Bargaining Update: York Serves Notice to Bargain and Preliminary Meeting
On August 26, 2020, Dan Bradshaw, Assistant VP, Labour Relations of York University, issued notice to bargain to CUPE 3903. This is the step that begins the bargaining process. In the letter (which you can read here), the Employer indicated that they want to bargain via Zoom, and hoped to complete the process by the end of the Fall term.
A preliminary meeting to discuss bargaining process was held on September 14, 2020. This was not a formal bargaining meeting, as only three representatives from the employer were present.
While the employer had expressed a desire for an “expedited” bargaining process, what this would look like was not clear. The BT asked the employer to clarify, but did not receive additional information. As the employer also raised the possibility of “rolling over” the collective agreements (replicating the existing terms for a set period of time), there were also questions about whether this would include funds and job security provisions with varying yearly numbers, for example, LSTAs, conversions and SRCs. In light of the rollover of funds and programs, the BT questioned whether dated items would be included in the rollovers.
We conveyed that CUPE 3903 engages in coordinated bargaining, with all three units at the table. The employer appeared to be aware of our past practice. Very little was parsed beyond what was stated in the initial notice to bargain, which was repeated again to our BT.
Our next Special General Membership Meeting will be held on October 9, 2020, from 1-4pm, to discuss the direction that the BT should take. The decisions that will be taken at this meeting will have implications for how we wish to proceed with bargaining in the months ahead. There will also be a robust discussion of bargaining during the General Membership Meeting on September 29, 2020 from 11am-2pm.
Have you filled out your bargaining survey yet? Let the bargaining team know what’s important to you! Select your unit and respond to the bargaining survey here.