The CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team met with the Employer on June 24th and 25th. There have been significant developments to the bargaining timeline. The Union received counter proposals on a number of issues including: Unit 1 appointment deadlines, and the outstanding Unit 3 issues of the Graduate Assistant Training Fund and job misclassification. In turn, the union presented the first pass of a Letter of Understanding to ensure a safe return to in-person teaching in the fall. The union also finally got confirmation that York is going to comment on monetary issues.

Bargaining Timeline: Intensive Bargaining Ahead
As per the letter received on June 23rd, the Employer has committed to providing comprehensive packages, including monetary items, before the Strike Mandate Vote begins on July 5th. York has now committed to providing those packages on June 30th, so that intensive bargaining sessions on July 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and the morning of July 4th can be productive.

Continue reading →

Employer Unprepared to Discuss Job Security Issues

On June 28, Unit 2 members of the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team met with the Employer in a penultimate discussion of job security proposals mediated by Chris Albertyn.

The bulk of the session involved a sidebar discussion between Albertyn, counsel for both parties, Union staff representatives, and the Employer’s lead negotiator Dan Bradshaw. While this was ongoing, Unit 2 members of the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team worked through Albertyn’s latest draft on Article 12.04, on equitable hiring, and identified areas for further clarification and movement.

When the Union’s sidebar participants returned, members of the Bargaining Team were frustrated to learn that the Employer seems wholly unaware of the details of our existing job security programs. This is unacceptable at this late stage of the bargaining process. The Employer has articulated an interest in expediting negotiations since the start, and has accelerated the timeline by filing for conciliation, requesting the no-board report, and setting a lockout deadline–and yet they arrive at our sessions totally unprepared to do the work to bring us closer to an agreement.

These job security sidebar discussions with Albertyn are set to continue and possibly conclude on July 3. What may be the final sidebar on equity will also take place on the morning of July 1. We hope that the Employer arrives properly equipped to engage on these critical issues.

Members are welcome to attend any and all upcoming bargaining meetings and to vote yes in the upcoming Strike Mandate Vote.

Unit 2 will be holding a town hall on Friday, July 2^nd to discuss current bargaining issues and the upcoming strike mandate vote. All Unit 2 members are strongly urged to attend this meeting.

Register in advance for this meeting here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuf-mppzoqHdL9YU_275y2f9nBFPVdj7WD

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Tentative agenda:
1) Introduction and Rules of Engagement
2) Bargaining Update and SMV discussion
3) Threat of Lockout and Forced Ratification
4) Other qestions

We are hosting a Special General Membership Meeting to establish red lines in bargaining, and on the Strike Mandate Vote on July 5th from 12:00pm to 3:00pm.
All members are encouraged to attend.

This is a virtual meeting and will be held via Zoom.
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 →

On June 22, Unit 2 members of the Bargaining Team met with the Employer and mediator Chris Albertyn, in what was supposed to be a concluding discussion on equity proposals. As equity has been a shared priority from the outset of this round of bargaining, the Union is deeply disappointed in the lack of preparation and movement on the part of the Employer, who has imposed a fast-approaching lockout deadline of July 10.

Continue reading →

The Bargaining Team (BT) met with the Employer on June 18th (with conciliators), and June 19th (with Chris Albertyn). While the Employer made slight movement on a few key issues, the discussions continued to be very slow. Given the looming lock out deadline of July 5th initiated by the Employer’s no board request, the Bargaining Team is disappointed to see that the Employer is still dragging out these conversations, but we remain committed to bargaining and reaching a negotiated settlement for all units during the 17-day cooling off period. Members can see the union’s latest proposal package here.

Continue reading →

The Ways and Means Fund is currently exhausted. The Union has approached the Employer with a solution which would see funds made available from an underutilized Fund to the Ways and Means Fund. Discussions are ongoing.

On June 9, 2021, the Employer requested a No Board Report to move towards a legal lockout position. Today, on June 18th, we received notice that the Ministry has issued the No Board Report, starting the 17-day cooling off period. This means the Employer can lock out our members as of July 5th.

As previously stated, the Union is disappointed to see the Employer make this aggressive move, instead of remaining committed to reaching a negotiated agreement for all units. This step by the Employer also undermines the progress that was being made at the table, and casts doubt on their previously stated commitment to improve employment equity at York University. Further, the Employer has been unresponsive to the Union’s monetary proposals, and has left key pieces of bargaining unaddressed while moving towards a lockout. This again shows that the so-called impasse is put in place by the Employer, and could be addressed if they genuinely engaged with the Union’s proposals.

Continue reading →

We are hosting a Special General Membership Meeting on the Strike Mandate Vote via Zoom on June 23rd at 12:00pm to 3:00pm! All members are encouraged to attend.

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 →

The nomination period for the Unit 2 Representative of the Bargaining Team and the Chief Stewards of Units 3 and 4 officially closed on June 13, 2021.

We are pleased to announce that Lina Nasr El Hag Ali has been acclaimed as the third Unit 2 representative of the Bargaining Team, and Peter Gorman has been acclaimed as the Chief Steward of Unit 4. There was no nominee for the Chief Steward of Unit 3 and the position remains unfilled.

Congratulations to the newest members of our Executive Committee and Bargaining Team!