allowing the continuation of funds and programs through to the next collective agreement, and had given up the opportunity to bargain on other issues. CUPE 3903 was given until March 15 to accept or reject these proposal framework packages; the Bargaining Team notes that this is an extension of the Employer’s previously stated December 16, 2020 deadline.
The three proposal framework packages are not substantially different from the Employer’s initial extension frameworks presented to CUPE 3903 on November 16, 2020, as they still do not include actual proposals, with the exception of the following specific changes:
Unit 1
- Now includes a commitment to continue, rather than just discuss the continuation of: the Childcare Fund, the Sexual Violence Survivor Fund, and the CUPE 3903 Benefits Fund (Extended Health Benefits Fund) for the duration of the 2020-2023 Collective Agreement.
- The Employer agrees to the Union’s proposal (Proposal #5 from the CUPE 3903 Extension Framework), which switched the administration of the Tuition Cost Fund to our Professional Development Fund.
- The Employer is now willing to discuss the the proposals related to the following items in the 2020-2023 Collective Agreement: domestic and sexual violence leave, the update to the Unit 1 blanket application form, and a new intersectionality clause (Proposals 38, 48, and 49).
- The Employer proposes a joint committee to discuss assignment deadlines for TAship contracts (Proposals #17 through 20 from the CUPE 3903 Extension Framework)
Unit 2
- Now includes a commitment to continue, rather than just discuss the continuation of: the Childcare Fund, the Sexual Violence Survivor Fund, and the CUPE 3903 Benefits Fund (Extended Health Benefits Fund) for the duration of the 2020-2023 Collective Agreement.
- The Employer agrees to the Union’s proposal (Proposal #5 from the CUPE 3903 Extension Framework), which switched the administration of the Tuition Cost Fund to our Professional Development Fund.
- The Employer is now willing to discuss the the proposals related to the following items in the 2020-2023 Collective Agreement: domestic and sexual violence leave, post retirement benefits, and a new intersectionality clause (Proposals 9, 38 and 49).
- The Employer proposed changes to the existing proposal for a joint committee on Unit 2 job security. These changes include: new dates, a discussion of CSSPs if either side asks for it, conversions and LSTAs to continue as-is until the next collective agreement, and that parties “may discuss” including or revising Employment Equity language.
- The Employer expressed a desire to continue with the existing Joint Working Group with regards to dealing with the issues specific to Unit 2 positions in Nursing.
Unit 3
- The Employer agrees to the Union’s proposal (Proposal #5 from the CUPE 3903 Extension Framework), which switched the administration of the Tuition Cost Fund to our Professional Development Fund.
- The Employer has agreed to extend the current collective agreement, including the letters of understanding regarding the GAT Fund and the GA Assignment Protocol.
The Employer has agreed to extend the current collective agreement, including the letters of understanding regarding the GAT Fund and the GA Assignment Protocol.
The Employer, when questioned, affirmed that these were the extent of their replies, and that they did not plan to respond to the other proposals put forward in the CUPE 3903 Extension Framework.
CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team Response After Caucus
The CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team expressed disappointment with the Employer’s proposed extension framework. The Bargaining Team noted that this was only a very minor improvement from the Employer’s initial offer which the membership of CUPE 3903 rejected, and the Employer’s new framework has no significant engagement with the framework put forward by the Union. The Bargaining Team also pointed to the contradiction between the Employer’s continued calls for an expedited bargaining process and their demonstrated lack of willingness to engage with either the bargaining process or the issues of concern outlined by CUPE 3903 members, which the Employer had indicated were also priority areas for them. The Employer had enough time to prepare actual proposal packages; instead, what they gave us was a proposal framework, which is not a usual practice, and defeats the purpose of bargaining.
The CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team disagrees with the Employer’s framing of what expedited bargaining and ‘extension’ mean, and continues to argue that bargaining is the best time to deal with issues in the Collective Agreement. The Employer has also assumed that an extension would be three years in length, which the Union considers to still be under discussion.
A full appraisal of the latest offer by the Bargaining Team is forthcoming.
Bargaining Team Response to Employer’s January 19, 2020 Letter re: Bill 124
The CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team also expressed disappointment with the Employer’s letter regarding Bill 124, received on January 19. The Bargaining Team stated that, especially given the length of time taken to produce such a letter that they had requested and expected something more substantial than just a reiteration of the Employer’s previous points, especially given the Employer’s overly broad definition of “compensation.”
Discussion was also held around setting bargaining dates for February and March.
The meeting then adjourned at 2:50pm.
Next Meetings – Registration and Zoom links can be found on our Calendar here
January 25, 2021 – 10:00AM – Bargaining Team Meeting
January 26, 2021 – 1:00PM – January General Membership Meeting
January 28, 2021 – 12:00PM – Bargaining Meeting with Employer
January 29, 2021 – 1:00PM – Bargaining Meeting with Employer
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