On Friday, July 16th, the Executive Committee and Bargaining Team (BT) for CUPE 3903 units 1, 2, and 3 voted to send renewal collective agreements to ratification. This is not a wholehearted recommendation; rather, we are turning to the membership for direction. The BT bargained for over 50 hours between July 12th and 15th, and believes this is the best deal that can be reached without job action. If you believe this deal is sufficient, vote yes; if you are willing to go further, vote no.
The progress made this week was the result of the strike mandate granted last week. The BT and Executive Committee would like to thank every member who voted to support the Bargaining Team’s efforts to bargain fair contracts for all three units.
The ratification vote will take place via SimplyVoting between July 19th and 23rd. There will be an emergency Special General Membership Meeting to discuss the offer on Monday July 19th from 12-3pm. Register here in advance of the meeting.
You can read the full offers here: Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3. Below is a summary of what is and is not included in each offer.
All units
What’s in the offer:
- 1% compensation increase for every year. This is the maximum allowed by the Ford government’s Bill 124. The offers also include a wage reopener clause which would allow us to renegotiate compensation if Bill 124 is found unconstitutional.
- Significant increases to the Extended Health Benefits (EHB) Fund and the Ways & Means Fund. Childcare Fund, Graduate Student Bursary Fund, Professional Development Fund, UHIP Fund, and Equity Fund all increased by 1%.
- The Extended Health Benefits (EHB) Fund and Childcare Fund become permanent. The Sexual Violence Survivor Fund comes under the control of the Union and is also permanent.
- Improved mandate and access to more data for the joint Employment Equity Committee, as well as a definition of intersectionality and under-representation.
- Inclusion of gender-based violence in leave provisions, including when that violence is towards a member’s dependent.
- Paid voluntary sexual violence awareness and prevention training.
What’s not in the offer:
- A workable Safe Return to Campus plan. The Union wanted specific thresholds to identify whether on-campus work is safe, best practices for ventilation, and a say on decisions around the return to campus. Instead, the Employer provided vague assurances and “consultation” which has no decision-making power. We are genuinely concerned about the vagueness of York’s plan and what it means for the safety of the York community. (This comparison chart prepared by the BT highlights the differences between the two plans).
- York’s definition of under-representation of equity-seeking groups uses data that compares representation at York to other universities rather than to the community in which we are located. The Employer refused to move on this issue, despite their stated commitment to equity.
- The elimination of the $2000 cap on any one type of paramedical benefits.
Unit 1
What’s in the offer:
- Deadlines for Unit 1 funding (Graduate financial Assistance (GFA), Grant-in-Aid (GIA), and International Tuition Offer (ITO)), as well as deadlines for contracts, including ticketed course directorships.
- Equity provisions for the distribution of ticketed course directorships.
- Paid voluntary job training for Teaching Assistants.
- Changes to the Unit 1 blanket application to allow for pronouns and preferred names.
What’s not in the offer:
- Any engagement with the fellowship funding model. The Employer maintains its illogical position that some Unit 1 collective agreement funding is not employment-based and cannot be negotiated.
- The inclusion of 6th year summer in the priority pool.
- Improved protections for members with disabilities seeking extensions to priority pool status.
Unit 2
What’s in the offer:
- Continuing job stability programs for contract faculty
- 21 Long Service Teaching Appointments (LSTAs): 7 in each of 2021-2022 and 2022-23, and an additional 7 earmarked for equity-seeking groups over the two years, if the deal is ratified by July 23rd.
- 6 conversion appointments over the life of the collective agreement. Two of these will be prioritized for Indigenous or racialized members.
- Creation of a second round of Continuing Sessional Standing Program (CSSP) appointments for departments that haven’t identified their CSSP courses by the first deadline. Also, departments who do not participate in the program will need to provide a written rationale.
- Creation of a joint committee on job security. Chaired by mediator Chris Albertyn, this joint committee has the goal of creating a new ongoing comprehensive job stability program. The committee will make recommendations by June 30, 2022.
- Options for retirement for long-serving members
- The Transitional Continuing Appointment (TCA) is a new voluntary program which would allow eligible members guaranteed work in decreasing intensity over two or three years, culminating in retirement with severance.
- The Time-Limited Severance Program (TLSP) is a temporary severance payout opportunity, which would grant long-serving contract faculty the option to retire immediately.
- Minor improvements to post-retirement benefits: an increase of the annual limit from $1800 to $2000, as well as an increase to the Employer contribution to the post-retirement benefits account, and more time for retiring members to opt in to the benefits.
- Equity Hiring: if a hiring unit does not meet representation thresholds, then preference will be given to incumbents who identify as Indigenous or racialized. In a case where this provision displaces a more senior incumbent who is not Indigenous or racialized, this incumbent may receive a payout, and maintain incumbency and seniority as if they taught the course.
- Minor improvements for Clinical Course Directors (CCDs)
- Comprehensive definition of the CCD position, responsibilities, and pay rate.
- Removal of requirement for CCDs to provide a letter documenting clinical practice to be deemed qualified to teach; currency to be outlined in the CV instead.
- Increased practicum placement posting timelines.
- Renewal of Research Leaves
What’s not in the offer:
- Meaningful improvements for Nursing Clinical Course Directors: the Employer refuses to acknowledge ongoing and serious problems for Clinical Course Directors, including clinical class sizes and lack of access to incumbency and leave provisions
- Post-retirement benefits: the minor improvements above do not reflect the extent of the improvements the membership had indicated were needed.
- The BT attempted to negotiate an improved ongoing job stability program for mid-seniority members called the Continuing Appointment Program (CAP). We also tried to fix some of the existing problems in the CSSP. The Employer was not responsive, relegating these discussions to the future joint committee rather than settling them at the bargaining table.
Unit 3
What’s in the offer:
- Deadlines for Unit 3 funding (GA Financial Assistance (GFA), and International Tuition Offer (ITO))
- The Graduate Assistant Training Fund (GATF), which incentivizes the hiring of Graduate Assistants, is renewed for two years, with improved reporting to avoid the misappropriation the employer committed with the previous iteration of the Fund.
- The GATF is increased from $80,000 to $220,000 per year by moving funds from the underutilized Graduate Assistant Bursary Fund, which avoids triggering Bill 124.
- A minor commitment that the Employer will communicate the scope of Unit 3 to faculty.
What’s not in the offer:
- Any resolution of the employer’s continued attack on Unit 3. York has been aggressively classifying research work outside of the bargaining unit despite over a decade of agreement on the definition of Unit 3 work. The BT fought this point relentlessly for more than seven months; York’s position makes it clear that they are dedicated to union-busting. The plan is to address this in future outside of bargaining by any means necessary.