Executive Committee Nominations Open May 16

The CUPE 3903 2024 Executive Committee election nominations period will be open from May 16th at 12pm to May 30th at 12pm.

All members, especially Black, First Nations and racialized members, and members from other equity seeking groups, are strongly encouraged to run for the next executive committee in fulfillment of our equity mandate. For a list of executive positions, please see CUPE 3903 Executive Committee.

(NB: Trans Feminist Action Caucus (TFAC) co-chairs are elected by members of TFAC through an independent election run by TFAC election officers.)

Election Timeline

The election timeline will be as follows:

• Nominations Period: May 16 – 12pm to May 30 – 12pm
• Campaigning Period: May 30 – 12pm to June 13 – 12pm
• Voting Period (via SimplyVoting): June 14 – 5pm to June 19 – 5pm

Nomination Instructions

The online NOMINATION FORM is available here: Executive Committee Nomination Form. The form will close at the end of the nomination period (May 30, 2023 at 12 pm).

To nominate yourself:

• Nominees must fill out and submit the electronic nomination form linked above.
  The traditional register and nomination form have been combined into a single electronic election nomination form, thus it is the only thing a nominee will need to fill out.
• A nominee will need to know the names and email addresses of two supporters, who need to be members in good standing. If the nomination is for a Lead Steward or Vice President position, the supporters must be members of the relevant bargaining unit (e.g., for a Unit 1 position, the supporters must be members of Unit 1).
• Upon submission of the nomination form, the supporters will be automatically contacted by email to endorse the nomination via a pre-populated supporter form. Both supporter forms must be submitted before the deadline in order for the nomination to be considered complete. The form will be disabled at the close of the nomination period. Please note that some people have had the supporter form go to their Junk folder, so if you have agreed to support a candidate, please also check your Junk folder for the form.
• The nomination period will open at 12pm on May 16th and will close two weeks later on May 30th at 12pm. The nomination form and supporter forms will automatically be disabled at the close of the nomination period.
• Information concerning the campaigning period and electronic voting will be forthcoming.

Should members have any accessibility concerns, they should contact the Electoral Officers at cupe3903eo@gmail.com, or the Equity Officer at cupe3903equity@gmail.com

During office hours, an executive committee member will be available to greet and help members who stop by. During the summer semester there will not be full coverage of all business hours, but as we approach the fall term and there are more people on campus regularly, we will increase the coverage.

Office hours are hybrid, meaning that there are both online and in-person options for dropping in. Here is the zoom link for online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85813878456?pwd=UGtHdnM5dllzSVNnc3cyazZleU80QT09

For the moment, office hours will be primarily held as Strike HQ at 208-20 De Boers Drive until we’ve fully moved back into Atkinson 143.

Please check this document for the operating CUPE 3903 office schedule.

Statement of Solidarity with Students Protesting in Solidarity with Palestine

The executive of CUPE 3903 stands in unwavering solidarity with and support for the students and workers across the globe acting in solidarity with Palestinian people. In particular, we recognize and celebrate the tremendous bravery of the students and workers participating in the People’s Circle for Palestine at the University of Toronto encampment, who refused to let academic institutional complicity with the genocide in Palestine by the Israeli State continue. 

There is not one single university left in Gaza. On 18 April 2024, UN experts expressed grave concern over the “pattern of attacks on schools, universities, teachers, and students in the Gaza Strip, raising serious alarm over the systemic destruction of the Palestinian education system”. The International Court of Justice’s preliminary ruling stated that all actions must be taken to prevent further genocide in Gaza. Students and academic workers have shown that they will not sit idly by while genocide takes place. 

We are proud of the CUPE 3903 members and students of the York University community who refuse to let our tuition money and exploitation of our wages be used in business ventures that sustain violence against Palestinians. In particular, much of this labour is being carried by racialized members and by members who experience the violence and repression of the university most heavily. We want to pay special tribute to the Palestinian Solidarity Working Group, a coalition of Jewish, Arab, and many diverse rank-and-file members who have demonstrated an unrelenting commitment to peace, justice and freedom for Palestine. 

CUPE 3903 has a long-standing member-driven history of Palestinian solidarity. We were proudly one of the first unions to support the peaceful Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign, called by the Palestinian Civil Society in 2005, to pressure Israel to comply with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights. Since then, our members have called on the York University administration numerous times to divest from on-going investments in weapons manufacturers that profit from Palestinian suffering. To this date, York University still has investments in Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Textron Inc., and Amphenol. These companies all supply weapons and technologies to Israel, and are directly responsible for the forcible displacement and genocide of Palestinian people. The cost of our education should not be the lives of others.

The demands for disclosure of, and divestment from, any financial investments and institutional relationships that facilitate the continuation of violence, genocide, and apartheid have been echoed around the world by students, activists, and workers. These demands reflect a principled stance in support of justice, equality, and human rights for the Palestinian people. 

CUPE 3903 supports the rights of all academics, students, unionists, and activists to speak out against all forms of violence and oppression without fear of intimidation or reprisal. We join Jews Say No to Genocide in “calling on all academic institutions in Toronto and across so-called Canada to uphold their commitment to free expression and to refuse to engage in any efforts that repress lawful and peaceful dissenting pro-Palestinian voices”. 

We denounce any action by university officials, be it York University or otherwise, governments, and police who use or threaten intimidation, aggression, and violence against peaceful activists and academics. These tactics deny students their rights to freedom of assembly and academic freedom as they fight for a world without apartheid and genocide, and for freedom for the Palestinian people.  

Solidarity with encampment actions across the world. We will not be silenced.

Nominations are now open for the new annual terms of committee positions.

Full details about all of our committees are available here. Please note that the Childcare, PDF, Ways and Means, Elections, and Unit 2 Research Grants Fund and Travel Cost Fund Committees are not elected at the AGM.

If you wish to renominate yourself to sit on a committee, nominations are now open and will close on June 9 at 5pm.

Any committees with more nominees than positions open will be voted on at the AGM on June 14th. Otherwise, nominees will be acclaimed to their position.

Nominees will be notified if their candidacy will be voted on at the AGM and the short written candidate statement submitted through the jotform (max 150 words) will be included in the AGM package. There will also be time at the AGM (Friday, June14th) for nominees to briefly speak about their candidacies if they want to.

To nominate yourself, please click here and fill out this JotForm. Please do not email us your nomination and candidate statement this year!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Alie Hermanutz, VP Unit 1, at cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com.

Workers at Canadian Observatory on Homelessness join CUPE

TORONTO – The staff of a leading homelessness research and policy organization, the
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, became members of the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE) following a Labour Board decision yesterday.

The workers, who are joining CUPE Local 3903, voted overwhelmingly to form a union on
April 5. Workers initiated the union drive because of low wages, inadequate benefits, and
concerns around a lack of supports as they perform emotionally taxing work.

The Observatory conducts research into solutions to homelessness and is affiliated with York
University, where CUPE’s membership already includes more than 3000 academic and
support workers.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is Canada’s largest union, with 750,000 members
across the country. CUPE represents workers in health care, emergency services, education,
early learning and childcare, municipalities, social services, libraries, utilities, transportation,
airlines and more.

-30-

For more information, contact:
Craig Saunders, CUPE Communications | 416-576-7316 | csaunders@cupe.ca

https://cupe.ca/workers-canadian-observatory-homelessness-join-cupe?utm_medium=email&utm_source=CUPEToday

Launch of New Subsidized Staples Produce Box Program!

This week we are delighted to launch a new program, which makes available the order of weekly, home-delivered boxes of Toronto FoodShare fresh produce at subsidized rates to members experiencing acute financial hardship and food insecurity. For two weeks maximum per application, members can order a Staples Produce Box at the cost of $10 per week, which includes home delivery on a predesignated day each week and contains 5-6 units of seasonal staple vegetables and fruit for a 1-2-person household (e.g. potatoes, carrots, broccoli, apples, lettuce, lemons, etc.). The contents of the boxes change each week according to season and availability, but the freshness and ethical sourcing is guaranteed! 

This program is specifically intended for members who are having difficulty meeting their basic nutritional needs. Surveys of members that were conducted in summer of 2023 indicated that there are currently members who rely on food banks to support their needs. Thus, the subsidized Staples Produce Box program is meant to provide convenient, urgent, and short-term access to fresh, affordable produce to use in cooking. There are a limited number of boxes available each week, and priority will be given to first-time applicants. Requests which cannot initially be approved will be put on a waitlist for the next available spot. Participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis and requires timely e-transfer of the $10/box charge each week. 

If you would like to request a Staples Produce Box, please fill out the jot form linked below. You will hear back from us within 48 hours. 

Please fill out this form.

Inquiries can be sent to: 3903produceboxes@gmail.com 

On Friday April 20th, York University Administration sent the below attached email requiring members to take urgent action over this weekend to confirm resuming work.

We are concern by the quick turn around of this process, and the impact it might have on members. Though we have attempted to express this concern and highlight how this was not a discussed aspect of the back-to-work-protocol via both email and over the phone.

As such, we need to bring this required urgent action to the attention of membership. The University states that it is necessary that you complete an on-line form at: https://cupejobs.uit.yorku.ca/remediate/ by no later than NOON on Sunday, April 21 to confirm your return to work, or else be “considered to have abandoned their work”.

Please check your Employee email for the Employer’s communication. If you have not received the below communication from the University, or are experiencing technical issues, please reach out to Matt Lomas, Lead Steward Unit 1, at cupe3903csu1@gmail.com.

York University’s Communication:

“Dear colleagues,

We are very happy to welcome you back to work and are looking forward to working with you to complete the 2023/24 academic session and begin planning for the academic year ahead.

As of this evening, you will be able to access eClass in order to prepare your materials for the remediation period. All of the planning materials you will need to prepare for this are included below and should you have any questions, please reach out to your Dean’s Office for assistance.

The key requirements for employees in each of the CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2 and 3 are as follows, to help facilitate a smooth and efficient return to work, including engagement in remediation activities:

Confirming Return to Work

The start of the formal remediation period is April 22. In order to plan for the resumption of suspended academic activities, we request that you communicate your return to work and readiness to complete your winter term employment by Sunday, April 21 at: https://cupejobs.uit.yorku.ca/remediate

If there are any medical or other exceptional circumstances precluding your return to work, it is necessary that you complete an on-line form at: https://cupejobs.uit.yorku.ca/remediate/ by no later than NOON on Sunday, April 21.

Employees who do not confirm that they are returning to work or indicate they are unable to return to work with a supporting explanation by NOON on Sunday, April 21 will be considered to have abandoned their work. This is necessary given the short remediation period and the need to put in place alternative arrangements, if you are unavailable to do the work.

Unit 1 and Unit 2 Course Directors

You must submit a Remediation Plan using the Remediation Plan Template.

In creating your Remediation Plan, you are asked to review the Institutional Remediation Guidelines as  well as the Completion of Courses and Finalization of Grades from Senate Executive for important information about student rights, course completion options, alternate modes of course content delivery, and the finalization of grades.  Course Directors are required to complete a Remediation Workload Form which will provide the basis for assessing the remaining salary for work related to the completion of the course. The Remediation Workload Form is to be completed after the work for which pay is to be provided has been completed (more to follow on information about the submission of the Workload Form).

Unit 1 tutorial leaders, lab demonstrators, studio instructors and Unit 2 employees with marker/grader or other hourly paid assignments

It will be necessary for those of you with these work assignments to have your course director/employment supervisor approve a workload plan using the TA Remediation Workload Form (Unit 1) or the Type 2 Remediation Workload Form (Unit 2), for any activities required for the completion of your assignment . The plan will need to identify how it relates to the original Workload Form that you filled out with your course director/employment supervisor. The TA Remediation Workload Form and Type 2 Remediation Workload Form will provide the basis for assessing remediation pay and must be signed by your course director/employment supervisor and be submitted to your hiring unit/Faculty after the work for which pay is to be provided has been completed (more information about the submission of the Workload Form to follow).

Unit 3 graduate assistants

You will need to work with your supervisor to approve a workload plan using the Supplementary Graduate Assistant Workload Form. The Supplementary Workload Form will need to indicate how it relates to the original Graduate Assistant Workload Form that you filled out with your supervisor and will form the basis for assessing any remaining pay related to the completion of the assignment (more on information about the submission of the Workload Form to follow).

We are very excited to welcome you back and want to thank you for continuing to support our students. We are very grateful for your efforts and want to ensure you feel supported during this time.

Warmly,

Lisa Philipps
Provost and Vice-President Academic”

April 19th 2024 Ratification Vote Results

On April 19th, 2024, almost 1,600 members of CUPE 3903 participated in the ratification vote of a tentative Comprehensive Framework for Settlement.

In brief, Unit 1 (89.9%), Unit 2 (93.8%), and Unit 3 (90.0%) voted in favour of accepting the tentative agreement. Thereby, all three units have ratified the Employer’s latest offer respectively, and work will resume on Monday, April 22nd.

This ratification brings with it some important gains, most notably:

• We won retroactive pay (for both wages and GIA) despite an expired wage re-opener, and ensured eligibility for everyone who held a contract during the 2020-2023 collective agreement, regardless of current status, thus setting a new higher floor for future wage gains and fighting back the Employer’s push to restrict the eligibility!
• In total, we negotiated over the six years of the Bill 124 period (2020–23) and the renewal collective agreement (2023–26),wage increases of 14.8% (or 17.8% including the previous 3% increases of the Bill 124 period). 
• We achieved an 18% boost in Graduate Financial Assistance.
• Many of the all-units proposals we achieved this round are wins for equity! Highlights include:
  • A NEW $25,000/year fund to support racialized members experiencing racial discrimination, harassment, and violence; this is a proposal we have fought for unsuccessfully in previous rounds of bargaining!
  • A NEW Mentoring Fund of $10,000/year to provide mentoring, professional development, and other supports among the units, especially for employment equity groups.
  • Three additional weeks (for a Fall-Winter contract, from 12 to 15) of paid parental leaves for non-pregnant parents and adoptive parents, as well as increased unpaid parental leave
  • An increase of $10,000 to the operating costs of each of the two on-campus childcare centres (from $50,000 to $60,000) and a 3% per year increase in the Childcare Fund for members
  • A commitment from the employer to have regular discussions with the union about the workplace accommodations process and policies
• We fought hard and defeated the employers concessionary Job Stability Program, keeping the Long Service Teaching Appointments alive into the next collective agreement.
• We negotiated a back-to-work protocol that ensures everyone receives an automatic 90% of their remaining pay for the Winter 2024 term, with the ability to get the last 10% depending on individual remediation plans and the amount of work to be completed

Every striking member should feel unbelievably proud of the commitment you have shown to your fellow members, and the determination we have shown as a collective in our fight for a better workplace and more just future. 

The strike was an incredible feat, and because of this action and the hard work of many, we were able to secure some truly meaningful wins that will immediately improve the lives of both students and workers. 

At this moment, we are more organized than ever and we will continue to work towards a more inclusive, equitable and affordable York University. This fight does not end today!

With deep appreciation and unwavering solidarity, I present to you the comprehensive results of the ratification vote.

Official results

Ballot question: 

“Do you accept the Employer’s April 14, 2024 “Comprehensive Framework for Settlement” for Unit [x]?”

Overall turnout: 

• Total eligible voters: 2732
• Total votes cast: 1572
• Voter turnout: 57.5%

Unit 1 vote: 

• Yes: 937 (89.9%)
• No: 105 (10.1%)

Unit 1 turnout: 

• Total eligible voters: 1916 
• Total votes cast: 1042
• Voter turnout: 54.4%

Unit 2 vote: 

• Yes: 488 (93.8%)
• No: 32 (6.2%)

Unit 2 turnout: 

• Total eligible voters:  801
• Total votes cast: 520 
• Voter turnout: 64.9%

Unit 3 vote: 

• Yes: 9 (90%)
• No: 1 (10%)

Unit 3 turnout: 

• Total eligible voters: 15
• Total votes cast: 10 
• Voter turnout: 66.7%

If there is any discrepancy between the numbers posted here and the numbers posted in the CUPE 3903 office, the latter shall prevail.

April 18, 2024

Open Letter Regarding the Use of Strikebreakers at York University

We join our voices to firmly and unequivocally condemn the repeated invitations extended by York University to strikebreakers – aka “scabs”– during the 2024 CUPE 3903 strike (ongoing at the time of writing).

The use of strikebreakers is widely recognized as a way for the Employers to further shift the balance of power to their advantage, yet it prolongs labour disputes and negatively impacts the efforts for fair and just collective bargaining. In doing so, the University delivers a blow to all workers in Ontario, by undermining acceptable and adequate working conditions.

We remind the University the main mandate of the newly created Office of the Equity, People and Culture (EP&C) is to “to build a stronger, more equitable and healthier workplace environment at York University”. For this new division not to be just a façade, the University needs to abide by the principles it promotes.

Sonny Day President, York University Staff Association
Arthur Hilliker President, York University Faculty Association
Mackenzie Edwards Chairperson, CUPE 3903
Frank D’Agostino President, CUPE 1356
OHFA Executive, Osgoode Hall Faculty Association

Click here to read PDF version