Committee elections were held at the General Membership Meeting on September 20, 2018. The results are below:  Continue reading →

On Tuesday, September 18, CUPE 3903 filed a grievance against York University’s attempts to circumvent the collective agreement by charging members with Student Code of Conduct violations for their participation in the strike. Arguably more important than contesting this violation of our contracts, however, is fighting back against the university’s use of draconian and punitive measures in an attempt to scare students, both graduate, and undergraduate, from participating in political dissent.

On Thursday, August 9, York University issued vague letters informing five members and three community members that they are being issued Student Code of Conduct violations, with punishments up to expelling the people in question, for actions taken in support of the strike. The union has been informed that while our targeted members requested an informal resolution process, the York administration denied the request and insisted on a tribunal process.   Continue reading →

Nominations are open for LAPS Faculty Councillor positions. The Faculty Council is responsible for academic policy development and support, in consultation and co-operation with the Senate, related administrative offices in the Faculty, and the wider University community.

There are 30 positions for CUPE3903 members. If you would like to nominate yourself, please email Stacey at cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com by 11am Thursday September 20th. Alternatively, you may nominate yourself at the September GMM (Sept 20th), or self-nominate directly through the LAPS Council website (‘Committee, Council and Senate Nominations for Contract members‘). Council is asking for nominations by September 24th.

We will be having our next anti-racism committee meeting on September 19 from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Union office (143 Atkinson Building). The anti-racism committee was formed to address issues of racism at York University, our union, and beyond. All members interested in engaging in these issues are welcome to attend!

For accommodation or childcare requests please contact Sheila Wilmot, Equity Officer at cupe3903.equity.officer@gmail.com or at 416.736.5154 ext3.

We will be having our next General Membership Meeting on September 20 from 12pm-3pm. The meeting will be held at the Harry Crowe Room. The tentative agenda is as follows:

1. Roll call of officers and taking of the oath
2. Reading of the Equality Statement
3. Reading of the Mississauga Land Acknowledgement
4. Approval of Agenda
5. Reading and Approval of minutes
6. Notices
   1. Bylaw Amendment: Article (17.2.f) Election of Negotiating Teams
7. Bargaining update: meeting with arbitrator James Hayes
8. Treasurer’s Report
   1. Discussion on potential levies
9. Nominations, Elections or Installations
   1. Committee elections
10. Unfinished Business
    1. Unit 2 ratification vote investigation
11. Matters Arising
    1. Motion to destroy ballots from the Unit 2 VP elections
12. New Business
13. Executive Committee’s Report
14. Reports of committees and delegates
15. Good of the Union
16. Adjournment

Please contact Sheila Wilmot at cupe3903.equity.officer@gmail.com or at 416.736.5154 ext3 if you require any of the following: ASL interpretation, reimbursement for childcare/caregiver/attendant care, and/or transportation costs for members who are unable to secure Wheeltrans, or other requests for accommodation.

On Wednesday, September 12, Unit 1, 2 and 3 representatives of the CUPE 3903 bargaining team met with James Hayes, our appointed arbitrator. The purpose of this initial meeting was to provide the arbitrator with a clear understanding of the union’s main outstanding issues. The arbitrator met with York’s legal counsel and bargaining team on Wednesday, September 5,  2018.
Continue reading →

The following Tenure-Track Position are available at Glendon College and Keele Campus:

• History (Glendon)
• English (Glendon)
• Economics (Glendon)
• Political Science (Glendon)
• Psychology (Glendon)
• Psychology-Department of Psychology Clinical Psychology, Adult (Keele Campus)
• Psychology- Department of Psychology Clinical-Developmental Psychology, Youth (Keele Campus)

Members of Unit 2 who have taught a full course load for at least five years have the right to be granted an interview for any tenure-track position for which they have applied and are qualified, as per Article 23.08 of the Unit 2 collective agreement.

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At the September GMM, there will be a discussion regarding levies (a temporary increase in dues) across all units, for the remainder of this fiscal year.

The Treasurer will provide an update on the current financial status of the Local, will discuss proposed budgetary amendments, and present several levy scenarios that will allow the Local to erase our existing deficit, as well as rebuild our Strike Fund and ensure a robust Legal/Grievance budget. As this is a post-strike year, a properly funded Grievance budget is necessary for the members of all units; as we face an Employer that wishes to diminish the number of contact faculty members and rob graduate students of adequate funding. We have also seen a new trend in bargaining from an intransigent Employer, thus a well-funded Strike Fund will be essential to our next round of bargaining.

While levies in past years have been sizeable, the scenarios presented will (1) not begin before the November 2018 paycheque, thus providing our members with two full paycheques, and (2) will be smaller levies over four paycheques rather then a larger levy over a single paycheque. It is essential that the Local return to a strong financial position, but after a lengthy strike, it is also key that we allow our members to collect as full paycheques as possible.

It should be noted that this is the beginning of a discussion on levies, and a unit specific vote will not occur until the October GMM.

To ensure that members are properly informed regarding the budget and/or levies, the Treasurer will be holding drop-in office hours on October 17th and October 24th from 9:30 to 12 noon in the Union Office to speak with members individually

According to the bylaws, the following committees are elected during the September General Membership Meeting:

• Childcare Committee
• CUPE Toronto District Council
• Elections Committee
• Professional Development Fund Committee
• Research Grants Fund and Travel Costs Fund Committee (Unit 2 only)
• York University Pension Board of Trustees Representative
• Ways and Means Committee

Position descriptions are below. If you would like to nominate yourself for any of these positions, please email Stacey at cupe3903vpu1@gmail.com by 5 pm on September 19. Elections will be held for contested positions during the September 20 GMM.

Continue reading →

Unit 1, 2 and 3 representatives of the CUPE 3903 bargaining team will be meeting with the arbitrator on Wednesday, September 12, 2018. This is an initial meeting; however, it is a closed-door meeting. We have raised concerns with the arbitrator about closed-door meetings and will continue to advocate for open meetings. If future meetings with the arbitrator remain closed, we will try to provide caucus rooms for Rank and File members.