Our Bargaining Petitions
We have hard copies of these petitions making their way around departments, but just in case you've not seen them--and to get more context on what it is that we're bargaining to maintain or better for our members and undergrads--click on the links below.
Real Summer Funding for Unit 3: While we are far from there yet, since 2000 we have won improved wages (from a starting point that was often less than $4000 for 270 hours of work to $9526--although York has clawed this back for many GAs by reducing hours), access to many funds and leaves, tuition protection, and inclusion in our benefits plan. A major issue we haven't been able to improve is summer funding. Currently, Unit 3 members receive only $850 in summer funding while Unit 1 members receive $5000. This means that Unit 3 members can barely pay 1 month’s rent let alone live through the summer. To sign this petition click here.
Post-Residency Fees for Units 1 and 3: Before 1996, graduate students paid a reduced fee after completing their course work. By canceling this post-residency fee, York University more than doubled the cost of graduate degrees in a single pen stroke. The CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team and Executive want to solve this problem at the bargaining table, but so far the employer has not shown any interest in this proposal. We need your help. If you support this proposal, sign here, and we will make sure the employer gets the message.
Stop Clawing Back Our Wages: Over the past decade CUPE 3903 has won important wage increases to ensure that our members’ incomes keep up with the rise in the cost of living. However, many of our members, especially in the Natural Sciences, have not seen a wage increase in more than eight years because York essentially claws back the wage increases we have won through bargaining by counting these gains against their total funding packages. While the money saved is a drop in the bucket for York--less than 0.04% of their total payroll and benefits costs per year--it means a lot to our members. We need agreement—made real through language in a Collective Agreement—that any increase in the wage rates negotiated by the parties shall not be offset by monies from other sources in subsequent sessions, all other things being equal. They say it does not happen, but we know it does - to add your voice to the call to cut it out, click here.
Protect French Language Instruction and Unit2 jobs at Glendon: In September, 2011, the York administration introduced changes to French language instruction at Glendon College, York’s bilingual campus known for its—and marketed as having—small class sizes. The proposed changes would mean much larger class sizes for French language instruction (increasing from 30 students to 80 students). To enact the changes, York will replace 15 long service contract faculty with just two contractually limited appointments and one full time tenured faculty member. If our members in French Studies receive any work at all, it shall be through running tutorials for these new larger classes--what would be, in effect, a reduction in their responsibilities for a higher workload and reduced pay. The changes to French Studies are only the beginning as other programs at Glendon are also facing larger class sizes and reduced course offerings. To sign this petition, click here.