Our next GMM will be August 20th from 11:30 am – 2:30 pm in 320 Bethune College. Free food and TTC tokens will be available! At this GMM we will be voting on several bylaw amendments and important donation requests. All members are encouraged to attend.
Keep reading for the tentative agenda, accessibility information and more.
The next Stewards Council (SC) meeting will be August 20th at 10am just prior to the General Membership Meeting (GMM) on the same day beginning at 11:30am. SC will also meet in the same room as the GMM: Bethune 320.
All departmental Stewards are encouraged to attend and all general members are welcome. We will have coffee, tea and some light breakfast type snacks. We’ll be planning for upcoming orientations and need your support!
The Executive Committee of CUPE Local 3903 strongly condemns the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea and further condemns York University’s involvement in this project. The TMT has no free, prior, and informed consent from the Kanaka Maoli Peoples which is in direct violation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We stand in solidarity with the Kanaka Maoli and the people of Hawaii who are protecting the sacred site of Mauna Kea from destruction and intrusion of TMT.
Some Unit 1 members with right of first refusal have yet to receive a contract/job offer for the Fall 2019 and/or Fall/Winter 2019-20 term(s), while in previous years, they would already be aware of their employment for the coming academic year. Upon contacting the department in which they have the right of first refusal, they were informed that (1) they did not submit a blanket application or (2) they submitted a Unit 2 blanket application via ARMS (online). Our members believe this is an issue with the ARMS hiring system and we are recommending members check the status of their blanket applications.
We are unsure of how widespread this issue with ARMS is, but the Union recommends that you contact the department(s) to which you submitted blanket applications. Ask them to double-check that a blanket application was received. Should you encounter any issues, please contact your Chief Steward at cupe3903csu1@gmail.com
On July 23rd a meeting was held with York and the appointed arbitrator (Eli Gedalof) at which all parties agreed on the procedures necessary to resolve these grievances. Unfortunately mediation is a lengthy process. Labour arbitration of this type typically takes two or more years, and hearings on most matters will not take place until January/February of 2020.
Following the conclusion of the 2018 strike we began to raise several back to work/remediation issues with York, and were often met with their silence. As soon as a grievance arbitrator was put into place we began filing grievances. We have filed several grievances, representing hundreds of cases, with the arbitrator concerning Unit 1 and 2 remediation pay, Unit 2 hiring, and other issues including missing and/or incorrect vacation pay, and department specific issues.
If you are in the priority pool you probably received notice to opt in/out of summer fellowship payments. When York introduced the fellowship model many of our members, without notice, were left without any options for year-round funding. The choice to now have your funding distributed throughout the year was a bargaining demand in 2018 and one we successfully won. Now, if you are in the priority pool, you can choose an option that is best for your personal finances. You must opt-in to summer fellowship payments by August 10th.
YUFA, on June 26th, ratified the SRC (Special Renewable Contract) amendment to their collective agreement which would see 18 Unit 2 members appointed to SRCS by July 1, 2020. The final language of the SRC agreement is now available. We are gathering further information for our members on expectations for application content and procedures, and will update members when they are available.
CUPE 3903 would like to warmly congratulate the following members for their success in the 2019-2020 conversions and Long Service Teaching Appointment exercises:
Both sets of the appointments above meet the employment equity hiring requirements as specified in the Unit 2 Collective Agreement. The employer has only appointed six of the seven LSTAs required by the Collective Agreement, and we are following up with the Faculty Relations Office about this issue.
Employer: CUPE 3903
Position: Staff Representative
Website: https://3903.cupe.ca/
Position Type: Term replacement position for 9 months with the possibility of extension. This is a term replacement for a Staff Representative on leave. At least 6 weeks notice will be given for any extension or termination of the contract.
CUPE 3903 is strongly committed to employment equity within our workplace, work environment, and broader community. We particularly encourage applications from persons with one or more disabilities, LGBTQ persons, persons from racialized groups, Indigenous persons and women.
Location: York University Campus (Keele Campus), Toronto, Ontario
Salary: $106,027.38 plus benefits/pension plan (pro-rated)
Posting Date: Friday, June 28, 2019
Closing Date: Monday, July 15, 2019
Start Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019 (or soon thereafter)
Interviews: Week of July 22
CUPE 3903 is a radical democratic union at the forefront of the labour movement in Canada, with a commitment to anti-oppression politics, diversity and equity, and supporting our members in achieving some of the best Collective Agreements in the country. Our workplace includes two full-time Staff Representatives, a part-time Equity Officer, a part-time Administrative Coordinator, a 14-person elected Executive Committee, other elected committee members, and an active membership. Our membership is comprised of approximately 3000 contract faculty, teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and part-time librarians and archivists at York University.
The responsibilities of the Staff Representative are governed by the CUPE 1281 Collective Agreement, and include:
Please submit (via mail or email) a cover letter, resume, and two letters of reference by 4:00 p.m., Monday, July 15, 2019 to:
CUPE 3903
Email address: hiringCUPE3903@gmail.com
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.
Recently the CUPE 3903 Executive Committee found out that CUPE National would be holding the 2019 Convention (scheduled Oct. 7th – 11th) over Yom Kippur, denying Jewish members celebrating the holiday an opportunity to participate in this important decision making event. The Executive wrote to CUPE National demanding that the dates of Convention be changed. A demand they have denied.