A sign held at a sit-in at Kaneff Tower underlines the importance of labour rights.

We have been impatiently waiting for York to reveal its new funding model, which it first described to the union and other interested groups in January 2016. Forty-one days after the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) told the York University Graduate Student Association (YUGSA) that they would provide this information, an email from FGS has been sent to what appears to be all current (up to year 5 of the PhD) and incoming students.

CUPE 3903 has been very clear in its opposition to this new funding model, which will cut at least 670 unionized jobs, robbing the people who would usually have held these positions of our exceptional health care, protections from discrimination and harassment, extensions for people with disabilities, and access to important funds, including childcare and extended health benefits.

In addition to this blatant union-busting, now that we have seen the details of the new funding model, there can be no doubt that it is the very opposite of “encouraging academic excellence, supporting student success, and improving transparency and clarity in graduate funding”, to quote the email from FGS. There are four different basic scenarios (Masters international, Masters domestic, PhD international, PhD domestic), as well as multiple scenarios within each one.

International Masters Students

International Masters students are guaranteed $19,256 a year. To this amount is added $600 for UHIP, and $1000 as a Health Care Graduate Bursary. This leaves the student with $1,600 after tuition. In most cases, the $19,256 will consist of a fellowship, which is paid out three times a year in the Fall, Winter, and Summer. If a student gets an external scholarship, it will count towards the fellowship amount. Any smaller scholarships or bursaries, including the York Graduate Scholarship, will be in addition to the fellowship.

If you are able to secure work as a Graduate Assistant (GA), the $7,534 offset will be counted towards the fellowship, but the salary from the GA (including Grant-in-Aid ,vacation pay, and Graduate Financial Assistance (GFA)) will be in addition to the fellowship.

If you are able to secure work as a Teaching Assistant (TA), the $7,534 offset and GFA will be counted towards the fellowship, but the salary (including Grant-in-Aid and vacation pay) from the TA will be in addition to the fellowship.

If you are able to secure funding in the form of a research assistantship (RA), it “may be in addition” to the fellowship.

Domestic Masters Students   

Domestic Masters students are guaranteed $10,000 a year. To this amount is added $1000 as a Health Care Graduate Bursary. This leaves the student with $5,784 after tuition. In most cases, the $10,000 will consist of a fellowship, which is paid out three times a year in the Fall, Winter, and Summer. If a student gets an external scholarship, it will count towards the fellowship amount. Any smaller scholarships or bursaries, including the York Graduate Scholarship, will be in addition to the fellowship.

If you are able to secure work as a Graduate Assistant (GA), the salary from the GA (including Grant-in-Aid and vacation pay) will be in addition to the fellowship. The email does not specify what happens to the GFA in this case.

If you are able to secure work as a Teaching Assistant (TA), the fellowship will be reduced to $5,403, and the salary (including Grant-in-Aid, vacation pay, and GFA) from the TA will be in addition to this fellowship amount.

If you are able to secure funding in the form of a research assistantship (RA), it “may be in addition” to the fellowship.

International Doctoral Students

International Doctoral students are guaranteed $34,403 a year. To this amount is added $600 to cover UHIP. This leaves the student with $15,972 after tuition. In most cases, the $34,403 will consist of a fellowship, which is paid out three times a year in the Fall, Winter, and Summer, salary from a TA or GA, the GFA, and the amount of tuition offset owed, depending on whether or not the student pays higher tuition fees. The amount of the fellowship is calculated by subtracting salary, GFA, and offset amounts from $34,403. If a student gets an external scholarship, it will count towards the fellowship amount. Any smaller scholarships or bursaries, including the York Graduate Scholarship, will be in addition to the fellowship.

If you are able to secure funding in the form of a research assistantship (RA), it will be counted towards the fellowship.

The $1000 Health Care Graduate Bursary will be added for those who do not have a TA or GA contract.

Domestic Doctoral Students

Domestic Doctoral students are guaranteed $22,722 a year. This leaves the student with $17,506 after tuition. In most cases, the $22,722 will consist of a fellowship, which is paid out three times a year in the Fall, Winter, and Summer, salary from a TA or GA, and the GFA. The amount of the fellowship is calculated by subtracting salary and GFA from $22,722. If a student gets an external scholarship, it will count towards the fellowship amount. Any smaller scholarships or bursaries, including the York Graduate Scholarship, will be in addition to the fellowship.

If you are able to secure funding in the form of a research assistantship (RA), it will be counted towards the fellowship.

The $1000 Health Care Graduate Bursary will be added for those who do not have a TA or GA contract.

The table below attempts to summarize this complicated model as clearly as possible.

York has repeatedly assured us that this new funding model is meant to increase transparency and accountability, as well as support students towards better completion times. Leaving aside that cutting benefits and funds can only be detrimental to student success, FGS is about to face an influx of confused students trying to figure out why their fellowship was arbitrarily slashed when they secured a TA, or whether their GFA is in addition to their fellowship. The arbitrariness of this model is shamelessly built into the stipulation that RAs for Masters students “may be” counted towards the fellowship. This seems like a way from the university to funnel better funding packages into departments that better fit its business model, whereas students in other departments continue to experience what we’ve known all along — when York offers you a minimum guarantee, they are really telling you the very maximum they are willing to pay.

Moreover, none of these funding emails mention the fact that summer funding is built into our collective agreements (CAs), in recognition of the fact that our members still need to pay their bills and feed their families during the relatively dry summer months. York’s claim during a YUGSA event that that this “funding model is done with respect and care and adherence to the CA” of CUPE 3903 is woefully inaccurate. While fellowships will be paid out in three equal installments, including in the summer, for those whose funding will mostly rely on a TA or GA salary, this system not only contravenes the CAs, but also impoverishes members for four months every year.

Finally, the emails sent to PhD students stated that the fellowship will only be valid for five years. It is unclear what will happen to the extensions guaranteed in our CA, including the sixth year of priority pool status for PhDs holding a TA.

York may respond that it still needs to fine-tune a few things and this system will be fully functional, but we know better. Students are being asked to swallow a funding model that is needlessly complicated and arbitrary so that York can bust our union and pad its pockets off our backs.

Good evening everyone.

PDF cheques are now ready but will be held in the office until we know for certain when they will be delivered.

I understand that many of our members are in dire need of this funding, so if you do not want to wait until the labour dispute between CUPW and Canada Post is resolved please come pick it up at our office (134 Atkinson) between 9:00 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

For updates on the ongoing labour dispute, please check http://www.cupw.ca/

Thank you, and solidarity with our comrades at CUPW!

Strike to Win,
Graeme Reniers
Sec-Treasurer

The position of Grievance Officer on the executive committee is currently vacant. Considering both the absence of the membership and the number of grievances that are handled in the summer, the executive committee decided to pro-tem a member to this position. The pro-temming will take place at the Wednesday July 20 Executive Committee Meeting. This is a temporary solution; in consultation with the Elections Officers, a by-election will be held at the end of the summer.

Article 14 V. (b) of the bylaws reads:

By a simple majority vote the executive may fill a vacancy on a pro tem basis with any member in good standing. Such vacancies must be posted in the union office at least two weeks prior to the executive meeting where the vacancy is to be filled. Executive positions filled on a pro tem basis must be advertised as open positions for the agenda of the next general membership meeting where nominations will be opened and elections held as per Section II. of the present article. Executive Committee members may only hold one (1) position on the Executive Committee.

To nominate yourself for this position, email recsec.cupe3903@gmail.com by 5pm on July 19. You may provide a statement of up to 300 words, and/or attend the executive meeting at which the vote will take place to motivate the nomination. This position is open to all members in good standing, of any unit. Members interested in the position are invited to read the job description available in the bylaws (p. 14).

Sonja Killoran-McKibbin has resigned from the position of Grievance Officer due to an employment opportunity. Congratulations and best of luck to Sonja!

Due to the absence of large parts of the membership and the lack of general membership meetings during the summer months, this vacancy will likely be filled on a pro tem basis until September, following article 14.V.(b) of the bylaws. The executive committee has convened an emergency meeting on Monday July 4 to confirm this. Updated information on how to nominate yourself for this vacancy will be posted as soon as possible.

Until the vacancy is filled, please direct grievance-related matters to Jen Cypher, Chairperson (cupe3903chairperson@gmail.com).

On Friday, June 24, the bargaining team met with the employer to continue bargaining Unit 4’s (part-time librarians and archivists) first collective agreement.

The employer discussed the CUPE 3903 Academic Freedom article in regard to existing guidelines for University e-mail.  Subsequently, our Article regarding Academic Freedom was agreed upon.

The Employer also offered a proposal for the article regarding Formal Evaluation.  It was noted that our contract heretofore did not include an Informal Evaluation article. It was agreed that this article should be added to the contract by both sides.  After some discussion, CUPE representatives and Unit 4 members countered with slightly modified articles for the Informal and Formal Evaluation process.  These were agreed upon.

We are now closing in on the substantive articles of our Collective Agreement: Roles and Responsibilities, Postings, and Compensation.

At present, no bargaining dates are scheduled.  We will soon receive proposed dates from the Department of Faculty Relations.  Watch for these dates on the Unit 4 page.

Dr. Kym Bird, our Conversion and Career Advisor for 2015-16, has recently let us know that she will be taking a sabbatical as of July 1st.

CUPE 3903 members need to nominate a Faculty Tenure Stream Faculty member to the position of a Conversion and Careers advisor. The Conversion and Careers Advisor will need to be a tenured professor with a sympathetic approach and excellent understanding of the, hiring, conversion and tenure process. The overall purpose of the Career Advisor will be to assist in career planning and Professional Development for CUPE 3903 Unit 2 members who request assistance by helping them to prepare for a tenure-stream search at York University and other Universities and to provide advice about other career opportunities The position will be for one year and will normally carry with it an one-course release.

For nominations or further information please contact Raj Virk (rvirk66@gmail.com). Nominations close on Monday, August 1, 2016.

The bargaining team met the employer on Friday, June 10, but nothing was accomplished.

On Monday June 13, 2016 we resumed bargaining. The Employer presented a proposal regarding Long-term Disability which had been previously agreed upon. However, members of Unit 4 noted that the criterion (cut-off for eligibility) for the article did not relate meaningfully to the financial realities inherent in Unit 4 contracts. Accordingly, it was withdrawn by CUPE 3903 for further consideration.

The employer also offered a counter-proposal to the Unit 4 Academic Freedom article which did not include a clause regarding electronic monitoring of employees in the work place, which is standard in CUPE 3903’s collective agreements.

Also, the employer tabled counter-proposals for benefits, which mirrored existing contracts for the other three units, except for the 5 month extension after the end of the last contract, which is crucial to Unit 4 because of the precarious and limited nature of part-time contracts. Again, after discussion, and a discussion regarding standard CUPE pension articles, the articles were withdrawn by the University.

In further general discussion the Employer argued that we should view our contract as a “first-contract”. Accordingly, in the Employer’s view, Unit 4 should not have a Collective Agreement equal or comparable in compensation or benefits to that “earned” by other CUPE 3903 units over decades of collective bargaining. In short, the employer has argued that we must view any agreement present or future as “incremental” and unequal to that of other bargaining units. The absurdity of this position was noted. This line of reasoning, considering basic principles of social justice and equality, was not accepted by CUPE 3903 and Unit 4. Union representatives demanded that Unit 4 must have parity with existing agreements.

It was suggested by the employer we move to a discussion of the Formal Evaluation process. The bargaining team informed the employer that we would not move forward with further discussions until there was an agreement on the article regarding Academic Freedom as tabled — a discussion which has dragged on now for many weeks. The Executive Director of the Department of Faculty Relations suggested he could not agree to the Article as tabled without consulting the University Provost. The meeting ended.

Bargaining resumes June 24, 2016 at 9:30 in YL 280 A.

Read previous bargaining updates and other information on the Unit 4 Bargaining page.

The voting for the Communications Officer by-election took place May 31, June 1-3 and 6-7. The results are below:

• Maija Duncan: 50 votes
• Jeffrey Zavala: 29 votes
• Spoiled ballot: 1

There are also 8 sequestered ballots still awaiting confirmation.

We are hearing reports from many members that summer funding is missing. If you are a minimum guarantee student — that is, if you do not hold an external scholarship — you should be paid the balance of your funding package (minimum guarantee minus the TA or GA position you held Sept-April) during the summer months.

Unit 1 members (PhD students) might be offered a 0.5 TA or a GA contract over the summer. If you have not been offered work you should still be paid on the 25th of each month.

Unit 3 members are paid out in one lump sum in mid-June. See pages 23-24 in our Member’s Manual for more information and to understand what to expect.

If you have not been paid or have not been properly paid, please contact me (Stephanie Latella, Chief Steward Unit 1,cupe3903csu1@gmail.com) or Jacqueline Ristola, Chief Steward Unit 3 (cupe3903csu3@gmail.com). We will be compiling this information to hold the administration to account. In your email, please detail your status (program, year, domestic/international).