Join representatives from several unions representing precarious postsecondary workers for a discussion on solidarity, bargaining, and what we’ve learned while building power in a pandemic world! Register now!

Unions representing graduate precarious academic workers in the university sector all face similar challenges: the suppression of wages under Bill 124, record increases in cost-of-living, the shift to remote work and organizing, intransigent employers, and more. We also have a long tradition of learning from and supporting each other every step of the way! Join us as we share the lessons we’ve learned and the tactics that work.

The first half of the event will be a roundtable panel, and the second half will be an open discussion. All are welcome!

This roundtable, hosted as part of the CUPE 3903 Summer Sessions, is open to everyone! Please register to receive the Zoom link: Register for the Solidarity Roundtable.

There will be CART closed captioning. For ASL interpretation or all other accessibility requests, please contact Maija at cupe3903asr@gmail.com as soon as possible.

First Meeting with Employer: Discussion of Bargaining Parameters and Logistics

On June 29, 2023, the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team for Units 1, 2, and 3 had its first meeting with the Employer. There are early indications that nothing will come easy this round; our straightforward requests for the provision of refreshments and technological support to facilitate meetings are already being met with pushback by the Employer who expressed a desire to download those responsibilities and costs onto us. We hope they heard our concerns and we will be able to enter into bargaining quickly and without any further logistical problems.

Hybrid Meeting Format

In keeping with CUPE 3903’s adherence to open bargaining, we presented our request for a hybrid bargaining format (where the primary meeting takes place in person, but with options for the membership and Bargaining Team to join remotely via Zoom). The hybrid format presents technological challenges and requirements (the need for outlets, extension cords, projector, microphone, etc.); there were some technological difficulties during the first meeting which we will work to remedy. Thank you to the members who attended online and in person!

Contentious Meeting Logistics

CUPE 3903 proposed to entirely facilitate the online portion of the meeting, and that the Employer take responsibility for room bookings, including ensuring adequate equipment and IT support is available to make hybrid bargaining possible. The Employer would not commit to ensure the necessary equipment or that hybrid rooms would always be available. 

Against past practice and our expectations as indicated in our bargaining parameters, the Employer indicated that no food (only water, coffee, and tea) would be provided during meetings and no parking passes would be provided (since “the world of parking has changed” from previous bargaining rounds). The Employer showed eagerness for longer bargaining days but appears unwilling to provide the food or parking reimbursement that would make those long days more humane and feasible.  

While no major decisions or substantive discussions took place, the first meeting with the Employer demonstrated that they wish to download as many of the costs and responsibilities as possible onto CUPE 3903 to carry out the logistics of the bargaining process. 

Get Involved: Bargaining Surveys and Upcoming Bargaining Meetings

CUPE 3903 is committed to open bargaining, which means all members are welcome to attend bargaining meetings (either in person or via Zoom). Specific dates and times are still being finalized (stay tuned to our website’s calendar), but here are tentative dates for upcoming bargaining meetings with the Employer: 

• Thursday, July 27 from 10:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 1 from 10:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

As always, we encourage members to participate in our regular weekly bargaining team meetings (without the Employer). Here are the next few meetings:

• Tuesday, July 4 at 2 p.m.: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83497452796?pwd=RWVCVTN5bUJlTTNac1k2eUk2UUFJZz09
• Thursday, July 6 at 11 a.m.: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83173103795?pwd=WVdXUzNLYzNpTTkxSUZZbUhqODFiQT09

There is still time to share and fill out the Bargaining Surveys! The surveys will be live until July 9. If you have yet to fill out the bargaining survey, please take a few minutes to do so here:

• Unit 1 Bargaining Survey – Full-time graduate students who work as Teaching Assistants, Marker/Graders, Lab Assistants, Tutors, and more.
• Unit 2 Bargaining Survey – Contract faculty who are not full-time graduate students.
• Unit 3 Bargaining Survey – Full-time graduate students with a graduate assistantship.

Accessibility of Bargaining Meetings 

For the regular weekly bargaining team meetings, Zoom captions will be enabled. For the bargaining meetings with the Employer, CART will be available. If you require ASL interpretation or reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care or have any other requests for accommodation, please contact our Equity Officer, Nadia Kanani, at cupe3903equity@gmail.com.

Due to the high demand for ASL interpreters, we encourage members to provide, when possible, two weeks’ notice if ASL interpretation is required.

Once we have finalized the meeting schedule and location with the Employer, we will provide the following access information for the room and building where the meeting will be held:

• location of power doors/accessible entrance to the building
• location of all gender, single user, accessible washroom nearest to meeting room
• masking protocols

CUPE 3903 is hosting a series of Summer Sessions for all members! Whether you want to dip your toes into labour organizing, share your vast experience, get to know new people, or reconnect with old friends, this is the space for you! These sessions, which will alternate between in person and remote format, will prioritize conversation, brainstorming, and exchange of ideas. Everyone has something to contribute!

The sessions will be arranged around three themes. Organizing Tactics (June) was a huge success! Now we are moving into Growing Solidarity (July), and Building Power (August). While the sessions are meant to build into each other, they are also self-contained. If you can only attend a few, we’d love to see you there!

Mark your calendars for the following dates. All sessions are currently scheduled for 11am-2pm. All in-person sessions will take place in the First Student Centre room 325, on Keele Campus.

Organizing Tactics
June 14th: Organizing: What Is It? (in person)
June 21st: Making Online Organizing Work (online)
June 28th: Direct Action Gets the Goods (in person)

Growing Solidarity
July 19th: Solidarity in the Classroom (in person)
July 26th: Exploring Online Connections (online)
August 2nd: Solidarity Roundtable (online)

Building Power
August 9th: Effective Disruptions: Picketing & Beyond (in person)
August 16th: Building Leverage: Strike Mandate Vote (online)
August 23rd: Taking Action: Planning Support for Bargaining (in person)

Accessibility Information
In person sessions will consist of a mix of presentation and small group discussion and use audio-visual materials. ASL interpretation and captioning can be provided upon request. There will be one 45 minute lunch break per session. Food will be provided with attention to dietary restrictions (please indicate your dietary restrictions on your registration form). There will be access to gender-neutral accessible washrooms. Fidgets will be available. There will be air purifiers in the room and adequate room for social distancing. We ask that participants please wear a mask.

Online sessions will consist of a mix of presentation and small group discussion and use audio-visual materials. CART closed captioning will be available. There will be one scheduled 15 minute break per session. Participants are encouraged to come and go as you need, and to have your camera on or off as you prefer.

Please indicate all other access needs on your registration form. We do not need to know why you need it in order to provide it. Ideally, requests for ASL interpretation would be received at least two weeks before each session; however, we will do our best to meet later requests.

Addressing inequities in Ontario’s education system: statement on prioritizing police training funding over free tuition for all

We, the undersigned Ontario academic CUPE and PSAC locals, express our opposition to Premier Doug Ford’s decision to cover the full costs of the Basic Constable Training at the Ontario Police College. We find it outrageous that the province prioritizes the abolition of tuition fees for police training over addressing the exorbitant tuition fees and student debt that many students face to complete their post-secondary education.

This decision highlights a lack of commitment to addressing the systemic barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized communities who are also often overpoliced. Particularly, it is disturbing that police training has been prioritized, given its inability to properly address community needs. Policing does not address the complex social factors that contribute to the perpetuation of social issues in our communities. Rather, relying on policing perpetuates the discrimination and victimization of Black, Indigenous and other racialized people, disabled people, and those who live with mental illness.

As academic workers, we believe that education is a fundamental human right and a public good that should be accessible to all, regardless of background or socioeconomic status. We call on the Ontario government to demonstrate its commitment to this principle by investing in post-secondary education and ensuring that all students have access to the resources and support they need to succeed. Free tuition for all, not just the police trainees.

Therefore, we urge the Ontario government to reconsider this decision and redirect public funds towards initiatives that address the pressing needs of Ontarians, regardless of their status. We also call on the government to engage in meaningful consultation with community organizations and other stakeholders to develop a comprehensive approach to policing that prioritizes accountability, transparency, and the safety and well-being of Ontarians.

We want to highlight the hypocrisy of the Ontario government’s decision to provide full funding for police training while ignoring student pleas to end poverty and reduce student debt. It is unacceptable that police officers receive special treatment while the needs and well-being of students, who are the future of our province, are neglected. Even during the pandemic, when post-secondary students and workers did not use any of the on-site facilities, the Ontario government refused to waive the tuition fees despite persistent campaigns led by graduate students and workers across the province.

The Ford government’s double standard between the police force and higher education students/workers is not new, as the government has shown disregard for the concerns and interests of the latter before. The government’s decision to exclude the police force from the austerity measures imposed by Bill 124, which restricts public sector wage increases to 1% per year, is another example of the government’s misplaced priorities and lack of commitment to building a fair and equitable society. All the bargaining processes before the appeal of Bill 124 forced the graduate workers’ unions to leave the table with only a 1% increase while the inflation rates were soaring. Students and workers in Ontario are still suffering the consequences of this exclusionary double standard.

We call on the Ontario government to listen to the voices of students and workers and take concrete steps to address the urgent social and economic challenges facing our province. This includes investing in post-secondary education and addressing the systemic barriers to accessing education and employment.

CUPE 3902
CUPE 3903
CUPE 3906
CUPE 3908
CUPE 2626
PSAC 610
PSAC 901
PSAC 902

As we head to the polls today to vote for the mayor of Toronto, we want to remind the membership that during the May 15th GMM, our members voted to strongly denounce the endorsement of Mark Saunders for mayor of Toronto by CUPE local 5089 (representing approximately 175 special constables, fare inspectors and protective services guards of the TTC). Saunders’ transit policy plan promises to increase the number of special constables and their patrolling powers, and to further shield them from accountability by transferring responsibility away from the TTC and towards the Toronto Police Service. As a current member of CUPE 3903 identified, if implemented this plan would result in more frequent and more hostile interactions and greater scrutiny of transit users, especially of those who are racialized, young, mentally ill or experiencing mental distress, and/or unhoused. As a commuter campus located in one of the most socioeconomically marginalized communities in Toronto, this plan would mean exposing our members, our students, and members of our broader community who depend on public transit to get to work or to study to further violence.

            Our membership also re-affirmed our local’s position to kick cops, special constables, fare inspectors, and other state security forces out of CUPE and the labour movement more broadly. Due to the historical and current role they play in the violent control, incarceration, and suppression of striking workers and students, especially of those who are Indigenous, Black, mentally ill or experiencing mental distress, unhoused, and otherwise labelled as ‘dangerous,’ those employed as state security forces cannot be considered workers or allies to the labour movement.

            While our local is not endorsing a particular candidate at this time, we want to remind our members to keep in mind what is at stake for our most marginalized peers and students as we head to the polls today.

It’s official: Bargaining is underway

As you may know, the 3903  bargaining team served the employer with notice to bargain June 1, which was the first day we were permitted to do so under the Labour Relations Act, 1995. See “Beginning the negotiation process.” The bargaining team served notice at the first opportunity because we know how much is at stake for 3903 members when it comes to equity, wages, and benefits. It took a week for the employer to respond to the notice to bargain. We are following up with dates to meet the week of June 27 and we would love to kick off bargaining with members by our side either remotely or in person. Watch the 3903 website for announcements confirming dates for our first meetings with the employer.

It’s your choice: Join us in person or remotely

The bargaining team dug into the bargaining parameters, voted on at the May 23 Special General Membership Meeting. After discussing a number of factors, such as how to ensure maximum safety and accessibility for members, and how to best engage members, we decided on a hybrid model for this round. We will present the employer with a plan to resume in-person bargaining meetings as we’ve done historically, with the option of zoom bargaining for members of both teams. We would make allowances for members to join either in-person or on zoom.

The team keeps growing!

The bargaining team was excited to welcome two new members: Anni Siren and Sabika Zaidi will be representing Unit 3 members, a unit that has been seriously harmed by the employer’s violations of the scope clause going back to 2016. At the SGMM on June 22, members will get to vote on the two recording secretary candidates for the bargaining team. Watch for upcoming videos where members of the bargaining team will introduce themselves and their bargaining priorities.

Preliminary survey results: Wages are not keeping up with the cost of living

The bargaining team got a preliminary report from members of the Bargaining Research Committee, who have been looking over the completed surveys. So far, there’s a healthy response rate of survey completion. Preliminary results of bargaining priorities for 3903 members suggest that wages/cost of living and health benefits are top of mind across all three units. The information from surveys shapes our bargaining proposals, so if you haven’t had a chance yet–please fill out a bargaining survey soon. We want to know your priorities!

From priorities to proposals

Proposals are a major focus for the bargaining team at this stage. With the team made up almost equally of new and returning folks, we talked through the process of identifying issues and crafting proposals. We look back to where we got to in the last round; we consider long standing problems, often revealed by grievance fact patterns; we take into account entrenched inequities; and we make note of other ways the 3903 membership expresses its will, including through surveys and at SGMMs. With lots of support from staff who help us with language and how new proposals interact with the existing collective agreement, we’ll be drafting all-units proposals, which are relevant to Units 1, 2, and 3 (such as on benefits and wages), as well as unit-specific proposals (such as graduate funding for units 1 and 3, and job security for unit 2). All proposals will be presented to the membership for discussion before they are passed to the employer.

Get involved!

There are many ways you can be involved in bargaining. Please fill out the bargaining survey; attend an upcoming bargaining prep meeting (June 20, 2:00-3:00pm; June 22, 11:00am-12:00pm); come to the June 22 SGMM, 12:00-3:00pm (register in advance here); participate in the bargaining kickoff (details TBA).

Lee Wiggins Childcare Centre has a few spots remaining in their toddler room!

Did you know? CUPE 3903 members currently receive a 50% discount on childcare fees at Lee Wiggins (located in the First Student Centre).

Additionally, Lee Wiggins participates in the CWELCC program, so the tuition fees have been slashed in half!

The current rate for full time toddler care is $680.40 a month, and CUPE 3903 members receive a 50% discount on that rate.

In order to receive the CUPE3903 discount, you must provide the Centre with a CUPE3903 contract or a letter from the union, stating you are a part of the union. This discount applies to current and political members!

Please visit the Lee Wiggins Childcare Website for more information and if you have any questions, please contact us at contact@yorkuchildcare.ca

Bargaining team report back Week of June 4-9

For the week of June 4 through to June 9th, CUPE 3903 is still waiting for response to our requests for information, and the York admin has finally acknowledged our “notice to bargain”.  But, we are not inactive!

There is not much to report, as bargaining has not even started; your bargaining team has still been busy.

First, the important information to discuss:

NO RESPONSE TO REQUESTS FROM EMPLOYER

The administration has not yet acknowledged any of our asks (i.e., our requests for information), but has recently acknowledged receipt of our notice of bargaining.  To be clear, the administration is starting off this bargaining with stonewalling us.  We are concerned with this lack of communication but hope that indeed this will be quickly rectified. We are clear with our timeline. 

On the GMM on June 7th, we indicated that we would promptly follow up with a nudging email to the the employer following up with our notice to bargain..

BARGAINING TEAM PREP

We are continuously discussing and setting up both our strategies in regards to dealing with the employer and representing the bargaining unit.

In regards to representing the units, we are awaiting the results of the bargaining surveys, which went live last week as well.

In light of the non-response of York’s administration to our “notice of bargaining” we are keeping track of our timeline, and would like our membership to be aware that we might need to alter our  previously proposed and approved (in the last SGMM, May 23, 2023) 

timeline due to the intransigence of the employer.  As always we are keeping our membership abreast of any possibilities, and will take any proposed changes to the membership.

We have also been starting our work to get bargaining proposals to the membership with a soft deadline of the next SGMM to have a collection of a bunch of the proposals to bring to the table.

Be active with us!

-We cannot afford to wait, now is the time for bargaining for fair wages, for bargaining for equity in our workplace, now is the time for bargaining to fix our problems within our units at York!

Please do not forget to fill in bargaining surveys and keep abreast of our reports back to you.

Have you received the link for the surveys?  Do you know where to find them? Any problems with filling them in?

-feel free to come to our meetings next week:

June 13 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82245818523?pwd=VFl6RlFEM3JZdy90b21DYndOWTlHdz09

June 15 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82884000362?pwd=dDFsVzFBZTFweEJTSXFYSGpzdG1UZz09

-The next BT SGMM (Special General Membership Meeting) is June 22 @2 pm.  Please be there.

Nominations closed on June 9 at 12:00 p.m. for vacancies on the Units 1, 2, and 3 Bargaining Team. 

The following nominations were submitted:

Unit 3
Anni Siren (acclaimed)
Sabika Zaidi (acclaimed)

Recording Secretary (contested)
Joseph Tohill
Alexandre Wilson

** Update: Following the the withdrawal of nomination, Joseph Tohill is acclaimed as Recording Secretary!!

The nominations period is immediately followed by a campaigning period until the SGMM on June 22nd. Elections (via Simply Voting) will open at the SGMM and continue for five days.

On May 31 the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team and staff met.

The meeting was spent reviewing the Notice to Bargain, as well as the numerous information requests we’re making of the employer. A Notice to Bargain marks the union’s official indication to the employer that bargaining has begun, and that collective agreement negotiations must soon happen. As part of the Notice to Bargain the union can request that the employer turn-over relevant information. That information, combined with the results of our bargaining surveys, will inform the proposals that we craft over the coming months.

The Notice to Bargain has since been sent to the employer. More information can be seen here. 

Bargaining Surveys are Now Live!

With the bargaining surveys now launched, the Bargaining Team developed a process for monitoring and collecting results.

Members can access the surveys and share them with fellow members using these links:

Unit 1 – Full-time Graduate students who work as Teaching Assistants, Marker/Graders, Lab Assistants, Tutors, and more

Unit 2 – Contract faculty who are not full-time graduate students.

Unit 3 – Full-time graduate students with a graduate assistantship or a research assistantship. 

Our next meetings are:

These meetings are open, and all members are both welcome and encouraged to attend. Dates and exact times of all meetings can be found in our calendar here.

Members can also get in touch with the Bargaining Team for questions and comments through the BT email: 3903bargaining@gmail.com