During the April 28 GMM members elected committee members and also passed various bylaw amendments. Elections winners are below and the bylaw amendments voted upon can downloaded here.

CONTESTED POSITIONS

Postings Officers

David Ravensbergen
Jeffrey Zavala

Extended Health Benefits Committee

Qamar Zaidi

Stewards Council Listserve Moderator

Sayed Hossein Banitabaei

ACCLAIMED POSITIONS

Accessibility Committee – 2 positions

Hossein Banitabaei

Childcare Committee – 3 positions

Brendan Bruce

Evelyn Kissi

CUPE Toronto District Council – 1 position

Brendan Bruce               

Distribution Committee – 3 positions

Hossein Banitabaei                                               

Joint Health and Safety Committee – 2 positions

Sarah Hornstein

Matthew Corbeil                                                          

PDF coordinator – 1 position

Muhammad Raza Sajjad                                                      

Research Grants Fund and Travel Cost Fund Committee – 1 position

Steven Pinter                   

Ways and Means – 3 positions

Hossein Banitabaei

Kyle Belozerov

Sujanthan Sriskandarajah  

CUPE Ontario Convention – 2 delegates

Jacqueline Ristola

On April 29 members of our newly-minted Unit 4 met with the employer. According to Unit 4 representatives, the most contentious issue related to research done by contract librarians. The employer’s position is that research is not a job requirement for contract librarians, which was hotly contested by Unit 4 members at the table.

The May 6th Unit 4 bargaining session has been cancelled. As soon as a new date is set, meeting details will be shared. Official Updates from Unit 4 bargaining are posted here as these become available.

At the April GMM members voted to donate $1,000 to the TTCriders non-profit organization. TTCriders reps have written asking to deliver “a BIG THANKYOU to CUPE 3903’s membership for approving the donation request” adding that “the money will help pay for literature, buttons etc… as we build toward a Low-Income Pass rally at City Hall May 31^st.”

Now, TTCriders wants to hear your story about taking transit, for instance descriptions of crushing expenses, or needing to pay twice for a single trip thanks to municipal boundaries. They’d especially like to hear the transit stories of students at York University, the commuter school of the region.

Why?

This year two important transit decisions are being made that will have a huge impact on folks living on a low income (low income being $22,000 or less). One is a decision by Toronto City Council whether or not to approve a Low-Income Pass for the TTC, which is scheduled for June. The other is the decision about how to restructure transit fares with the implementation of the new Presto Card system late this year.

TTCriders is pushing for a Low-Income Pass and is opposed to any kind of fare-by-distance or fare-by-speed-of-transit system (which is currently being floated) because many on a low income live far from their school or workplace. We reject a transit system that would eliminate flat-rate fares within Toronto and see higher fares for using subways compared to buses.

Publicizing your story through TTCriders can help us build public support for these demands. To get involved email Cindy Loch-Drake (clochdrake@gmail.com) or for more info go to http://www.ttcriders.ca

Diane Beelen Woody, Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning recently released a list of Teaching and Learning Supports for instructors. These relate to the concerns and questions raised by instructors most frequently  e.g. Accommodations, Teaching at the 1000 level,  Experiential Education, EE and key contacts in the Teaching Commons. The list is available here.

This is a fund of $10,000 administered throughout the year.

The Sexual Assault Survivor Fund Committee understands that sexual assault can impact many areas of your life. The fund supports survivors offset costs such as counselling, legal support and lost wages. Members can draw on this fund to an annual maximum of $1000 and a lifetime maximum of $3,000. The Committee recognizes that legal support can be very expensive and will consider adjusting the yearly maximum based on need.

DEADLINES: September 30, January 31, May 31. Additional deadline for 2016: March 15.

The Sexual Assault Survivor Fund is administered three times per year except in emergency situations where members can apply to the committee on an ongoing basis. If you are applying on an emergency basis, make sure that you email the Committee atsasfund.cupe3903@gmail.com to let them know you have dropped off an emergency application for their consideration.

The Committee will do its best to review each claim within two weeks of its submission and recognizes that some claims may be time sensitive.

Priority and Previous Claims: Only current members of CUPE 3903 are eligible to apply for funding. Priority will be given to first time applicants. Provided applicants were members at the time expenses were incurred, applications for past expenses will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Members whose previous claims were adjudicated by Ways and Means will also be reconsidered. If the total expense of a member’s claim has not been met, they can reapply in subsequent years.

How to Apply: Download the claim form: PDF or Word doc. All information given on the application form is strictly confidential. You will be notified of the Committee’s decision by email or telephone. Applications are to be submitted in a sealed envelope marked “personal and confidential” and addressed to:

CUPE 3903 TFAC
143 Atkinson College Building
York University
4700 Keele St.
Toronto, Ontario
M3J 1P3

General Membership Meeting
Thursday, April 28
12:30pm – 3:30 pm
Harry Crowe Room
Atkinson building 109

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Tentative Agenda:

1.  Roll call of officers (5 mins)
2. Reading of the Equality Statement (3 mins)
3. Reading of the Mississauga Land Acknowledgement (2 mins)
4. Approval of Agenda (5 mins)
5. Reading and Approval of minutes (15 mins): December, January, and February GMM Minutes
6. Notices (5 mins)
   1. Donation request from “York Graduate Conference in Philosophy: Memory & Social Cognition” ($200)
   2. Donation request from “Verging: New Technologies/Practices/Aesthetics Symposium in Cinema and Media Studies” ($300)
   3. Donation Request from “International Campaign Against the War on the People of India (Toronto)” ($500)
   4. Donation request from the Graduate Student Association in the Biological Sciences ($3000)
   5. Donation request for Vision(s) of Politics: The Thought of Sheldon Wolin Conference ($240)
   6. Donation for the Grassy Narrows River Run 2016
   7. Donation for the 2nd Tamil Studies Symposium at York ($1500)
   8. Donation request from the South Asia Research group (SARG) at York Centre for Asian Research for the event “Caste in the Diaspora: Oral Histories of South Asians in Canada” ($1000)
7. Secretary-Treasurer’s Report (20 mins)
8. Committee Elections for vacant committee positions (15 mins)
9. Unfinished Business (100 mins)
   1. Motion to establish a special investigative grievance review committee
   2. Proposed by-law amendment: Communications Committee
   3. Proposed by-law amendment: Bilingualism Committee
   4. Proposed by-law amendment: Weekly strike pay
   5. Proposed by-law amendment: Accessible strike headquarters
   6. Proposed by-law amendment: Elections officers elections
   7. Proposed by-law amendment: TFAC elections
   8. Discussion on reviewing the donations policy
   9. Donation to Lift’s Conscious Minds Day camp ($1000)
   10. Donation to Colombia Action Solidarity
   11. Donation to SAIA ($500)
   12. Donation to CERLAC Graduate Student Conference ($1000)
   13. Donation request for Raul Burgos Normal in Ayotzinapa Guerrerro Mexico ($1500)
   14. Donation to TTC Riders ($1000)
   15. Donation to Humanities Graduate Student Association Conference ($500)
   16. Donation to ASAY ($2000)
   17. Donation to the People’s Assembly on Climate Justice ($300)
   18. Donation to Ali Mustafa Memorial Collective ($200)
   19. Donation to Ethno-Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario ($500)
   20. Donation to “Confronting Racism: From Microaggressions to Structural Violence” Symposium by The Toronto Research and Community Exchange (OPIRG Toronto) ($200)
10. New business (25 mins)
    1. Endorsement request from The 15 years of Imperialist War in Afghanistan Campaign
    2. Endorsement request from Fossil Free York
    3. Endorsement request from Regenesis Toronto Ecovillage Project
11. Discussion on the new funding (fellowship) model (45 mins)
12. Reports of committees and delegates (15 mins)
    1. Stewards’ Council
    2. TFAC
    3. Childcare Committee
13. Exec Reports (15 mins)
14. 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.

FGS has advised that they will be lifting the block for all of the affected international graduate students April 26, and will be sending a communication to them letting them know.  The total number whose block will be lifted April 26 is 52. This is in addition to 6 international graduate students whose block has already been lifted.

The Union recently got from the Employer the ‘complete list’ of all members with GA contracts from Sept. 2015 to April 2016. That is, members that the Employer has categorized correctly as being in the Union and therefore entitled to all Unit 3 rights and benefits.

Do you think you are in the Union but aren’t sure? Do you have something called a RA but are not sure whether it’s a union or non-union RA?

If you have questions like this, let us know at the Union office right away and we can see if you are on the list.

In response to York’s new union busting fellowship model, CUPE 3903 is collecting detailed information about the GA/RA positions York is cutting. The projected loss of around 800 jobs for our unit 3 members is devastating, and we want as much data as we can to arm ourselves in the fight against York’s attempts at union-busting. If you hold, or have ever held a Graduate Assistant (GA) or Research Assistant (RA) position at York, please fill out this brief survey so we can better understand the scope of Unit 3’s work and illustrate its essential role to the University.