The following press release was issued by CUPE 3903 on September 7, 2021:

Toronto, ON – September 7, 2021 – Over 350 professors, sessional instructors, teaching assistants, and administrative staff at York University have signed an open letter calling on President Rhonda Lenton to allow educators to opt for remote teaching – to protect their students and the broader campus community.

“York’s ‘safety plans’ fail to account for the heightened danger posed by the reality of the Delta variant,” emphasizes the open letter, which has been endorsed by the York University Faculty Association (YUFA).

Continue reading the full press release here.

Poster_Townhall Invitation – Is it safe enough to return to campus

Members of CUPE 3903 and the wider York University community are invited to join an interactive panel discussion with leading health and safety experts in epidemiology, indoor air quality, bioaerosols, bioethics, population health equity, and more. Following brief presentations by the panelists, there will be an extended Q & A.

A coalition of Toronto university faculty associations and unions have endorsed a Checklist for a Safe Campus Reopening developed by experts at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, but are our university administrations listening to the experts? Are our university administrations doing enough to safeguard the health of our campus communities? Where are the strict classroom occupancy limits? How will campus vaccination and indoor masking policies be enforced, and who will enforce them? What are the trends in Ontario, and why does it look like a grim fall? We’ll examine these questions among others.

Please send your questions in advance when registering or to jordynpl@ocufa.on.ca. We will do our best to address them.

Please register in advance for this discussion here.

Continue reading for more information and the speakers’ list here.

Nominations are now open for the following committees:

• Childcare Committee (4 positions)
• Research Grants Fund and Travel Cost Fund Committee (Unit 2 only, 2 positions)
• Ways and Means (4 positions)

More information about these committees can be found here.

Listen to CUPE 3903 member Konstantin Kilibarda talk about the fourth wave, the Delta variant, and how York’s magical thinking about the pandemic is endangering the York University community by promoting #CovidOnCampus #UnsafeAtYork.
Interview in French

“Le virus ne répond pas à la logique qui balance la santé publique avec les intérêts du business et du profit” – écoutez  Konstantin Kilibarda, membre du SCFP 3903, qui aborde la quatrième vague, le variant Delta et comment l’Université York compromet la santé de la communauté à l’émission Dans la mosaïque.
Entrevue en français

CUPE 3903’s executive shares OCUFA’s (Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Association) concerns and position regarding the government’s unjustifiable exemption of postsecondary education settings from vital health and safety protections.

They state:
“With less than a week before the fall term begins, the inadequate guidelines introduced at the last minute by the Ontario government are deeply concerning, as they will increase the exposure risks to faculty, staff, and students…The government’s exemptions for capacity limits and distancing rules and the fact that it could not even pull together health guidelines until a few days before fall classes are set to begin, is of significant concern to academic staff at Ontario’s universities.”

Read OCUFA’s entire statement.

The nomination period for the positions of VP Unit 3 and Chief Steward Unit 3 has now closed. The position of VP Unit 3 was acclaimed by  C. Goldberg. Congratulations to the newest member of our executive!

The position of Chief Steward Unit 3 remains unfilled.

The following Unit 4 bargaining team positions are currently vacant and need to be filled:
i) Bargaining Team Representative Unit 4
ii) Bargaining Team Recording Secretary Unit 4

The nomination period for these positions are open as of August 31st. Members interested in nominating themselves should fill out the nomination form (https://form.jotform.com/cupe3903/election-nomination-form). If needed, the nomination period will be followed by a two week campaign period and a five day election (via Simply Voting).

Timeline:
Nomination period (2 weeks) – August 31 – September 13
Campaign period (2 weeks) – September 14 – September 27
Voting (5 days): September 28 – October 2