Bargaining Bulletin #10

UofT Contract Academic Workers are Stronger Together

In the summer of 2024, you and your coworkers in CUPE 3902 began a coordinated bargaining campaign. For the first time in our union’s history, five of our bargaining units decided to come together to collectively improve working conditions. Sessional Lecturers, Writing Instructors, Graduate Assistants, Sessional Instructional Assistants, Music Professionals, and Undergraduate Tutors have been united for fair wages, better benefits, and respect at work. As we have said from the beginning, the university works because we do.

This evening, just ahead of the strike deadline, Unit 3 and Unit 7 signed Tentative Agreements, while Units 2, 4, and 6 plan to return to the table this week. The coordinated fight continues as Units 3 and 7 prepare to present their respective tentative agreements to their members for approval, and as Units 2, 4, and 6 build on this momentum to get closer to securing fair contracts.

Unit 3 and Unit 7 Bargaining Teams Make Significant Gains, Reach Tentative Agreements!

This evening, your Bargaining Teams for Units 3 and 7 signed Tentative Agreements. A Tentative Agreement means that your team and the employer’s team have tentatively agreed to a contract. It is now up to you as the members of Unit 3 and Unit 7, respectively, to vote on your Unit’s agreement. If you vote to approve the Tentative Agreement, it becomes your Collective Agreement (CA) for 2024–2027.

Just like the strike mandate vote, it’s a two-step process: first there’s a membership meeting where members decide whether to send the Tentative Agreement to a referendum so that all members can vote online to ratify the agreement. We will announce the membership meeting details shortly, so keep your eyes peeled.

A full summary and a copy of the Memoranda of Settlements will be uploaded to the Member Portal tomorrow.

The Unit 3 bargaining committee unanimously recommends Unit 3 members vote YES to approve the Tentative Agreement. Similarly, the Unit 7 bargaining committee unanimously recommends Unit 7 members vote YES to approve the Tentative Agreement.

Unit 3:

In this round of bargaining, you aimed to make strides in the benefits and supports that you receive as a Unit 3 member. Our number 1 priority was improvements to our benefits plans. Gains in this Tentative Agreement include:

Establish a working group that commits to moving from an only-HCSA plan to an extended defined benefit plan by September 2026.
Across-the-board wage increases of 2%, 1.8%, 1.8%.
Additional wage adjustments for Long-Term status members—compressing the wage grid so that Long-Term wages align with the next rate in the wage grid. (e.g., SL1-LT wages will be the same as SL2).
Pilot project in support of professional development for advanced Unit 3 Members, with a financial commitment of $75,000, starting in September 2026.
Reducing Long-Term status eligibility to 5 years for SL1, WI1, AMS1.
Hiring preference for SIAs who have held consecutive appointments.
Expanded pregnancy and parental leave of up to four months beyond the end of your contract for members with a job security commitment.
Increases to the Unit 3 Fund in each year of the Collective Agreement.

Unit 7:

Your Bargaining Committee heard your key priorities and fought hard to make gains in these areas. You said that wage increases alone will not compensate us fairly for our labour and that we deserve stability, predictability and fairness in our work.

From the beginning, the Employer repeated their line about fiscal responsibility to justify their lack of movement on financials and GAship clawbacks. However, you and your coworkers did not back down, and your bargaining team continued to push to make sure that GAs who win external awards don’t lose out on the benefits tied to Unit 7 work contracts.

Recently, Unit 7 members voted 99.3% in favour of a strike mandate. This sent a strong message to the Employer, and it is because of your collective strength that they finally started to move on critical proposals. Despite what the Employer says to dissuade workers from organizing, we know that collective action works.

On the last day of bargaining, your team secured:

A reduction in how much GA work is part of your funding, down from $10,140 (+4%) to $9,640 (+4%).
Guaranteed 60-hour Group A GAships for external scholarship winners, so that you don’t lose your health benefits and other union protections.
Annual wage increases of 9%, 2%, 1.8%.
First-time GA orientation with 30 minutes for your Local to talk to you about your rights and benefits.
Working group to revise Group B and Summer GA hiring practices.
Your GA supervisor must provide a list of your duties and deliverables for your GAship, in writing, within 10 days of starting your GAship.

Your Unit 7 bargaining team fought against the unfair disparities that exist between different groups of student workers at UofT. The gains made in this round of bargaining mark a shift away from the Employer’s historic treatment of OISE Graduate Assistants, and they’ve set a new precedent placing you and your coworkers on the path to even bigger wins in future rounds of bargaining. In the protracted struggle against unjust working conditions, there is always more work to do, but we know that when student workers are united, we win.

Coordination continues as Units 2, 4, and 6 prepare for upcoming table dates

Unit 2:

Your Unit 2 bargaining committee is encouraged by the Unit 3 and Unit 7 Tentative Agreements reached today, hours before the strike deadline. Our solidarity and coordinated efforts have resulted in significant gains for our sibling units, and have provided a benchmark that Vic needs to meet. We are building on that momentum as we head into our next table date on Friday, April 4th.

Unit 2 will not be going on strike tomorrow. However, your Unit 2 bargaining committee is currently discussing a new strike deadline date that gives your demands the most power. Coordination continues, as Units 4 and 6 are still at the table, and we hope to keep pressuring our Employers together.

You can follow the proposal tracker as usual to see where negotiations are at, and your bargaining team will be in regular communication with important updates and developments.

Unit 4:

Your Unit 4 bargaining committee is energized that Units 3 and 7 have reached Tentative Agreements marking significant gains in our coordinated campaign! Thanks to their hard work we hope to build momentum with St. Mike’s when we meet at the table on Thursday, April 3rd and Monday April 7th.

A Conciliator will be in attendance on Thursday, April 3rd, enabling us to proceed with a No Board, which is an essential first step to announcing a strike deadline if necessary.

For updates please continue to follow our progress on the proposal tracker. Your bargaining team will continue to provide you with the latest updates as bargaining progresses.

Unit 6:

The Unit 6 bargaining committee is heartened by the Tentative Agreements reached by two of our sibling units! The news comes before we meet the Employer at the table this week on Wednesday, April 2nd and Friday April 4th. On Friday the Conciliator will be in attendance, after which we will be in a legal position to request a No Board, should the parties reach an impasse.

To follow our progress please consult the proposal tracker for updates!