On Monday, November 27, the bargaining team for CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2, and 3 met with the employer. Overall, it was a disappointing session, with more bad behaviour from the employer’s bargaining team, and a complete refusal to deal with Unit 3.

Unfortunately, we must begin yet another bargaining report by condemning the behaviour of York’s lawyer, Simon Mortimer. Since we began bargaining, he has been reminded on several occasions not to interrupt members of our bargaining team — specifically women. This week, he took it a step further, arguing vehemently for his right to interrupt. When the BT chair did not allow it, the employer called the conversation to a halt and left the room. Mortimer later explicitly refused to apologize for his behaviour.

This behaviour is obviously unacceptable. The employer keeps emphasizing “respect”, yet can’t seem to follow basic rules of respectful conversation. How much is York paying this man to disrespect our bargaining team and waste our time? Enough theatrics; let’s bargain.

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There is currently a vacancy on the International Graduate Students Committee. A description of the committee can be found below. If you would like to get involved, sitting on a committee (or two!) is a great way to contribute to your local. Every committee position includes an honorarium.

The nomination period is open until December 6 at 5 pm. To nominate yourself, email Hossein at cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com. Contested positions will be elected at the December 7 General Membership Meeting.

International Graduate Students Committee (IGSC) (1 vacancy)

The IGSC advocates for international graduate student members of CUPE 3903. The IGSC normally has 2 elected members who coordinate the affairs of the IGSC. The IGSC has an annual budget of $5000. Honorarium: $250 per member per year.

On October 16, York’s bargaining team expressed the intention to bargain significant changes to the way funding for Unit 1 (teaching assistants, course directors, instructors, tutors, marker-graders, etc. who are full-time graduate students) would be paid out. On November 13, the employer provided a presentation explaining the details of their plan.

As promised in the bargaining report from November 13, below is an explanation of the employer’s Unit 1 funding proposal. The employer’s proposal and the employer’s presentation on their proposal are also available.

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An election to the Accessibility Committee was held at the November 21 General Membership Meeting. Evelyn Kissi was elected to the committee.

There remains a vacancy on the International Graduate Students Committee. If you would like to nominate yourself to this position, please email Hossein at cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com

Find out more on the Committees page.

On Monday, November 20, the bargaining team for CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2 and 3 met with the employer for a full day of bargaining. We were pleased that the employer appears to have backed off threatening our members and berating our bargaining team. We were thus able to have many productive exchanges, even though we remain far apart on many issues.

A comparative table of proposals and responses has been prepared by the bargaining team: Bargaining Proposals up to November 20. All of the proposal documents which have been tabled so far are available on the Reports page, with the exception of employer proposals from the last meeting, which will be added as soon as we receive digital copies.

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The nomination period for the Grievance Officer by-election ended on Tuesday November 7 at 5 pm. As the position is contested, the campaigning period has begun. Voting will open at the November 21 General Membership Meeting and continue for five days.

Keele Campus Polling Station:
Vari Hall link (between Vari Hall and Central Square), from 9 am to 5 pm.

Glendon Campus Polling Station:
Outside the Cafeteria (across from York Hall, Room 170), from 11 am to 3 pm.

Candidate statements are below.

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General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 21
1:00pm-4:00pm
Location: Harry Crowe, 109 Atkinson

Join and share the event on Facebook here!

Agenda

1. Roll Call of Officers
2. Reading of the Equity Statement
3. Reading of the Mississauga Land Acknowledgement
4. Approval of Agenda
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Opening of Grievance Officer By-Election
7. Notices of Motion
   1. Donation to Saron Legal Professional Corporation – Nelson’s Legal Defense Fund
   2. Donation to Urban Alliance on Race Relations
8. Matters Arising
   1. Changing the Name of the ‘Miscellaneous Working Groups’ budget line to ‘Anti-Racism Working Group’
   2. Donation to Toronto Overdose Prevention Society ($2,500)
   3. Delegation to Labour Notes Conference
9. Committee Updates & Reports
   1. Accessibility Committee Report on 8th Line Preparations
   2. Communications Committee Report
   3. Bargaining Mobilization Committee Report
   4. Report from Bargaining Team
   5. Discussion
10. Executive Reports
11. Adjournment

Please contact Sheila Wilmot at cupe3903.equity.officer@gmail.com or at 416-736-5154 ext. 3 if you require any of the following: ASL interpretation, reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care, and/or transportation costs for members who are unable to secure Wheel-Trans, or other requests for accommodation.

Sandra Noel will be resigning from the position of Chief Steward Unit 3 effective December 2. Thank you Sandra for your great work advocating for Unit 3!

Nominations are now open to fill this vacancy, and will close on November 29 at 5pm. This position is open to any member of Unit 3 (graduate assistants) in good standing. Candidates must fill out a nomination form, available at the CUPE 3903 office (143 Atkinson), and sign the register. The nomination form must be signed by two members of Unit 3.

Candidates are encouraged to acquaint themselves with the position duties as described in the CUPE 3903 bylaws.

Poll clerks and poll supervisors are needed to staff polling stations during the Grievance Officer by-election on November 22-24 and 27-28. These positions are paid $15/hr. Only members of CUPE 3903 may apply. Preference will be given to members with previous poll clerk experience, though all members are encouraged to apply. Poll clerks may work multiple shifts.

Shifts at the Keele Campus polling station are usually from 8:45 am to 1:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 5:15 pm. Shifts at the Glendon polling station are usually from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. There will be one polling station at Keele Campus and one at Glendon campus on the following spots:

Keele Campus Polling Station:
Vari Hall link (between Vari Hall and Central Square)

Glendon Campus Polling Station:
Outside the Cafeteria (across from York Hall, Room 170)

If you are interested in working as a poll clerk, please email eocupe3903@gmail.com. In your email, please indicate:

• the exact shift(s) that you can work,
• your cell phone number,
• whether you have any experience,
• whether you can bring a laptop,
• and the Unit you belong to.

The CUPE 3903 bargaining team met with the employer on Monday, November 13. From the outset, York’s lawyer introduced a new agenda item solely to berate the bargaining team. This lawyer, Simon Mortimer, threatened rank-and-file members of the union with discipline as an employee, or discipline for breach of the student code of conduct, for taking photos inside the negotiating room.

The CUPE 3903 bargaining team affirms and upholds the principle of open bargaining in the highest possible terms. We reject the employer’s threats made against the membership. We will not be intimidated by hollow paternalism from Bay Street lawyers. The membership is the highest decision-making body in the union and a source of strength for the bargaining team.

The bargaining team will not tolerate delay and/or intimidation tactics.
We have work to do: Let’s work.

Equity Proposals

Following a caucus, the employer responded to some of the equity proposals we presented two meetings ago. They rejected the proposal to hire an ASL interpreter. They also said they are looking into the physical space requirements for the breastfeeding facilities. The employer tabled counter proposals in response to changes to Unit 1 academic and priority pool extensions (proposals 91 and 92 of our proposals package) that uses the language “protected grounds” instead of “disability or disabilities and/or, marital-, and/or family-status obligations”. They countered our detailed accommodations procedure for all three units (proposal 94) with a commitment to consultation with CUPE 3903 regarding accommodations. Finally, the employer presented a counter “recognizing” the barriers faced by LGBTQ people, but refused to include LGBTQ as an equity-seeking group. York’s lawyer even said that they could not add a group that is not protected by the Federal Contractors Program, and suggested that doing so would pave the way for white men to be recognized as an equity seeking group. This further shows that the employer is not taking equity seriously. The CUPE 3903 bargaining team is firmly committed to the principles of equity and accessibility and will continue to push as hard as we can on these matters.
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