CUPE 3903 has given Notice to Bargain today, June 1st, 2023. This legal notice is the first step in bargaining new collective agreements for Units 1, 2, and 3. This round of negotiations will require swift and decisive action. Precarious academic workers can’t afford to wait. We must fight for improved wages, job security, employment equity, and more.

We all know that the last few years have been difficult. Under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic, a conservative government, and a cost of living crisis, the problems festering in academia for decades have swelled to a point where they affect every last one of us. Despite years — often decades — of trying to address systemic problems, we have seen little to no change in terms of job security, workload, equitable hiring, and addressing racialized violence. The unfair employment practices within the School of Nursing persist, and we face job losses within Kinesiology and Glendon. The employer’s union-busting of research assistants continues, robbing hundreds of graduate students of benefits and protections. Atop this mountain of entrenched issues sits Bill 124. This bill prevented us from bargaining for fair wage increases by limiting our collective agreements to a 1% increase, far below the gigantic cost of living increases we currently face. Not only was Bill 124 declared unconstitutional, but it is now expired. We are free to demand wage and benefit increases that represent fair and dignified compensation for the valuable work we do.

The situation may be difficult, but it is far from insurmountable. Our opportunity is here to fight back against our immiseration. Bargaining is our moment to come together and express our collective will and power. The solutions to our problems exist, and we have the power to demand them, as we have done successfully in the past.

Your voice and your experience are an essential part of this struggle. 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.

You can read the full Notice to Bargain here. The notice also includes a list of documents and other information requested by the bargaining team in order to inform the bargaining proposals.

We can’t afford to wait. It’s time to bargain. Let’s do this.

Our Bargaining Team is Growing!

On Monday, May 29, the Bargaining Team and some staff members met. We welcomed aboard a new member representing Unit 2, Jeremiah Gaster. The Bargaining Team still needs representation from Unit 3 as well as a Recording Secretary. Members who are interested in and eligible for these positions can consult nomination instructions in this post. 

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.

Next steps

The Union will soon serve notice to bargain to Employer. This step can be taken as early as June 1, 90 days ahead of the expiration of the contracts for Units 1, 2, and 3. Along with our notice to bargain, we will submit a list of information requests. Together with bargaining surveys, the data requested from the Employer will inform our bargaining proposals.

We will meet again this week to finalize our list of information requests and to discuss bargaining communications.

Our next meetings are:

May 31, 2023 @ 2:00 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81241934277?pwd=UG1Uam13SEdiRGxnRXo0THpMN0xOdz09

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

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), 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!  

The next session ‘Making Online Organizing Work’ is Wednesday June 21st at 11 am. Register here!

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 12th: Solidarity Roundtable (online)
July 19th: Solidarity in the Classroom (in person)
July 26th: Exploring Online Connections (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.

Our Collective Agreement with York University expires on August 31, 2023. This means that we are about to begin bargaining. 

With Bill 124 having been declared unconstitutional, and with historic inflation and increased cost of living, this round of bargaining is a unique opportunity to fight for higher wages. With a recent wave of strike activity and unionization, the power of organized labour to deliver significant benefits to workers is more evident than ever. It’s our turn to have similar successes. This survey is the first step to elaborate our priorities so that we can fight for them together. Please take 15 minutes to share what matters most to you for your working conditions as we enter the next round of bargaining. This survey will inform the bargaining proposals that will be presented to the union membership and ultimately to the Employer. 

This survey is for members of CUPE 3903 Unit 1/Unit 2/Unit 3 only. All information collected will be treated as strictly confidential by the Bargaining Team and the Executive Committee. To ensure you receive up to date communications during bargaining, your contact information will be kept, but it will not be associated with your answers.

Please click the Bargaining Survey for your Unit:

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.

We hope you answer as many questions as possible but you can skip individual questions if you like. Please complete the survey once you have started it. If you need to re-start the survey or have other problems, please contact the Bargaining Team at 3903bargaining@gmail.com. For bargaining to succeed, we need a full and accurate picture of 3903 needs and priorities, so please discuss the survey with other members!

Nominations closed on May 23 at 12:00 p.m. for vacancies on the Units 1, 2, and 3 Bargaining Team. Congratulations to the following acclaimed candidate:

Jeremiah Gaster – Unit 2

The following vacancies remain:
Unit 3 (3 vacancies)
Bargaining Team Recording Secretary (1 vacancy)

Nominations for these positions will reopen May 26 at 12:00 p.m.

The online NOMINATION FORM is available HERE; the form will close at the end of the nomination period (June 9, 2023 12:00 p.m.). For contested positions, the nomination period will be followed by two weeks of campaigning and Voting (through Simply Voting) will begin at the next closest GMM and will continue for five days. 

Additional Details:

• The traditional register and nomination form have been combined into a single electronic election nomination form, thus it is the only thing a nominee will need to fill out. A nominee will need to know the names and email address of two supporters, who need to be members in good standing. Upon submitting the nomination form, the supporters will be automatically contacted to endorse the nomination via a pre-populated supporter form (this form will disable at the close of the nomination period as well). Both the nomination form, and the two supporter forms need to be in before the deadline for the nomination to be accepted. Please note that some people have had the supporter form go to their Junk folder, so if you have agreed to support a candidate, please also check there for the email with the form.
• The nomination period will open at noon on May 26th and will close two weeks later on June 9th at 12 pm.  The form will automatically disable at the close of the nomination period.
• Information concerning the campaigning period and electronic voting will be forthcoming.

Should members have any accessibility concerns they should contact the EOs at cupe3903eo@gmail.com, or the Equity Officer at cupe3903equity@gmail.com

We are excited to announce that there are still several excellent opportunities available to join a committee this year! The nomination period will close on May 29. In order to nominate yourself or for more information, please email cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com. We encourage you to visit the Committees page to learn more about the responsibilities and honoraria associated with each committee. Don’t miss out on this chance to get involved and make a meaningful contribution!

The number in parentheses indicates the number of vacancies on the following committees:

– CUPE Toronto District Council (1)
– Distribution Committee (4)
– Forum Moderators (2)
– Joint Health and Safety Committee Reps (12)
– Labour Management Committee, Units 3 (1)
– Nursing Specific Posting Officer (2)

May 8th Report

On Monday, May 8, the CUPE 3903 Bargaining team and some staff members met.

The meeting was still largely informal, and no decisions regarding bargaining were taken.

The Bargaining Team, following the discussions had by the Bargaining Research Committee, continued reviewing the bargaining surveys. A meeting to finalize the surveys was set for May 16.

The Bargaining Team also began to solidify a proposed bargaining timeline to present to the membership. With a view to minimum disruption for students, the Bargaining Team is currently intending to finish bargaining by the end of the summer, pending membership approval.

Next Steps

Our next meetings are:

May 16, 2023 @ 7PM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88333741968?pwd=TEtET3hxNUxtK0M2TG5KWVFYbFd4Zz09 

May 24, 2023 @ 2PM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81432277987?pwd=NHJFNkgwZ2pRTjJhNGd3RS9yVnJRZz09 

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

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

On Monday, May 1, the CUPE 3903 Bargaining team met.

The meeting was still largely informal, and no decisions regarding bargaining were taken.

The bargaining team continued discussions from our previous meeting. Attention was paid to a potential bargaining timeline that is currently in discussion at the Stewards’ Council and Executive Committee, and what that would mean for the work of the bargaining team.

The Bargaining Team also began to solidify its own internal processes to ensure that work is fairly distributed amongst the team, and to ensure that bargaining team meetings run efficiently.

Our next meetings are:

Bargaining Team Meeting, May 16, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88333741968?pwd=TEtET3hxNUxtK0M2TG5KWVFYbFd4Zz09

Bargaining Team Meeting, May 24, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81432277987?pwd=NHJFNkgwZ2pRTjJhNGd3RS9yVnJRZz09

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

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

After the initial nomination period of closed on March 9, there remain five (5) vacancies on the bargaining team:

Unit 2 (1 vacancy)
Unit 3 (3 vacancies)
Bargaining Team Recording Secretary (1 vacancy)

Nominations for these positions will open May 8 at 12:00 p.m. The online NOMINATION FORM is available HERE; the form will close at the end of the nomination period (May 23, 2023 12:00 p.m.). For contested positions, the nomination period will be followed by two weeks of campaigning and  Voting (through Simply Voting) will begin at the June GMM and will continue for five days. 

Additional Details:

• The traditional register and nomination form have been combined into a single electronic election nomination form, thus it is the only thing a nominee will need to fill out. A nominee will need to know the names and email address of two supporters, who need to be members in good standing. Upon submitting the nomination form, the supporters will be automatically contacted to endorse the nomination via a pre-populated supporter form (this form will disable at the close of the nomination period as well). Please note that some people have had the supporter form go to their Junk folder, so if you have agreed to support a candidate, please also check there for the email with the form.
• The nomination period will open at noon on May 8th and will close two weeks later on May 23rd at 12 pm.  The form will automatically disable at the close of the nomination period.
• Should members have any accessibility concerns they should contact the EOs at cupe3903eo@gmail.com, or the Equity Officer at cupe3903equity@gmail.com.

We are excited to announce that there are still several excellent opportunities available to join a committee this year! The nomination period will close on May 12. In order to nominate yourself or for more information, please email cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com. We encourage you to visit the Committees page to learn more about the responsibilities and honoraria associated with each committee. Don’t miss out on this chance to get involved and make a meaningful contribution!

The number in parentheses indicates the number of vacancies on the following committees:

• CSEU Committee (1)
• Distribution Committee (5)
• Forum Moderators (2)
• Joint Health and Safety Committee Reps (12)
• Labour Management Committee, Unit 3 (Unit 3 members only) (1)
• Labour Management Committee, Unit 4 (Unit 4 members only) (3)
• Nursing-Specific Posting Officer (Nursing CCD members only) (2)
• Toronto York Region Labour Council Representatives (1)
• Affordable Housing Committee (1)