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Joint Statement on Bargaining from the CUPE 3903 Executive and Bargaining Team

As you may know, the collective agreements negotiated between CUPE Local 3903 and York University expires on August 31^st. Negotiations for new Collective Agreements (CAs) with the Employer will begin in late August. Over the summer and into the fall, your participation, direction, and support will be vital as we seek to defend and improve our conditions of work and fight to make York University a better place for both its students and workers.

The experience of the 2008-09 negotiations,  including the long and difficult strike, will undoubtedly be on members’ minds as we approach this round of negotiations.  We wish to assure our members that our intention is to avoid a repeat of that experience. This, of course, also depends on the Employer’s willingness to negotiate meaningfully on issues our members face in the workplace.

Below is a brief update on where we are in the process and some suggestions for how members can get involved.

Where we are: Since being elected/acclaimed in June, the Bargaining Team has undergone training with CUPE National and has been working on drafting proposals. With the help of our Staff, the Executive sent out a survey in late May soliciting feedback on bargaining issues for the upcoming round. The Bargaining Team has drawn a number of issues out of the surveys from which to prepare proposals to bring to the Employer. In conjunction with this, we are meeting with committees and Staff to consider issues that need to be addressed based on their experience administering the current CAs. The membership consultations, which began last week and will continue over the next couple of weeks, will also be used to develop proposals that we will bring to the general membership for discussion and ratification at Special General Membership Meetings on  August 2^nd  and Agusust 18th.

Where we are going: Our first meeting with the Employer is on August 19^th and this is when actual negotiation will begin, with an exchange of proposals and bargaining parameters.  While we recognize that this gives us limited time to prepare – or for members to be as involved in the development of proposals as we would like –  we do not expect bargaining to move too quickly until September, when we intend to report on the negotiations and to develop bargaining priorities with the membership.  Success in bargaining is contingent on membership involvement and support, so we will not move ahead on any major issues in bargaining until we have had the necessary time to engage with the broader membership.

Challenges: Bargaining is a significant amount of work. Even before meeting with the Employer, the Bargaining Team must undergo training both in bargaining and in our CAs, interpret the surveys and then craft proposals from a variety of sources (e.g., the surveys, Staff, committee reports and consultations).  The Executive must participate in this process and organize meetings in addition to engaging in its day-to-day work. As a result of being under the control of CUPE National for over a year, this process has been compressed. In addition, we are not yet working with a full Bargaining Team.  With the pro-tem appointment of Ryan O’Neil as a Unit 1 representative to the Bargaining Team, we still need one additional position in Unit 1 and one in Unit 3. While we feel we have made significant progress over the past month, preparations for bargaining is a difficult task. If you are interested in running for a position on the Bargaining Team or learning more about what such a position entails please contact the Bargaining Team at: cupe3903bargaining@gmail.com.

What we need from members: Members can contribute in a number of ways. In addition to participation in meetings, we are seeking help with research and communications, as well as members to get involved in the Stewards Council (SC), which becomes the Bargaining Mobilization Committee during bargaining, and needs people in each department and hiring unit to help keep members informed about bargaining and to build support..

Getting involved:

To contact the Bargaining Team, email: cupe3903bargaining@gmail.com

If you are Interested in getting involved in bargaining mobilization and/or in being a steward, contact:

Peter Brogan, Unit 1 Chief Steward, at Cupe3903chiefsteward1@members.cupe.ca

Sarah Hornstein, Unit 2 Chief Steward at Cupe3903chiefsteward2@members.cupe.ca

Sidrah Laldin, Unit 3 Chief Steward at Cupe3903chiefsteward3@members.cupe.ca

If you are interested in helping with communications or research contact:

Greg Flemming, Recording Secretary, Cupe3903recordingresearch@members.cupe.ca