Zero Movement from Employer — CUPE 3903 on Strike Monday, February 26

Bargaining Team Report for Friday, February 23, 2024

In the crucial hours of what was supposed to be the final scheduled bargaining meeting in advance of CUPE 3903’s strike deadline, the Employer tabled not a single proposal  over five hours, squandering another opportunity to avert a strike. The CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team made use of the time by presenting a counter-proposal and a sign-off (agreement with the Employer) on another proposal. We even indicated to the Conciliator that the Bargaining Team is available to continue bargaining into Friday evening or on the weekend—as long as the Employer is willing to make a serious offer. The glaring inaction by the Employer demonstrates their blatant disinterest in making any real effort to avoid Monday’s strike. We remain committed to a negotiated settlement and are ready to return to the table as soon as the Employer is willing to do so. 

Three Units of CUPE 3903 Vote in Favour of Strike Action

On the morning of Friday, February 23, a strong majority of CUPE 3903 members in Units 1, 2, and 3 voted in favour of taking strike action as of Monday, February 26, at 12:01 AM. During a three-hour Emergency General Membership Meeting, members made this very important yet difficult decision because the key bargaining issues, especially those tied to compensation and job security, are about survival. After eight months of bargaining, this is the situation we’re in: a university run by an administration that will happily give itself massive raises while our members increasingly rely on food banks.  

For more information on what strike action starting Monday will mean, read our Strike FAQ 2024.

Employer Chooses No Movement over Averting Strike 

After spreading misinformation earlier in the week that insinuated that CUPE 3903 had cancelled Friday’s bargaining session (which we promptly responded to), the Employer did not table a single proposal or response for the entirety of the five hours of bargaining on Friday afternoon. In contrast, the union agreed to a proposal regarding the printing of collective agreements and a counter on credit for participation for Units 1 and 2. We also reiterated the need to see serious movement on wages and benefits, the inclusion of the Graduate Financial Assistance (GFA) in the Unit 1 and Unit 3 wage increases, and the withdrawal of the Employer’s Job Stability Program (JSP) proposal in order to reach a deal.  

A negotiated agreement is within reach. We invite the Employer to return to the table as soon as this weekend–as long as they are ready to actually bargain. 

What’s Next?

Picket lines will go up on Monday, February 26, and the workers will be joined by faculty, other campus workers, students and labour leaders at 11:00 AM for a rally outside York University subway station. Urge your department councils to pass motions to suspend all classes until the strike is over.

We need volunteers to help support strike action preparation and join various subcommittees. Some possible roles you can fill are picket captains and strike coordinators but a full list of subcommittees can be found in Article 10 of our Strike Policy. Please take a look and let us know what role excites you most!

There is an Emergency Strike Committee Meeting taking place tomorrow (Saturday), February 24 at 11 AM. This emergency meeting is being called specifically to discuss strike logistics. All members welcome!

We are also hosting a Bargaining Q & A on Sunday, February 25 from 4:00 to 5:30 PM for members who want to meet with the bargaining team and ask us any questions about the bargaining process. 

Finally, please sign this petition and tell the York University Senior Administration to support wages, job stability and protections that provide an accessible, high quality education to all!

Open Bargaining 

Our union practices open bargaining, meaning all meetings of the Bargaining Team—including our face-to-face meetings with the Employer’s bargaining team—are open to all members of CUPE 3903. Members are encouraged to attend both our Bargaining Team meetings, which take place online, and our meetings with the Employer, which usually take place in a hybrid format. As of this week, in-person bargaining meetings with the Employer will be held at Ministry of Labour offices on the 8th floor of 400 University Avenue. This location is fully accessible and close to St. Patrick subway station. As members of CUPE 3903, you are free to come and go from any of our meetings as your schedules allow. Check the calendar on the CUPE 3903 website for any updates or changes.

Upcoming Bargaining Meetings

Unfortunately meetings may arise with less notice during a strike in order to keep things moving. We will provide as much notice as possible. Keep an eye on 3903.cupe.ca/calendar for all the latest events and meetings.

Contract Faculty, Graduate Assistants and Teaching Assistants provide the majority of teaching at York University. They deserve a fair deal!

York University refuses to address the affordability crisis caused by rising housing and food prices at the same time that wages on campus have stagnated. More and more, academic staff are living further from campus and being forced to work other jobs to make ends meet.

That has a very direct impact on the quality of education provided by the university to graduate and undergraduate students alike. Who can afford to work at York? While everything from rent to medicine skyrocketed in price, wages for academic workers were capped at 1%. Meanwhile, York University gave senior administrators an average increase of 20%^[1].

Quality education is at stake, as much for undergraduate students whose educators’ working conditions are their learning conditions, as for graduate students, for whom education has become more and more out of reach as wages fall well below cost of living. The state of low wages for Contract Faculty, Graduate Assistants and Teaching Assistants at York University is an equity issue.

Click here tell the York University Senior Administration to support wages, job stability and protections that provide an accessible, high quality education to all! It only takes minute, there’s an email template ready for you – all you need to do is add your information and hit send!

^[1] https://auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arreports/en23/AR_YorkU_en23.pdf

York University academic workers vote to strike Monday

TORONTO, ON – Three thousand contract instructors, teaching assistants and graduate assistants at York University will be on strike Monday morning unless their employer comes back to the table with a real plan to address the affordability crisis.

“We’re struggling to make ends meet. Basic needs like housing and food have skyrocketed in price, but the wages for people who do the majority of teaching at York have been falling further and further behind,” said Erin McIntosh, PhD Student and CUPE 3903 spokesperson. “The employer is still making an offer that is far below the rising cost of living. Who can afford to work at York anymore?”

Academic workers were on strike in 2018 and were legislated back to work by the Ford government without a resolution to the issues that led to the strike.

The Ford government then passed the unconstitutional Bill 124 that restricted wages to 1 percent per year at a time of record inflation. That law was subsequently struck down by the courts because it was unconstitutional, but York has yet to address the imbalance it created.

“For workers who are also students, it’s making York unaffordable. It’s putting a university education out of the reach of people. This is a question about equity and access ,” said McIntosh.

The affordability issues are also affecting the quality of education, she said. As academic workers are forced to live further and further from campus and take on second or third jobs to make ends meet, that means less time to work with students.

Picket lines are expected to go up on Monday, and the workers will be joined by faculty, other campus workers, students and labour leaders at 11:00 AM for a rally outside York University subway station.

“We don’t want to be in this position, but things are at a breaking point. The university needs to get serious about bargaining in a way that addresses the issues of affordability and equity,” said McIntosh.

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At the February 23rd Special General Membership Meeting, the membership of CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2, and 3 voted to go on strike on Monday, February 26th.

In order to receive strike pay for your strike duties (picket pay or accommodated strike duties), you MUST sign up for strike pay using the following form:

SIGN UP FOR STRIKE PAY

All members will need to sign in to their shifts in order to receive strike pay, in addition to the above form, which you only need to submit once.

To request accommodated strike duties (also called the 8th Line), please follow the instructions in the Strike Duties Accommodation Procedure.

Winter 2024 CUPE 3903 Strike Duties Accommodation Procedure (approved by SC February 14, 2024)

What is the 8th Line?

The “8th Line” is made up of members requiring accommodated strike duties.  Although we are working to make picket duties more accessible, we recognise that these duties may not meet your access needs.  8th line accommodated duties include a range of tasks, including tasks that may be completed remotely or at the strike headquarters, so that we can ensure that members’ access needs are being met.  Members with lived experience of disability, chronic illness, injury, as well as members who have family care responsibilities, may apply for accommodated strike duties.

What strike duties do 8th Line Members do?

Alternative picket duties include a range of tasks to meet our members’ wide range of access needs.  The list of duties, see Appendix 1, has been approved by CUPE National for picket pay.

Who can apply for accommodated picket duties?

Members who require accommodations on disability, medical, or family status grounds are able to apply for accommodated picket duties through the process listed below.  If you require religious accommodations for picket duties, such as a change in schedule, breaks for prayer or time off to observe a religious holiday, these accommodations can be coordinated with the support of the Equity Officer and your picket captain.

Procedure for 8th Line Accommodations

While CUPE 3903 aims to create an inclusive and accessible procedure for requesting picket accommodations, this procedure is subject to approval from CUPE National.  In order to limit the disproportionate burden placed on members with code-based access needs of scheduling appointments and obtaining updated documentation for the purposes of applying for alternative duties, the Strike Committee and CUPE National have agreed that we can accept current Accommodated Work Plans (AWP) and/or Family Status accommodations approved by York.  Members who receive academic accommodations through Student Accessibility Services will also be approved for alternative duties. If it’s good enough for York, it’s good enough for the union.

However, going on strike may give rise to accommodation needs that your current work context does not require. This procedure allows for member with such needs to seek accommodated strike duties.

1. A member who requires accommodations on disability, medical, or family status grounds are invited to fill out the Accommodations & Alternative Strike duties online form (which will be sent directly to the Equity Officer only).  Alternatively, you may directly and confidentially contact the CUPE 3903 Equity Officer (EO), Nadia Kanani by email.  Please note that the EO’s role is to facilitate member access to accommodations, and to maintain the confidentiality of member requests and accommodations. The Equity Officer will not be deciding whether or not accommodations are approved and will not be assigning specific alternative picket duties to members.

   Members can contact the EO at cupe3903equity@gmail.com. Please use the subject heading “Strike Accommodation Request”.

2. The member provides the required documentation – either through the online form or via email to the Equity Officer.  The Equity Officer will review the documentation with the CUPE National staff contact, in confidence. Examples of documentation include:
   1. Current Accommodated Work Plan through York/Employee Well-Being
   2. Email confirmation of Family Status accommodations from Employee Well-Being (if a formal Accommodated Work Plan was not provided)
   3. Previous year’s Accommodated Work Plan, if accommodations were not required this year.  Please note that accommodations based on previous year’s plans are approved on a case by case basis
   4. A doctor’s note for accommodations on disability/medical grounds
   5. A doctor’s note attesting to care-giver role for accommodations on family status grounds
   6. Proof of being wait-listed for day care services for accommodations on family status grounds
   7. Letter indicating the estimated date of delivery for pregnancy related accommodations

      Please note that no diagnoses need to be included in any documentation.

3. CUPE National will review the accommodation requests with the Equity Officer and make a decision on whether the member is accommodated for alternate strike duties.
4. Members who acquire an injury, a disability, or have other needs arise for accommodations during the strike, or who were otherwise unable to sign up for accommodations prior to a strike, can also go through this procedure.  Interim accommodations will be put in place while members obtain the necessary documentation.

Interim Accommodations

As per the Ontario Human Rights Code, members who have submitted an accommodation request will immediately be assigned alternative strike duties, as an interim accommodation, until they are formally approved for alternative duties. CUPE National will pay strike pay to members while they are receiving interim accommodations.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/Em6YWZyNKrAvPPPa6

Is York Serious about Averting a Strike? 

Bargaining Team Report for Wednesday February 21

After bargaining today, the Bargaining Team is left wondering: Is the Employer serious about averting a strike? A full day of bargaining conducted by “shuttle diplomacy” (i.e., the Conciliator acting as go-between) resulted in only minimal changes to the offer the membership overwhelmingly rejected last Friday. Although we appear to have agreed on a few important equity proposals, on all the other main issues—including salaries, benefits, and job security for Units 2 and 3—the two parties are no closer to reaching a deal that members could accept. 

Employer Misleads the York Community

We started the day dealing with the Employer’s letter to the Bargaining Team—a letter designed more to mislead our members and the wider public than to express any genuine disappointment with our decision to bargain this Friday in the afternoon only. To be clear, the Employer’s claim that we cancelled our Friday bargaining session is false. As members know, our SGMM last Friday ended with a rejection of the Employer’s “final offer” but without members having a chance to vote on whether to go on strike on February 26 as the Executive and Bargaining Team have recommended. The earliest we could schedule another GMM to make that decision was this Friday. We clearly communicated to the Employer that we needed to hold this meeting in the morning but would bargain in the afternoon. We have also indicated to the Conciliator that the Bargaining Team is available to continue bargaining into Friday evening or on the weekend—as long as the Employer is willing to make a serious offer. Although we responded to the Employer’s letter, and posted our response on our website, we would prefer to spend our time actually bargaining and not dealing with the Employer’s shenanigans.

Employer Disappoints with Marginal Increase to Their Retroactive Wage Proposal

We couldn’t help but scratch our heads at the Employer’s latest plot twist, revealed in their letter—that is, their claim that the “Comprehensive Framework for Settlement” they dropped on us last Thursday wasn’t, in fact, their final offer. This bit of news had us oddly optimistic. 

With Bill 124 ruled unconstitutional and set to be repealed, CUPE 3903’s retroactive wage demands have gained new force. Through the Conciliator today, the Bargaining Team urged the Employer to improve their retroactive wage proposal and restated our position that wage increases need to keep pace with the 15.8% inflation that our members experienced between September 2020 and September 2023. We emphasized that our requested increases are quite reasonable; for some members, keeping up with inflation is crucial to avoid dependence on food banks. We also emphasized that all members who worked during the period affected by Bill 124 should be entitled to retroactive compensation. Anything less would imply that the employer is exploiting this unconstitutional legislation to suppress the wages of members who held CUPE 3903 contracts during the Bill 124 period but who no longer hold such contracts.

Our initial optimism about receiving a substantial wage offer quickly turned to disappointment. The revised offer we received in the afternoon barely nudged upward their previous offer, increasing it by a mere 0.5%. Instead of 3.75% for 2022–23 only, they are now offering 0.75% in 2020–21, 0.75% in 2021–22, and 2.75% in 2022–23. Combined with the previously negotiated 1% per year, this would give us a cumulative retroactive increase of 7.4%, less than half the rate of inflation. Equally problematic, the Employer has thus far not budged from their position that only members who hold a contract at the date of ratification would be eligible for a retroactive, lump-sum payout. 

A Strike Beginning Next Monday Seems All But Inevitable

Bargaining today ended with little progress on issues we need to settle as we move ever closer to a strike next Monday. While we are serious about negotiating a deal that would avoid a strike, we are ready to go out if necessary. Strike preparations are underway, with a rally on February 26 for the first day and picket lines ready to go up the following day. As a strike looms ever closer, we call on the Employer to match our commitment and sense of urgency to reach a just settlement. 

Get Involved! Upcoming Meetings

Join Executive, Bargaining Team, and Strike Mobilization Committee members for tomorrow’s Strike Q&A session: Thursday, February 22, 2:00–5:00 p.m.

Don’t miss the  Emergency Special General Membership Meeting on Friday,  February 23, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. At this meeting, the Bargaining Team will provide a bargaining update and members will vote on whether to strike as of Monday, February 26. Please register in advance for this meeting so that membership lists can be checked and discrepancies sorted out well before the meeting begins.

Open Bargaining 

Our union practices open bargaining, meaning all meetings of the Bargaining Team—including our face-to-face meetings with the Employer’s bargaining team—are open to all members of CUPE 3903. Members are encouraged to attend both our Bargaining Team meetings, which take place online, and our meetings with the Employer, which usually take place in a hybrid format. As of this week, in-person bargaining meetings with the Employer will be held at Ministry of Labour offices on the 8th floor of 400 University Avenue. This location is fully accessible and close to St. Patrick subway station. As members of CUPE 3903, you are free to come and go from any of our meetings as your schedules allow. Check the calendar on the CUPE 3903 website for any updates or changes.

Bargaining Meetings with the Employer (advance registration required):

Friday, February 23, 1:00–5:00 PM (online only) Register for the Zoom meeting in advance.

Monday, February 26, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM: Register for the Zoom meeting in advance.

Wednesday, February 28, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM: Register for the Zoom meeting in advance.

For all bargaining meetings with the Employer, CART closed captioning will be available. If you require ASL interpretation or reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care or have any other requests for accommodation, please contact our Equity Officer, Nadia Kanani, at cupe3903equity@gmail.com.

Bargaining Team Meetings (no registration required):

Thursday, February 22, 1:00–2:00 PM:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86828310546?pwd=TU5RMGpPaFErU0hpVGU5ZmtNY2d4UT09

CUPE 3903’s Bargaining Team’s Response to Dan Bradshaw’s public letter spreading misinformation on February 21st.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Dear Dan Bradshaw,

We are happy to hear that the university “remains committed to negotiating renewal collective agreements” with us.  We, too, are committed to the same; we submitted our full proposals package back in late October 2023 and presented many counter-proposals over the past months, including on February 15.  

We are disappointed that you have chosen to blatantly misrepresent the facts in your recent public letter instead of making meaningful movement at the table.   

First, you are intentionally sowing misinformation with regard to the final offer. Weeks before our Final Offer General Membership Meeting on Friday, February 16, we signaled to you and the Conciliator that we would need to see a final offer from the employer on February 15, our last bargaining session before that important meeting. At no point did you indicate to us that you would not be presenting a final offer to us on February 15, and at the end of that day’s bargaining session, you provided us with a new “Comprehensive Framework for Settlement” for each unit. While it’s great to hear you have more movement to make, this was not communicated to us prior to your public letter. We look forward to seeing your revised position in advance of our next GMM on the morning of February 23. 

Second, we have not cancelled bargaining on Friday, February 23, as you well know. Your letter omits that we will be bargaining with you for several hours that afternoon, after our membership meeting. If the exclusion of the morning is such a significant concern, we would welcome receiving revised counters in the meantime so that the afternoon session on February 23 can be as productive as possible. 

Your positions on wages, benefits, and our new equity initiatives suggest that you are not committed to averting a strike. We have all of our cards on the table. If the employer is ready to bargain, then give us an offer that will be fair and just to our members and that we can recommend they ratify. Until then, we await the employer at the bargaining table.

Sincerely, 

CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team

Strike FAQ for International Students

I’m an international student member. Is it legal for me to participate in a strike?

Yes. Not only is striking entirely legal for international students, it is a protected activity under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. You cannot be punished for participating in a strike, performing strike duties, and/or showing support for the Union during contract negotiations. You are allowed to receive strike pay and perform strike duties under your study permit to attend York University.  A strike doesn’t change the fact that York University is both your school and your employer.

Did you know? The International Tuition Offset was won in 2015, when Unit 1 and 3 members stayed on strike for a month to make sure international students wouldn’t have to pay a tuition increase of more than $7000. International students were a big part of that strike, but also all the domestic students who stood firm against this injustice!

Does a strike impact my study permit?

No. Your study permit is tied to your student enrolment, not your employment.

In addition, Ontario’s Labour Relations Act protects all workers’ rights, including international students, to participate in legal strikes and makes it unlawful for employers to intimidate employees into refusing to strike. You cannot lose your visa or work permit by voting in a strike, in a contract ratification vote, or by taking part in a strike. All votes are confidential.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) protects foreign workers’ right to lawfully strike and provides protections to study permits when international students are unable to complete their studies due to circumstances entirely beyond their control, such as a strike. Their website states:

“This situation is beyond your control, and your status as a study permit holder should not be affected. As a result of the strike, you will

• not face any penalty or enforcement action because you can’t pursue your studies during this time
• be able to work off campus for up to 20 hours per week if your study permit allows you to work (and also work full-time during regular breaks such as winter holidays and reading week)
• still be eligible for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program

You must continue to have valid status as a student in Canada to be able to return to class after the labour dispute is resolved. If you need to apply to extend your study permit during the strike, include a letter from the registrar of your designated learning institution that confirms that the strike has stopped you from attending school and pursuing your studies.”

https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1367&top=15

How will CUPE 3903 support me as an international student if there is employer backlash?

As addressed above, it is illegal for the university to punish you for strike participation. In the very unlikely event that the university engages in these illegal actions, CUPE 3903 will fully support you through the relevant legal processes.

What Happens to my Graduate Funding During a Strike? 

All funded grad students get funding from several sources. Some of these sources are directly tied to current employment (wages, Grant-in-Aid (GIA), vacation pay), some depend on the member having a contract at one point in the academic year (Graduate Financial Assistance (GFA), International Tuition Offset (ITO)), and some are received by virtue of being enrolled full-time or due to merit (fellowship, scholarships and grants).

Wages, vacation pay, and GIA stop immediately while we are on strike. If you participate in strike duties, you can receive up to $300/week in strike pay. After the strike ends, you will be paid to complete what is left of your contract through a process called remediation. You will receive wages, GIA, and GFA proportional to the work needed to finish your contract, up to 100% of what you would have received if there was no strike.

You will have already received your GFA and ITO for the winter, and therefore these will not be impacted. In the unlikely event that the strike were to extend into the summer semester, those payments may be delayed, but you would receive them once the strike is over.

Fellowship payments and other amounts not related to your employment (e.g. scholarships, grants) continue uninterrupted.

Can International Students Access the Hardship Fund?

CUPE 3903 will operate a Strike Hardship Fund (SHF) for members who are facing financial crises during the strike. This is a fund for CUPE 3903 members who are participating in the strike to receive money in addition to  strike pay. The hardship fund will prioritize international students.

To be eligible for the SHF, there is an expectation of strike participation: that people either picket, or request alternate duty strike work for those who cannot picket, unless they have exceptional circumstances.

What does a strike look like?

For a more questions related to the logistics of a strike, please visit our STRIKE FAQ 2024

What are we striking for? 

Please read this letter from the bargaining team to see what is at stake this round of bargaining.

Additional Resources for International Students:

Migrant Justice/Labour Organizations MWAC https://migrantworkersalliance.org/
Migrant Students Union https://migrantworkersalliance.org/migrantstudentsunited/
Naujawan Support Network (NSN) https://taplink.cc/nsn
Lawyers Specializing in Supporting International Students Long Mangalji LLP Immigration law Group https://www.lmlawgroup.com/
Marku & Lee Immigration & Refugee Lawyers https://www.markulee.com/

Bargaining Team Report February 15–16, 2024

Nothing New from Employer’s Final Offer

The bargaining meeting with the Employer and conciliator on February 15 began with the
Conciliator informing us that the Employer would not be making a new wage offer. Since our last bargaining meeting, the Ontario Superior Court denied the government’s appeal of Bill 124. This decision confirmed that it was unconstitutional to deny public-sector workers their right to collective bargaining and to limit us to a 1% increase per year during a time of record inflation.

Bargaining the rest of that day was eerily normal, with the Employer demonstrating none of the
urgency we expected given that this was potentially their last chance to avert a strike.  Rather
than negotiating late into the night, as happened during bargaining in 2020–21, bargaining
ended on schedule at 5 PM.

Proposals Exchanged But Little Progress Made

Both sides exchanged counter-proposals on previously discussed items. We did reach some
agreement on new Unit 2 language to provide members with seniority credit for participation in departmental and other university committees. Moreover,  we agreed to add a clarifying
definition of a day to all three collective agreements. But, we saw no new offers on the most significant issues, including salaries and benefits and job security. The Employer rejected Unit 3’s proposals to increase the GATF and to settle an outstanding grievance on the Employer’s admitted mismanagement of the GATF by paying an extra $50,000 into the fund and apologizing for its mismanagement.  Although they don’t dispute that they mismanaged the GATF, they described themselves as “insulted” by our proposals. None of this is surprising, given the Employer’s ongoing attempt to eliminate all Unit 3 jobs. The Employer also rebuffed our equity proposals to extend paid caregiver and adoption leaves.

At the end of the day, the updated “Comprehensive Framework for Settlement” documents
that the Employer provided to Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 were not substantially different from
the previous “comprehensive framework” documents we have already seen from the Employer. As we outlined in a Letter from the Bargaining team that evening, the two sides remain far apart on fundamental issues.

Final Offer Special General Membership Meeting (SGMM)

On the morning of February 16, the Bargaining Team and Executive Committee met and voted unanimously to recommend that members reject the “final offer.” Later that day, at the most well attended membership meeting  we’ve had in years, the Bargaining Team briefly reviewed the details of the Employers final offer, illustrating how far apart CUPE 3903 and the Employer are on all our red-line issues (wages, benefits, job stability, and equity).  The Bargaining Team fielded questions on the offer, and a lengthy debate was held on whether to accept it. Although the debate centered around the Employer’s final offer, many members, particularly several international students, expressed understandable worries about the impact of a potential strike and a possible repeat of our lengthy strike of 2018. Both the Bargaining Team and Executive heard these concerns and subsequently scheduled an additional Strike Q&A session on Thursday, February 22, from 2:00–4:00 p.m.

Despite technical problems that delayed the start of the meeting and voting on the Employer’s
offer, the nearly 600 votes cast clearly backed the Bargaining Team’s position. 

Strike Vote Postponed

The lengthy technical delays meant that the meeting was extended well beyond the scheduled end time, so the membership decided to put off a decision to call a strike until an Emergency Special General Membership Meeting on Friday,  February 23 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. All votes will take place in the meeting, without the use of outside programs, which should avoid a repeat of Friday’s lengthy delays. Since all registrations for our GMMs have to be manually verified before individual invitation links to the meeting can be sent out, please register in advance (well in advance!).

Get Involved! Upcoming Bargaining Meetings

Our union practices open bargaining, meaning all meetings of the Bargaining Team—including
our face-to-face meetings with the Employer’s bargaining team—are open to all members of
CUPE 3903. All members are encouraged to attend both our weekly Bargaining Team meetings, which take place online, and our meetings with the Employer, which usually take place in a hybrid format. As of this week, in-person bargaining meetings with the Employer will be held at Ministry of Labour offices downtown at 400 University Ave., which is a fully accessible location close to St. Patrick subway station. As members of CUPE 3903, you are free to come and go from any of our meetings as your schedules allow. Check the CUPE 3903 website’s calendar for any updates or changes.

Bargaining Meetings with the Employer (advance registration required ):

Wednesday, February 21, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM: Register for the Zoom meeting in advance.
Friday, February 23, 1:00–5:00 PM: Register for the Zoom meeting in advance.
Monday, February 26, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM: Register for the Zoom meeting in advance.
Wednesday, February 28, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM: Register for the Zoom meeting in advance.

For all bargaining meetings with the Employer, CART closed captioning will be available. If you
require ASL interpretation or reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care or have
any other requests for accommodation, please contact our Equity Officer, Nadia Kanani, at
cupe3903equity@gmail.com.

Bargaining Team Meetings (no registration required):

Tuesday, February 20, 1:00–3:00 PM:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86147429020?pwd=ZlRzR1dpb0tjYWN5OWhrSGt6WFFQUT09

Thursday, February 22, 1:00–3:00 PM:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86828310546?pwd=TU5RMGpPaFErU0hpVGU5ZmtNY2d4UT09

The February 16th Final Offer Special Membership Meeting today certainly offered new challenges, but also offered some important progress in bargaining!

To begin, we want to sincerely apologize for the significant technological issues we faced. This was the first time in local history that the final offer SGMM was not held in-person, and the hybrid model posed some serious, and unexpected, challenges. This year we have been navigating and learning the dynamics of hybrid meetings in order to make meetings as accessible as possible, but today showed that we still have things to figure out, and for that, we truly apologize. We understand how important member’s time is and appreciate everyone’s patience.

On a high note, today was the best attended union meeting CUPE 3903 has had in many years! It is exciting to see so many members, new and familiar, getting involved in the bargaining process! Thank you to each and every member for your insights, questions, debates and guidance – We are our strongest when we are all organizing together.

We had nearly 600 votes, and there was a clear indication to reject to Employer’s final offer.

Unit 1
Voted to reject final offer: 288 (69%)
Voted to accepted final offer: 132  (31%)

Unit 2
Voted to reject final offer: 122 (73%)
Voted to accepted final offer: 44 (27%)

Unit 3
Voted to reject final offer: 4 (100.0%)

After an extremely long meeting membership moved to continue the conversation about next steps to an emergency SGMM in a week’s time.

In order to have more time to address members important questions about what a strike action could look we be holding a Strike Q&A over Zoom on Thursday the 22nd from 2-4pm. Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87036429777?pwd=TjlFeGdVOXNnbVA3UTZGQVp5KzROUT09

Here is the STRIKE FAQ 2024 in preparation.

We will then be holding a Special General Membership Meeting to discuss next steps, and if it is so motioned by the membership, potentially voting on a strike motion next week on Friday the 23rd from 9am-12pm. All votes will take place in the meeting (no outside programs). Here is a registration link, please register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudu-uqD0jGdX__c3OKXDCKrM6NXARNYTI#/registration

Thank you for your participation. We’re making progress!