The member Vincent Collins would no longer like to run for the BT and Exec. As a result, the following positions are now acclaimed:

Unit 1 Bargaining Team

1. Martin Schoots-McAlpine
2. Isaac Thornley
3. Rhiannon Cobb

Vice-President, Unit 1

1. Ali Gholami

The nomination period for the 2023 Bargaining Team (Units 1, 2, and 3) and the 2023-2024 Executive Committee closed on March 9 at 11:59 a.m. Please find the results below.

For contested positions, the campaigning period is open from March 10-23, 2023. Candidates should submit campaign statements (suggested length of 300 words) to the Elections Officers at cupe3903eo@gmail.com by March 13, 2023.

Voting will commence at the AGM on March 24th and will continue thereafter until 5pm on March 29, 2023.

Voting will be online and undertaken via Simply Voting. Members will receive a link and their voting credentials via email from Simply Voting.

The nominees for the Bargaining Team are as follows:

Unit 1

Martin Schoots-McAlpine

Isaac Thornley

Rhiannon Cobb

Vincent Collins

Unit 2

Zoe Newman – acclaimed

Stephanie Latella – acclaimed

The nominees for the Executive Committee are as follows:

Chairperson

Stephanie Latella – acclaimed

Chief Steward, Unit 1

Matthew Lomas

Ehsan Tabesh

Fatemeh Gharibi

Chief Steward, Unit 2

Christopher Bailey – acclaimed

Vice-President, Unit 1

Vincent Collins

Ali Gholami

Vice-President, Unit 2

Julie Allen – acclaimed

Vice-President Unit 3

Keefer Wong – acclaimed

Secretary-Treasurer

Aidin Torkameh – acclaimed

Communications Officer

Vedanth Govi

Erin McIntosh

Arefeh Shamskhany

Recording Secretary

Vanessa Lehan – acclaimed

Grievance Officer

Parbattie Ramsarran – acclaimed

We congratulate members who have been acclaimed to the Bargaining Team and Executive Committee and wish the very best to those who will be running for elections.

The Trans Feminist Action Committee (TFAC) and Trans Caucus seeks three (3) self-identified trans members for the Trans Fund Committee. The Trans Fund is composed of 3 people whose responsibilities include advertising and promoting the Fund, receiving and reviewing applications, adjudicating applications, determining disbursements and other duties. All of the individuals who are elected to the Trans Fund must be trans-identified.

The Trans Fund Committee is responsible for adjudicating  three rounds (over three semesters) of the Trans Fund and will receive $500 each for the year. All trans-identified members of CUPE 3903 are eligible for these positions. We especially encourage trans women and trans feminine persons to apply.

To nominate yourself for the Trans Fund Committee, please email the election officer, Evan Vipond, at evan.vipond@gmail.com. Please include Trans Fund Committee in the subject line.

The nomination period is open from Tuesday, March 7, 2023 to Sunday, March 19, 2023 4pm (EST). If more than three people are nominated for the committee, an election will be held at the TFAC AGM on Monday, March 20 at 10am on Zoom.

Come join us for the Trans Feminist Action Caucus (TFAC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday March 20th at 10am! At the AGM, we will elect the new TFAC co-chairs for the 2023-2024 year as well as the members for the Sexual Assault Survivor Support Fund (SASSF) committee and the Trans Fund committee. We will also pass a budget for the upcoming year.

Click here to join the meeting!

The Trans Feminist Action Caucus (TFAC) is an autonomous body of CUPE 3903 that consists of all women, trans*, gender queer and gender variant members of the Local. All TFAC members are welcome and encouraged to attend meetings, participate in the caucus, and run for the open positions below.

Open Nominations

TFAC Co-Chairs (2 positions)

The two TFAC Co-Chairs sit on the CUPE 3903 Executive Committee, and ensure the smooth running of TFAC. Want to nominate yourself for TFAC co-chair or need more information? Please email the election officers, Gizem Çakmak and Evan Vipond, at tfacelection@gmail.com.

TFAC Co-Chairs receive executive committee honoraria (varies depending on the number of sitting exec members, typically $800-1000/month)

Trans Fund Committee (3 positions)

Want to nominate yourself for the Trans Fund Committee or need more information? Please email Evan Vipon at evan.vipond@gmail.com.

Members of the Trans Fund Committee receive a $500 honoraria for their work adjudicating the Trans Fund.

Sexual Assault Survivor Support Fund Committee (3 positions)

Want to nominate yourself for SASSF committee or need more information? Please email the TFAC co-chairs at tfac.cupe3903@gmail.com.

Members of the SASSF Committee receive a $500 honoraria for their work adjudicating the SASS Fund.

Looking forward to seeing folks on the 20th!

Did you know? If you are the minute taker for a TFAC meeting, you will receive a $50 honorarium.

Follow TFAC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tfaccupe3903/

Nominations are now open for the new annual terms of the committee positions listed below. Interested members should email Ali Gholami, VP Unit 1, cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com to nominate themselves or for more information. The deadline for nominations is 5 pm, Monday 13th March.

Any committees with more nominees than positions open will be voted on at the AGM on March 24th. Otherwise, nominees will be acclaimed to their position.

Nominees will be notified if their candidacy will be voted on at the AGM and are then welcome to send a short written candidate statement (max 150 words) for inclusion in the AGM package by no later than 5 pm, Monday, 20th March. There will also be time at the AGM (Friday, 24th March at 3 pm ) for nominees to briefly speak about their candidacies if they want to.

For further details on the work of each committee and the honorarium payment attached to their work, please see here.

• Accessibility Committee (4 vacancies)
• Advisory Committee on Race/Ethnic Relations, Discrimination and/or Harassment (2 vacancies)
• All-University Pensions Committee (1 vacancy)
• Archive Committee (2 vacancies)
• Bargaining Research and Preparation Committee (3 vacancies)
• Bilingualism Committee (2 vacancies)
• Bursaries Committee (2 vacancies)
• Communications Committee (4 vacancies
• CSEU Committee (2 vacancies)
• CUPE Toronto District Council (6 vacancies)
• Distribution Committee (6 vacancies)
• Employment Equity Committee (3 vacancies)
• Extended Health Benefits Committee (4 vacancies)
• Forum moderators (2 vacancies)
• Joint Health & Safety Committee (14 vacancies)
• International Graduate Students’ Committee (2 vacancies)
• Labour-Management Committee (3 vacancies; one each unit 1, unit 2, unit 3)
• Labour Management Committee, Unit 4 (3 vacancies)
  
• Postings Officers (2 general vacancies)
• Nursing Specific Posting Officer (2 Vacancies)
  
• Unit 1 Research Costs Funds Committee (unit 1 only, 2 vacancies)
• Research Leave Adjudicating Committee (Unit 2 only, 1 vacancy)
• Senate Representative (1 representative, 1 alternate)
• Teaching Development Fund Committee (Unit 2 only, 2 vacancies)
• Toronto & York Region Labour Council (6 vacancies)
• Union Trustees’ Committee (1 vacancy, 3 year term)
• Affordable Housing Committee (2 Vacancies)

The nominations for all bargaining team positions for Units 1, 2, and 3 have been reopened and will close on March 9th at 12pm. To nominate yourself, be sure to read the instructions closely and provide a full nomination before the deadline.

Read more about the reopening of the nominations and nomination instructions. 

Hear What Previous BT Members Have to Say!

Interested in running for bargaining team, but not sure what it’s like? Below you will find pictures of quotes from previous bargaining team members, as well as transcripts of these quotes.

Continue reading →

The CUPE 3903 2023 Executive Committee election nominations period will be open from February 24th at 12pm to March 9th at 12pm.

All members, especially Black, First Nations and racialized members, and members from other equity seeking groups, are strongly encouraged to run for the next executive committee in fulfillment of our equity mandate. For a list of executive positions, please see CUPE 3903 Executive Committee.

(NB: Trans Feminist Action Caucus (TFAC) co-chairs are elected by members of TFAC through an independent election run by TFAC election officers.)

Election Timeline

The election timeline will be as follows:

• Nominations Period: February 24 – 12pm to March 9 – 12pm
• Campaigning Period: March 10 – 12pm to March 23 – 12pm
• Voting Period (via SimplyVoting): March 24 – 5pm to March 29 – 5pm

Nomination Instructions

The online NOMINATION FORM is available here: Executive Committee Nomination Form. The form will close at the end of the nomination period (March 9, 2023 at 12 pm).

To nominate yourself:

• Nominees must fill out and submit the electronic nomination form linked above.
  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 addresses of two supporters, who need to be members in good standing. If the nomination is for a Chief Steward or Vice President position, the supporters must be members of the relevant bargaining unit (e.g., for a Unit 1 position, the supporters must be members of Unit 1).
• Upon submission of the nomination form, the supporters will be automatically contacted by email to endorse the nomination via a pre-populated supporter form. Both supporter forms must be submitted before the deadline in order for the nomination to be considered complete. The form will be disabled at the close of the nomination period. 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 your Junk folder for the form.
• The nomination period will open at 12pm on Feb 24th and will close two weeks later on March 9th at 12pm. The nomination form and supporter forms will automatically be disabled 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 Electoral Officers at cupe3903eo@gmail.com, or the Equity Officer at cupe3903equity@gmail.com

The deadline for the Teaching Development Fund has been extended to March 1, 2023. In order to apply, follow the directions in the updated TDF application form (Word version here). Application documents must be submitted using the MACH form linked in the form. References should be sent to teaching@yorku.ca.

The Teaching Development Fund assists Unit 2 members in the development of a new program of study, new courses and teaching materials, or teaching skills. There are five minor teaching development grants of $3,000, as well as two major grants equivalent to one course directorship. Only contract faculty who have held at least one Type 1 or equivalent position in each of the two years prior to the start of this contract year will be eligible for the major grants. The TDF is adjudicated jointly by CUPE 3903 and the Teaching Commons.

The elections officers have recommended that nominations be re-opened for all bargaining team positions, including those that had previously been acclaimed for Units 1 and 2, which have been revoked.

As a result, there are currently nine open positions on the bargaining team. Three for Unit 1, three for Unit 2, and three for Unit 3.

This decision was made to ensure that all interested candidates have an opportunity to participate in the bargaining team elections after concerns were raised by executive and rank-and-file members that the published nomination instructions lacked clarity.

The reopened nomination process will correspond to the timeline already set out for Unit 2 and Unit 3: February 24th-March 9th at 12pm. The nomination period will be followed by two weeks of campaigning (March 10 at 12 pm – March 23 at 12 pm). Voting (through Simply Voting) will begin at the March 24th General Membership Meeting (5 pm) and will continue for five days until March 29th at 5 pm.

The new announcement for candidates interested in running for the bargaining team includes step-by-step instructions on the nomination process. 

Note: Candidates who already had their nominations approved by the Elections Officers will not need to resubmit their nomination forms.

Instructions: 

The online NOMINATION FORM is available HERE; the form will close at the end of the nomination period (March 9, 2023 at 12 pm). 

To nominate yourself:

• Nominees must fill out and submit the electronic nomination form linked above.
• 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 of the relevant bargaining unit in good standing (e.g., a member seeking to represent Unit 1 will need supporters from Unit 1). 
• Upon submission of the nomination form, the supporters will be automatically contacted to endorse the nomination via a pre-populated supporter form. Both supporter forms must be submitted before the deadline in order for the nomination to be considered complete. The form will be disabled at the close of the nomination period. 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 your Junk folder for the form.
• The nomination period will open at 12pm on Feb 24th and will close two weeks later on March 9th at 12pm.  The nomination form and supporter forms 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 Electoral Officers at cupe3903eo@gmail.com, or the Equity Officer  at cupe3903equity@gmail.com

We are hosting a General Membership Meeting via Zoom on February 28th from 2pm to 5pm! All members are encouraged to attend.

At the meeting, the executive will provide a break down of what it means now that we’re in a bargaining year, with bargaining officially beginning in August. There will also be a discussion of issues that might become bargaining priorities, followed by a timeline to a possible strike.

Please register in advance for this meeting here.

In order to register, you will need to provide your employee number, which will be kept confidential. Your employee number is on your monthly pay stub. If you don’t know your employee number, please click here for instructions.

Keep reading for the tentative agenda, accessibility information and more.

Continue reading →