The Bargaining Team (BT) met with the Employer on Monday, March 29th. The Employer presented counters to our proposals on the Sexual Assault Survivors Support Fund (SASSF) and the Tuition Costs Fund (TCF). The Bargaining Team responded to these counters with minor edits before achieving our first sign-offs! We would like to thank members in the room for attending as observers, as per our open bargaining practice.
Fund Proposal Sign-Offs
The SASSF is a $50,000 fund annually given to our Union’s Trans Feminist Action Caucus (TFAC) in order to support survivors of sexual and/or gender-based violence. The BT was successful in both making the fund permanent while also securing full union control over the fund! Given that this was one of our strike issues for our union in 2018, we are thrilled that we were able to secure this gain at the bargaining table.
The Tuition Costs Fund is a fund in the amount of $12,500 that exists to help CUPE 3903 members pay registration costs for courses, programs, or conferences related to their employment. Whereas previously the fund was jointly administered by the Professional Development Fund (PDF) Committee Coordinator and the head of Teaching Commons, the fund will now be solely adjudicated by the PDF Committee and hence, will become more accessible to our members. The BT had concerns around the Employer’s proposal which included detailed reporting on the members who access the fund, but we were able to push back and come to a reasonable compromise.
Congratulations to CUPE 3902!
The BT would also like to congratulate our comrades in CUPE 3902 in securing a tentative agreement in what has been a difficult year for all workers in Ontario. We make note of how quickly the University of Toronto agreed to many of CUPE 3902’s proposals, including on issues of over-work, after seeing the resolve of your members through both a strong strike mandate vote and an impressive mobilization in support of bargaining efforts.
Next Meetings
Members are encouraged to join us for our upcoming bargaining meetings with the Employer. Dates and exact times of all meetings can be found on our calendar here. Please register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the meeting.
Members can also get in touch with the Bargaining Team for questions and comments.