Bargaining Team Report Back Week of July 17 2023

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BT prepares for meetings with the Employer next week, approves set of Equity and Union Rights proposals at GMM

The Bargaining Team (BT) has been working hard to develop proposals, put them before the membership, and prepare for upcoming bargaining meetings with the Employer. Last week, the BT presented a series of equity and union rights proposals at the GMM, which the membership voted on and approved. The BT will continue to develop and strategize its wage proposals over the coming weeks and will continue to seek feedback from the membership at weekly bargaining team meetings and at the August 10 Bargaining SGMM. 

Equity Proposals 

The Equity sub-committee of the BT presented a draft of eight proposals related to improving data quality, the use of trans-inclusive and gender-neutral language in the Collective Agreements, and paid and unpaid leave for childcare. If successful, these proposals will improve members’ access to equitable parental, care-giver and adoption leave and help prevent discrimination on the basis of gender, family status and marital status. On Thursday, July 20, the BT presented these proposals to the membership at the GMM; they were approved and will be presented to the Employer. 

Union Rights Proposals 

On Tuesday, July 18, staff members presented a series of union rights proposals to the BT. The proposals were developed by staff with the goal of adding a mediation-arbitration process to the Collective Agreement. The employer is currently causing long delays for members who have filed simple grievances. These proposals will significantly reduce these delays. Staff members also presented the classifications of union positions and proposals to add additional language for mediated arbitration. The BT then brought these proposals to the membership at the July 20 GMM, where they were approved.

Wages and Funds Sub-Committee Prepares Proposals for Next SGMM 

The Wages and Funds sub-committee has been coordinating with members of the Bargaining Research Committee to discuss processes and strategies for developing a proposal around wages and funds that takes into consideration the results of the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Survey, rising costs of living in Toronto and nationwide, and mitigating the damage of Bill C-124. 

Get Involved: Upcoming Bargaining Meetings with the Employer

Upcoming Bargaining Meetings with the Employer

The BT will meet with the Employer on Thursday, July 27, Friday, July 28, and Tuesday, August 1. In keeping with the principle of open bargaining, all members are encouraged to attend bargaining meetings (the regular weekly meetings as well the meetings with the Employer).

Tuesday, August 1 from 10:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In-person location is 519 Kaneff Tower on the Keele Campus.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0kd–qrDsvH9Ykh_gGXmTaemxwQSXFBkS-

There is a one-hour break between 12 noon and 1 PM.

Upcoming August 10 GMM

We are hosting a General Membership Meeting via Zoom! At this meeting we will be discussing bargaining, upcoming events and voting on important union business. All members are encouraged to attend.

  • August 10th from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Please register in advance for this meeting here. In order to register, you will need to provide your employee number, which will be kept confidential. Your employee number is on your monthly pay stub. If you don’t know your employee number, please click here for instructions.

CUPE 3903 is committed to open bargaining, which means all members are welcome to attend bargaining meetings (either in person or via Zoom). Upcoming bargaining meetings with the Employer (also shared on 3903’s website’s calendar):

As always, we encourage members to participate in our regular bi-weekly bargaining team meetings (without the Employer), all on zoom Here are the next few meetings (also shared on 3903’s website’s calendar):

  • Joint Bargaining Team and Executive meeting: Thursday, August 3rd 11:00 – 2:00 pm
  • Aug 8, 2023 02:00 – 3:00 PM
  • Aug 10, 2023 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  • Aug 15, 2023 02:00–3:00 PM
  • Aug 17, 2023 02:00–3:00 PM
  • Aug 22, 2023 02:00–3:00 PM 
  • Aug 24, 2023 11:00 AM–12:00 PM

Accessibility of Bargaining Meetings 

For the regular twice-weekly bargaining team meetings, Zoom captions will be enabled. For the bargaining meetings with the Employer, CART will be available. If you require ASL interpretation or reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care or have any other requests for accommodation, please contact our Equity Officer, Nadia Kanani, at cupe3903equity@gmail.com.

Due to the high demand for ASL interpreters, we encourage members to provide, when possible, two weeks’ notice if ASL interpretation is required. We are awaiting confirmation from the Employer about the room for our joint meetings; once we have finalized the meeting location with the Employer, we will provide the following access information for the room and building where the meeting will be held:

  • location of power doors/accessible entrance to the building
  • location of all gender, single user, accessible washroom nearest to meeting room
  • masking protocols