Remediation Information 2018

With the passage of back-to-work legislation on July 25, the strike is forced to end, but it remains unclear what happens in terms of remediation for members of Unit 1 and Unit 3. The Executive Committee contacted Faculty Relations earlier this week seeking clarification. We have not yet received responses to most of our questions.

Members are encouraged to work with their Course Director or Principal Investigator to set reasonable timelines for the completion of the work. Please contact your Chief Steward if you are faced with unreasonable remediation requests.

Watch this page for more information, which will be updated as soon as responses from the employer are received. The FAQ below will be updated regularly.


Remediation FAQ

Should I indicate willingness to return to work?

Yes, fill out the form by the new deadline of Monday, July 30 at 12 pm (noon) if at all possible.
Unit 1: https://cupejobs.uit.yorku.ca/cupe1confirm/
Unit 3: https://cupejobs.uit.yorku.ca/cupe3confirm/
More information from York’s website: https://labour.yorku.ca/2018/07/26/cupe-3903-units-1-and-unit-3-return-to-work/

Get in touch with your Course Director or Principal Investigator as soon as practicable to discuss optimal work distribution.

How do I complete the workload form?

The form for Unit 1 is available as a form-fillable PDF here: Remediation TA Workload Form
All forms, including the Unit 3 workload form, are available from York’s website.

While there remains questions about the workload forms, considering the tight timelines, members are encouraged to begin planning the workload form while we await information from Faculty Relations. As there is a column for work completed before the strike, and front-loaded courses (i.e courses where more work is done earlier on) have commonly been reported, fill out the form to the best of your abilities to reflect the hours done before the strike, especially if those hours were not evenly distributed across each month.

Departmental stewards are encouraged to help their colleagues with these forms. If you have any questions, please contact your Chief Steward.

What does being unavailable to work mean?

As availability to work is not clearly defined, members are encouraged to indicate that they are available if they are capable of completing any kind of work, including online. It is recommended to get in touch with your Course Director or Principal Investigator as soon as possible to negotiate the details.

It is as yet unclear what happens to this declaration of no return form, including what filling it out entitles you to receive and where confidential information like medical documents would be stored.

What if I completed most of my work earlier in the term?

For front-loaded courses, it should be possible to fill out the workload form, which includes a column for hours completed before the strike, to prove that most of the work was completed before the strike began.

When do I have to provide grades?

York wants all grades from work completed before the strike submitted by Thursday, August 2 at 9 am. This only applies to work completed before March 5. You should not be pressured into completing grading that was received but not expected to be completed by March 5 within an unreasonable time-frame.

Unit 1 Teaching Assistants should send their grades completed by March 5 to their Course Directors. For Course Directors (Unit 1 or Unit 2), we are seeking clarity from Faculty Relations, as the employer’s direction to submit grades to the Registrar’s Office does not fit with past practice.

If you are being unfairly pressured to submit grades within an unreasonable time-frame, please contact your Chief Steward.

How will pay be determined, and when can I expect my next paycheque?

We are following up with Faculty Relations. The union will not hesitate to involve the arbitrator should the employer refuse to give prompt and reasonable responses. Our legal counsel is already in contact with York to settle on an arbitrator.

How do approved leaves affect remediation?

This is one of the questions that was posed to Faculty Relations earlier this week. We are still awaiting an answer.

What if I’ve been told there’s no work left for me?

Indicate availability to return to work. For PhDs who are Unit 1, we are looking into the legal standing of your minimum guarantee. Our bargaining team is planning to push every available avenue, including with the arbitrator, to secure the work our members are entitled to.

If you have confirmation that other members of our union have completed your work while they were on legal strike, please let the Recording Secretary know at recsec.cupe3903@gmail.com.