Have you ever been kind of puzzled by Bourinot’s Rules of Order and General Membership Meetings? Check out this new PDF that will help answer frequently asked questions about the procedural aspects of meetings! Keep this resource handy so that you can feel empowered to use your voice in all the CUPE 3903 meetings you attend.

If you ever have a question about how the Rules of Order work or about the General Membership Meeting format, never hesitate to contact an executive. We’re here to help!

The information in this FAQ is based on a historical CUPE 3903 resource, updated for the 2024 context! Thank you to all the comrades who have put in the work to make our meetings more accessible and approachable.

Grievances are a big part of why it’s important to be a dues-paying member of a labour union like CUPE 3903! Being able to be supported when grieving issues in your workplace means being able to protect yourself and your rights as a worker.

Want to learn more about grievances, how they work, and why they matter? Check out these graphics! For extra details, like the different steps of a grievance, you can check out our newly updated 2024-2025 Members’ Manual.

As the current Vice President of Unit 3 has stepped down as of September 1st, there is currently a vacancy in the VP 3 position. 

Nominations for this position will open at the September 19th, 2024 GMM at 1:30 p.m. The online NOMINATION FORM is available HERE; the form will close at the end of the nomination period (October 3rd, 2024 at 1:30pm). If the position is contested, the nomination period will be followed by two weeks of campaigning (October 3rd – October 17th) and Voting (through Simply Voting) will begin October 18th and will continue for five days, until October 23rd at 4pm. 

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 (of their unit, if the position is unit specific). 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 1:30pm on September 19th and will close two weeks later on October 3rd at 1:30pm. 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

Everyone who worked at York at any time between the Fall of 2020 and the Summer of 2023 (inclusive) is owed wage increases that we won in the strike earlier this year. 💰 We need your help contacting them! The amount of retro pay they are owed can range from hundreds to even over a thousand dollars.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Go through this list of former members who are owed back pay.
2. If you know someone, please ask them to fill out the retro pay form (https://www.yorku.ca/universityservices/retro/) and send it to hrhelp@yorku.ca as soon as possible.
3. Please ask them to let us know at cupe3903vpu2@gmail.com once they’ve done that so that we can take them off our list.

Let’s help our former colleagues get the pay they are owed! 🤝 Check out the list right here.

For any questions, contact: Joseph Tohill, Vice-President Unit 2, at cupe3903vpu2@gmail.com

DEADLINE: End of September!

Nominations are now open for vacant positions on multiple committees. 

If you want to nominate yourself to sit on a committee, nominations are now open and will close on 17 September at 17:00 (5:00 PM), Toronto time (EDT; UTC-4). Nominations received after that time will not be accepted.

Members may serve on a maximum of four (4) committees per fiscal year.

Any committees with more nominees than positions open will be voted on at the GMM on 19 September. Otherwise, nominees will be acclaimed to their position.

Nominees will be notified if their candidacy will be voted on at the GMM and the short written candidate statement submitted through the jotform (max 150 words) will be included in the GMM package. There will also be time at the GMM (19 September) for nominees to briefly speak about their candidacies if they so choose.

Information on each of our committees is available at this link. The following committees have vacancies:

• Distribution Committee (4 vacancies)
• Joint Health and Safety Committee (8 vacancies)
• Postings Officers (1 vacancy)
• York Pension Fund Board of Trustees (1 vacancy)
• Childcare Committee (4 vacancies)
• Ways & Means Fund Committee (4 vacancies)
• Research Grants Fund and Travel Costs Fund Committee (2 vacancies, only open to Unit 2 members)
• Labour-Management Committee (1 vacancy, only open to Unit 3 members)

To nominate yourself, please fill out the Jotform linked here. Please note that nominations are not being taken by email, only through Jotform.

If you have any questions, please email Matt Lomas, Recording Secretary, at recsec.cupe3903@gmail.com.

The Executive Committee of CUPE 3903 stands in support of CUPE 2361’s struggle for fair wages and better working conditions.

CUPE 2361 members have been struggling with severe understaffing, which has its roots in both low wages and high workloads. The caretaking, landscaping, maintenance, and trades labour that CUPE 2361 members perform is a crucial component of what makes Western University function on a day-to-day basis.

As their legal strike date of August 30th approaches, we know that these workers want nothing more than to do their jobs maintaining a campus that is clean, safe, and accessible for all. Doing those jobs is incredibly difficult when 2/3rds of CUPE 2361 members at Western University have to work two or more jobs at once to support themselves.

As precarious academic workers, many of us at CUPE 3903 share the struggles of having to take on multiple forms of employment just to make ends meet. For university workers, whether in trades or otherwise, we know that our working conditions are students’ learning conditions. Western University needs enough well-treated support staff to be able to provide safe, reliable services across their campus.

CUPE 2361 members have our solidarity in their efforts to secure sustainable jobs that keep better pace with rising inflation and costs of living.

Members who are recipients of a provostial or dissertation scholarship are still eligible for the Union’s EHB Fund!

If you are a member holding one of these scholarships, you can apply to the Extended Health Benefits Fund as usual, and please include:

1. The following sentences in your statement: “I am a recipient of a provostial or dissertation scholarship, so I will not appear on the most recent dues list supplied to the EHB Committee. If the EHB Committee would like to confirm my eligibility for the EHB Fund, please contact the Secretary-Treasurer (sectreasurer3903@gmail.com).”
2. Your award letter in the “Other Documents” field along with a note that you are still eligible for the EHB Fund.

How This Eligibility Was Fought For and Won

In the past, members who were receiving dissertation scholarships from York that prevented them, as a condition of receiving the scholarship, from accepting TA or GA contracts, were removed from CUPE 3903 health benefits after the 5 month grace period following the contract end date expired. These members only had the option of opting into the YUGSA health benefits.

This denial of access to Sun Life health benefits had major equity impacts! It especially disadvantaged members with disabilities, health conditions, chronic illnesses, and international students, for whom these health benefits were a necessity.  Members were often put in the position of having to calculate whether they could afford to accept the scholarship and cover their health expenses on their own, or they would have to decline the scholarship.

To change this, members engaged in a letter writing campaign, directing communications to the FGS Dean of Students and Director of Faculty Relations. This was not an open letter writing campaign due to confidentiality around these human rights code based grounds.

The member letters allowed the union to place additional pressure on these offices and we were successful in persuading them to maintain continued access to benefits for scholarship recipients for the following list:

• Provost Dissertation Scholarship
• Susan Mann Dissertation Scholarship

Scholarship recipient eligibility for benefits and EHB is a clear example of how when we speak up for what matters, we can win!

Calling all CUPE 3903 members

Join us in the Labour Day parade on Monday, September 2nd! This parade is a fun, safe, and family-oriented event. Feel free to bring children and family members! Click here for the link to the calendar event.

This year, CUPE 3903 will be marching in solidarity with other unions on campus: OHFA, YUFA, CUPE 1356, and YUSA. Wristbands for free entry to the CNE are usually available to a contingent of marchers from each participating union at the end of the parade. If you want to head to the CNE afterwards, please email!

3903 members will be assembling at 9:30AM on Centre Avenue just south of Dundas Street (one block east of University Avenue, north-west of Toronto City Hall). The parade departs from University Avenue and Queen Street at 9:30AM, goes west along Queen to Dufferin, and ends at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) gate at Dufferin Street north of Lakeshore Boulevard (usually ending at 2:30PM).

Accessibility notes: the route is approximately 3.5 kilometres, mostly moving along the street. Depending on the weather, it can be quite hot and sunny (or wet)!

Please bring water, sunscreen, and your CUPE 3903 gear! You can drop by the office this week Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to pick up a CUPE 3903 t-shirt or water bottle, if you’d like.

For questions and to coordinate with the CUPE 3903 Labour Day parade group, contact: Zoë Newman, Chairperson, at cupe3903chairperson@gmail.com

CUPE 3903’s Executive Committee calls on the CUPE National Executive Board to reverse its call for CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn’s resignation. CUPE National’s response contributes to the ongoing widespread repression of Palestinian solidarity.

As a labour union, it is our duty to be in solidarity not only with those in our own workplaces and communities experiencing oppression, but also those worldwide who are experiencing oppression. As workers, we know our struggles are intertwined. This is why CUPE 3903 must loudly resist the violent societal structures that not only restrict workers’ freedoms, but also the freedom of all peoples—especially, in this moment, those in Palestine. Over 50,000 Palestinian people have been killed by the Israeli government since October of 2023. We cannot lose sight of this horrific reality.

Fred Hahn was elected democratically to the National Executive Board at the National Convention in October 2023. Not even three months ago, CUPE 3903 members attended the CUPE Ontario Convention, where Fred was re-elected CUPE Ontario President by the majority of members. In this call for his resignation, the National Executive Board is acting without meaningful consultation and input from the rank-and-file members who elected him, eroding the fundamental democratic processes at the heart of our unions.

Let us be clear that we do not endorse Fred Hahn’s specific social media post in question. We appreciate that Fred has issued a statement to apologize for sharing the video and to acknowledge the nuances of antisemitism.

We must also see that the context for the call for his resignation was motivated by Zionists wanting to silence one of the strongest labour movement voices for Palestine, who has been vocally against the white supremacy that also harms those who are Jewish. Perhaps more importantly, when an elected representative takes open responsibility for a misstep and apologizes, attempting to force them out undermines the workplace culture of care that labour unions fight for.

Prioritizing Jewish members’ wellbeing is crucial. Denouncing Zionist attacks on Palestinian lives and Palestinian solidarity is fully compatible with that. Criticizing the violent and illegal actions of a state is not hateful. In taking this position, we are mindful of the significant grassroots activism by Jewish communities in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle.

CUPE National’s Executive Board should be concerned when their decisions are being immediately applauded by conservative actors like Doug Ford, whose ignorant, racist, and anti-worker patterns have been widely reported on.

In the current climate, we all need to be a strong voice against the Israeli state and their genocidal actions. This is evident here at York University and more broadly. Our previous statements provide more context to the way that student and worker activists in solidarity with the Palestinian people have faced serious threats, including the York admin’s shameful destruction of the People’s Commons for Palestine earlier this summer. 

For all these reasons, we call on the CUPE National Executive Board to reverse its call for Fred Hahn’s resignation. The National Executive Board’s actions contribute to the climate of repression that damages all workers’ attempts at resisting harmful conditions, inside and outside of their places of employment, locally and transnationally.

Stand with Fred:

https://www.labourforpalestine.com/statements/stand-with-fred

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stand-with-fred

Date of Notice: Aug. 19, 2024

Submitted By: Secretary-Treasurer, on behalf of the Ad Hoc Finance Committee

This bylaw amendment will be voted on through secret ballot at the November 2024 General Membership Meeting.

Bylaw Amendment to Article 7: Dues and Assessments

a. The regular monthly dues shall be established or altered by the membership of the Local only at a General Membership Meeting, provided that at least seven (7) days notice at the previous meeting or at least sixty (60) days written notice has been given.  A two-thirds majority vote is necessary when amending the dues level.

b. Special assessments may only be levied in accordance with the rules and procedures set out in the CUPE National Constitution.

c. Currently, the dues per unit (applied to gross wages) are as follows:

• i. Unit 1: 2.8% 3.0%;
• ii. Unit 2: 2.3% 3.0%;
• iii. Unit 3: 2.3% 3.0%;
• iv. Unit 4: 2.3% 3.0%;
• v. Unit 5: 3.0%
• vi. the monthly dues shall be $1.00 per month for the extended membership as described in Article 6 (f).

d. Payment of initiation fees is a tangible confirmation of the desire to become a member of your local union and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Each application for membership in the local union will be directed to the Secretary-Treasurer and will be accompanied by an initiation fee of one ($1.00) dollar. The Secretary-Treasurer shall issue a receipt. If the application is rejected, the fee shall be returned.

e. The re-admittance fee shall be one ($1.00) dollar.

f. A member with a current contract who voluntarily withholds dues and assessments for two months is automatically suspended from membership. For members who hold multiple contracts, suspension will apply if dues are withheld from one or more contracts.

The suspensions will be reported to the Executive Committee by the Secretary-Treasurer. The Executive Committee will then report all suspensions to the membership at the next general membership meeting, entering the names of suspended members into the record. The suspended member(s) may return to membership in good standing by paying a readmission fee and any other penalty set by the local union.