Bargaining Team report April 10, 2024
We started the second day of bargaining this week by notifying members of the Employer’s email response that acknowledged their receipt of our pass from April 9. The Employer promised they would be bringing new comprehensive packages for all three Units to the Mediators at 1:30 p.m., and that they would meet with the Union at 1:40 p.m.
We used the time before the meeting with the Employer to discuss our plan for the day and to begin work on our next pass.
At 1:40 p.m., the Employer joined the meeting and walked us through their latest pass, wherein they increased their wage offer by 0.25% (in the last year of the renewal agreement), responded to Unit 3’s proposals—and continued to not engage with the Union’s proposals on accommodations and supports to address racial discrimination, harassment, and violence in the workplace.
By email, the Employer indicated that they did not agree to our proposal on a commitment to funding for priority pool members in Unit 3. However, they did provide a response on a Letter of Agreement (LoA) concerning the Graduate Assistant Training (GAT) Fund. We have agreed to some of the language proposed in the LoA, though we have offered a few counters, namely to open the program to all faculty members and to roll over unused funds into the subsequent collective agreement years. In our most recent pass, we continue to highlight that the Graduate Financial Assistance (GFA) should be pegged to across-the-board wages for Units 1 and 3 members. We have also offered a counter on the extension of library and email use by suggesting the formation of a committee to investigate the feasibility of the service.
The Employer confirmed that we will be meeting with them tomorrow to review our April 10th pass, which went out just after 9:00 p.m.
Bargaining on April 11 is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All members are welcome. You can register for the meeting in advance using the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuf-GtrTsqEtIVH-tEh06qjUBQ4YCX3iRl
And, a reminder that we have a SGMM from 4 to 7 p.m., please register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsc-ypqjgjHdbaKO4UDsOxju8bTDWKvhrp