Bargaining Bulletin #5
VOTE YES FOR A STRIKE MANDATE!
Your bargaining teams filed for conciliation on February 6 to show U of T, St. Michael’s College, and Victoria College that your demands deserve to be taken seriously. A Conciliation Officer has now been assigned and will be meeting with the bargaining teams and employers to try to reach a fair deal. (Not sure what conciliation means? Check out Bargaining Bulletin #4 for a breakdown.)
The next step that you and your coworkers can take is the strike mandate vote, which gives your Union the right to call for job action in the event that your employer refuses to reach a fair deal. Details can be found on the next page.
Your bargaining teams remain available to negotiate and have demanded more days at the bargaining table, and are still awaiting responses to important proposals. This is why a strong YES vote is critical: to force the employer to prioritize you and your coworkers.
UNITS 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 Bargaining Updates
UNIT 3
On Friday February 28, your employer FORGOT to book a space for negotiations! Your bargaining team arrived where they usually negotiate just to see that the rooms were booked for something else.
After an hour or so, your employer offered their offices for negotiations. Then, your bargaining team presented proposals to provide first-time SIA and SLs with 4 hours of paid training to get you better equipped to teach at U of T.
We also got your employer’s response on our Health and Safety proposal: they agreed that workers with guaranteed future work can sit on Health and Safety Committees between contracts. This is a win, but the fight isn’t over.
The employer has YET to respond to our proposal on benefits, pensions, or fair pay! These proposals are our bread and butter, yet it’s been weeks that we’re waiting. We can’t wait any longer to see how much UofT thinks we’re worth–it’s time to vote YES for a strike mandate.
UNIT 7
In negotiations with Unit 7, your employer has been deliberately tabling proposals that you and your coworkers will not accept. This includes a concession that would enable them to cut up to 31% of Graduate Assistant jobs whenever it suits them. These are all summer or Group B positions, that would leave the most precarious, marginalized, and underfunded workers with nothing.
One of your bargaining team’s priorities this round has been to table proposals that close the gap in working conditions between Unit 1 and Unit 7 workers. Your employer’s counter proposals seek to maintain that gap, and at worst, widen it further. This is absolutely unacceptable, and you can show U of T just how egregious their approach to bargaining has been by voting YES for a strike mandate!
UNIT 2
Today, your Unit 2 bargaining team met with the employer for the second time. The employer requested on short notice to cut the meeting altogether due to an apparent scheduling conflict, but your team insisted on getting at least some time in at the table today.
The next table date will be on Thursday March 6, and your bargaining team expects the employer’s full response by then. Anything less than this sends the message that your employer does not respect your labour and your time. Voting YES for a strike mandate is a critical tool that you and your coworkers can use to demand this respect.
UNIT 4
After months of trying, the Unit 4 bargaining team has finally secured three dates to meet with the employer: March 7, March 12, and March 14. Your Unit 4 bargaining team is ready to fight for a collective agreement that reflects your long-standing commitment to your students and teaching.
Many of you have been part of the University of St. Michael’s College (USMC) community for years and you deserve to be treated with the same respect, dignity, and fairness as your full-time faculty colleagues. How? Your bargaining team will table proposals that aim to reinforce the respect and equity of our members, improve job security, increase benefits and wages, and guarantee fair opportunities for advancement. Join us, have your voice heard, and vote YES for a strong strike mandate! We are stronger together!
UNIT 6
Your Unit 6 bargaining team has secured table dates for March 17 & 26 and April 4, 16, 17, and 22 – 25!
While this signifies forward movement, your bargaining team continues to push for earlier dates given the time sensitive nature of the IFP lead position proposal. To this end, IFP members have appended their names to a letter sent to labour relations demanding earlier dates in March. The team also remains committed to refining proposals for colleagues in the IFP and ISA that positively impact wages, job security and workload.
Strike Mandate Vote
The strike mandate vote is a critical step in the bargaining process, and it gives your Union the right to call for job action in the event that your employer refuses to reach a fair deal.
The University will never agree to your demands—no matter how reasonable or necessary—unless they see that you and your coworkers are serious about your proposals and prepared to take action to win a fair contract. If you and your coworkers participate in the vote and an overwhelming majority say “yes” to a strike mandate, it sends a strong message of worker unity and organization to U of T, and it puts your Bargaining Committee in a more powerful position to make critical gains at the bargaining table.
Want to know more? Read our Strike Vote FAQ
Step 1: You and your coworkers in Units 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 need to authorize the opening of the strike vote at the Units Membership Meeting. Once approved, the online voting system will open at the end of the membership meeting.
Units Membership Meeting
Wednesday, March 5, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
OISE 5170, 252 Bloor Street W, Toronto M5S 1V6 (also via Zoom)
Register via MemberPortal!
Step 2:
Online Electronic Vote
Wednesday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m. – Friday, March 7 at 8:00 p.m.
You will receive an email from CUPE 3902 with a unique voting link, username, and password for SimplyVoting. You can only vote once. If you do not receive an email within 6 hours of the start of the voting period, please email our Chief Returning Officer at cro@cupe3902.org.
Results will be available on Saturday, March 8.
Meet Your Coworkers!
“I’m one of the 94% of bargaining survey respondents ho support the coordinated bargaining of Units 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Every CUPE 3902 member, regardless of their unit, provides value to this university and to its students. By coordinating our bargaining demands and building towards a unified strike, we can demonstrate our value and win the gains we need and deserve!”
Daniel Tarade, Unit 3 Steward
UTM Biology
“It is through the collective power of our community that we can achieve equity and justice in the workplace. Sure, my voice matters, your voice matters, but it is most important to join our voices together so we can be heard against the great roar of [employer’s] POWER. Collectively and united, WE shall win!
Don’t wait, Take ACTION!”
Huda Salha, LHAE Steward (OISE)
Graduate Assistant & PhD Candidate, Adult Education and Community Development
