On Monday, June 7th, the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team met with the conciliators as part of the process of conciliated bargaining. The Employer presented counter proposals for Unit 1, 2 and 3.
Job Posting – Phone Bank Canvasser – Resubmission of Resume and Deadline Extended to June 17th (5pm)
Resubmission of Resume
For those of you who have already submitted your resume for the Phone Bank Canvasser job posting, please resubmit your resume as there was an error in the email address provided.
Kindly resubmit as soon as possible to the following email address: hiringCUPE3903@gmail.com
We sincerely apologize for this error and the inconvenience it has caused.
Extension for Job Application
Please also note that the application deadline for the job posting has now been extended to Thursday, June 17th (5pm).
Please see the original job posting here for details.
Training for this position will be provided.
All Members Who Held Contracts in the 2020-2021 Academic Year Are Eligible to Vote in the Strike Mandate Vote from July 5th–9th
Given the Employer’s increasingly aggressive tactics which threaten labour peace on campus, the Union is preparing for both a lockout scenario and a possible forced ratification vote, which would only be open to members with current contracts at the time of the vote. The Union received legal advice on a number of possible scenarios and during the process was able to clarify that in the case of a Strike Mandate Vote, all members who held contracts during the 2020-21 academic year would be eligible to vote, as has been past practice. Only a vote organized by the Union will capture the employment relationship held by precarious workers at York University and ensure the entirety of our membership has a voice in their future. Any vote imposed on the Union by the Employer and the Ministry of Labour would lack democratic legitimacy, as this would be an intentional ploy to frighten a small subset of our members, with threats of a looming lockout, to vote to change our Collective Agreement for the worse.
Report Back- Bargaining Meeting with Employer, June 4th
On Friday, June 4, the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team met with the Employer and received counters on our proposals for Unit 1 appointment deadlines, paid voluntary training, and the Unit 3 Graduate Assistant Training Fund (GATF). We also remotivated our Nursing proposals as key priorities that are awaiting counters from the Employer. Finally, we signed off on our proposal for equity hiring provisions in Unit 1 ticketed course directorships. The Union is happy with this movement towards implementing concrete measures for equity, which is the central aspect of CUPE 3903’s bargaining efforts, and we remain committed to holding the Employer to its responsibility to ensure equity for all our members. Members can see the Union’s latest proposal package here.
Statement by CUPE 3903 on York University’s Plan to Return to 50 Percent In-Person Teaching in the Fall 2021 Term
On May 11th, President Rhonda Lenton issued a statement on the Fall 2021 term. In the statement, Lenton laid out York’s intention to offer up to 50 percent of courses in-person. The administration’s “optimism” in this regard is creating much anxiety amongst students and staff, and their plan raises serious questions and concerns about health and safety.
York University Threatens Lockout Instead of Bargaining for Improvements to Equity
On June 9, 2021, the Employer requested a No Board Report with the Ministry of Labour, which is a legal step either party can use when they are preparing for job action. The Union is disappointed that York University, despite its many communications about maintaining labour peace for the whole community, is preparing to lock out our members. This is the equivalent of a strike, except that it is initiated and enforced by the Employer, not the Union.
This is an offensive move from an employer that paints itself as the reasonable party. York claims its favourite word – impasse – when progress is still being made at the bargaining table. In fact, on Friday, June 4 and Monday June 7, the Employer and Union reached agreement on a priority issue for Unit 1.
Members Approve Provisional Strike Timeline
At our SGMM on May 19th, the membership grappled with the Employer’s continued reluctance to bargain in good faith on our proposals. The collective agreements for CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2, and 3 expired on August 31, 2020. Since then we have collected data, and on December 9th, presented the Employer a concise package of proposals. Our proposals aim to affirm job security for contract faculty, and promote employment equity, which aligns with York’s publicly stated commitment to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion. Despite the Union’s expressed desire and efforts to address these issues concretely and expeditiously in the context of the pandemic, the Employer has engaged with our proposals minimally.
Given how protracted movement has been at the bargaining table, the membership has approved a provisional strike timeline in order to consider the next steps in the bargaining process, and has restated their support for the Bargaining Team; they urge the Employer to bargain seriously.
Members can see the provisional strike timeline passed by the membership here.
Notice – Joint Health and Safety Committee Reps Needed (including one Glendon-specific rep.)
The Joint Health and Safety Committee has four vacancies to be filled. We are particularly keen to find a rep from the Glendon campus, as this is currently a gap in 3903’s delegation to the committee.
You can find details of the committee here: https://3903.cupe.ca/about/committees/#health
Committee members are paid by the employer at the hourly marker/grader rate for work done on this committee.
If you wish to nominate yourself for this committee, please email Chris Little, Vice-President Unit 1 (cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com). Nominations will close at 5pm, Sunday 27 June.
Job Posting – CUPE 3903 Phone Bank Canvasser – Deadline June 11th (5pm)
Employer: CUPE 3903
Position: Phone bank canvasser
Website: https://3903.cupe.ca/
Position Type: Casual hire from June 16, 2021- June 30, 2021. Hire must be a current or political member of 3903. Training will be provided.
Bargaining Mobilization Committee Meeting – June 9th (4–6pm)
Our next BMC meeting will be June 9 from 4:00-6:00pm!
We’ll be debriefing the approved bargaining timeline, new phone banking positions for the strike mandate vote, and York’s plans for a return to in-person teaching in the fall. All members are welcome to attend!
Click here for a tentative agenda and please email alie hermanutz (cupe3903csu1@gmail.com) if you’d like anything added to it.