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CUPE
3903 Strike News
--+ January
04, 2009 +--
In this issue:
1. Monday 'Welcome Back' Events
a) Pre-Picket Pancake and Potluck Party (PPPPP) at York Blvd. (Main Gate)
at 9am
b) Flying Picket and Popular Education
Rally at York Blvd. (Main Gate) at 11am
2. Strike Committee Mobilization
a) "Don't Pay a Cent Event": Tuition Strike
b) Mobilize YUFA Support on the Picket
Lines (Sample Letter)
c) Stack the Chimneystack Picket Line
3. Meetings
a) Bargaining: Sunday, January 4th, 10:30am at Holiday Inn Express (30
Norfinch Drive, east of HWY 400 and just north of Finch)
b) General Membership Meeting: Thursday,
January 8th, from 5pm to 8pm, Location TBA
c) TFAC Meeting: Wednesday, January 7th,
from 7pm to 9pm, at the Concord Cafe (937 Bloor St., just West of
Ossington Station)
d) Executive Committee Meetings
e) Strike Committee Meetings
4. Bargaining Updates from January 3rd
a) 1:00 PM
b) 5:30 PM
c) 8:30 PM
d) 11:30 PM
1. Monday 'Welcome Back' Events
a) Pre-Picket Pancake and Potluck Party (PPPPP)
at York Blvd. (Main Gate) at 9am
What:
Pre-Picket Pancake and Potluck Party (instead of picketing at 7am)
When:
Monday, January 5th, 9:00 AM
Where:
York Blvd. (Main Gate)
Welcome back!
As many of you know, we will be reopening
our picket lines on Monday, January 5 2009 as we end the second month of
our strike.
While lines are generally open at 7am each
day, they will not open until 9:30am.
Instead, we would like to invite members
to join us for a pre-picket pancake and potluck party at 9am at York Blvd
to kick off the new year. The Union will provide the pancakes and coffee,
and we ask that members contribute anything they can to share with
friends. After the delicious breakfast, picketers will be encouraged to
stay for the rally (see #2 below), after which we will be able to go set
up at our respective lines.
We hope that everyone has had a safe and
restful holiday, and we look forward to seeing you all out on the lines
again this week!
All power to the picket lines!
- CUPE 3903 Executive Committee & Strike
Committee
b) Flying Picket and Popular Education
Rally at York Blvd. (Main Gate) at 11am
From Athens Polytechnic to York
University: Take Back The
University!
What:
Flying Picket and Popular Education Rally
When:
Monday, January 5th, 11:00 AM
Where:
York Blvd. (Main Gate)
To begin the strike week of action, on
December 15th 2008, over 100 members of the York Community marched to
President Shoukri's office to make two simple demands: 1) that President
Shoukri answer 12 questions on video and; 2) that he agree to participate
in a public forum to answer questions from the York Community. We waited
for 5 days and he did not come.
To re-affirm our demands from December
15th, draw attention to the issue of quality and accessible education, as
well as stand in international solidarity with strikes such as those in
Greece, there is going to be a rally organized by the Flying Squad and
Undergraduate Allies. The rally will start at York Blvd at 11:00am on
Monday, January 5th.
All power to the picket lines!
- Flying Squad & Undergraduate Allies
2. Strike Committee Mobilization
a) "Don't Pay a Cent Event": Tuition
Strike
York is not charging interest on outstanding Winter Term payments. So if
you haven't already, don't pay your tuition. Don't put any more money in
their coffers until they come to a fair and just settlement to settle the
strike!
b) Mobilize YUFA Support on the Picket
Lines (Sample Letter)
Dear _______, _____, _______,
As you know, CUPE 3903 has been striking
since November 6th on issues of job security, improving minimum guaranteed
funding for graduate students and to ensure that our funds grow at a rate
that matches the growth in our membership. Before the strike began, the
employer offered us a concessionary deal and through this strike, York
has, for the most part, refused to bargain directly with us. Instead, they
have sought to isolate and divide us by bargaining in the media. York has
recently agreed to come back to the table and negotiations began again on
Saturday, January 3rd. We hope that this will lead to a quick end to this
strike and a good collective agreement for our members so that we can all
return to work.
Over the past two months, we have received
an extroardinary amount of support from both YUFA as a whole and from
individual YUFA members. We are now asking you to help us for one last
push that we believe will end this strike. As bargaining continues, we
hope to maintain a strong presence on the picket lines. Your presence on
our lines would be appreciated by our members and would send a strong
message to the employer during the final days of bargaining of the
solidarity between CUPE and YUFA members in this strike.
Please join us on Monday, January 5:
- 9 am potluck breakfast (York Blvd./Main
Gate at Keele Street). The Stewards Council is providing pancakes, but we
request that people bring some food to this event.
- 11 am Rally (beginning at York
Blvd./Main Gate). "From Athens Polytechnic to York
University: Take Back The
University!"
- After the Rally members will make their
way to their own picket lines and we encourage our YUFA supporters to walk
with CUPE members in their Department to their regular picket lines.
Of course, your presence on our picket
lines this week is encouraged at any time. We really need your help to end
this strike soon.
In solidarity,
_____________
c) Stack the Chimneystack Picket Line
Members in the Department of Social Work will be required to begin
placements in the second week of January. Chimneystack will need some
help, needing between 15-25 new picketers. If you would like to volunteer
to picket full-time at Chimneystack, please contact your picket captain.
Picket captains, please bring this up with your picketers.
3. Meetings
a) Bargaining: Sunday, January 4th,
10:30am at Holiday Inn Express (30 Norfinch Drive, east of HWY 400 and
just north of Finch)
All members are welcome to observe the
proceedings, and to participate in Bargaining Team caucuses.
Here's how to get to the "Bargaining
Table":
- From Downsview Station: Take the 196 up
to Finch, and then take the 36 Finch West two stops past Jane Street. Walk
north on Norfinch Drive.
- From Finch Station: Take the 36 Finch
West two stops past Jane Street. Walk north on Norfinch Drive.
Map:
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hotel/yyzny/transportation?start=1
b) General Membership Meeting:
Thursday, January 8th, from 5pm to
8pm,
Location TBA
More details on location, agenda and picket protocol will follow soon. (It
is safe to assume that the meeting will focus on bargaining reportback,
discussion on demands and strategies.)
Tabled minutes will be available one hour
before the start of the meeting (at 4pm). Thank you.
c) TFAC Meeting: Wednesday, January
7th, from 7pm to 9pm, at the
Concord
Cafe (937 Bloor St.,
just West of Ossington Station)
Our next TFAC meeting will be Wednesday,
January 7th from 7pm-9pm at the Concord Cafe. Apologies for the late
notice. The Concord Cafe is an accessible space. RSVP to co-chairs Healy
and Carolyn.
All women, trans, gender queer and gender
variant members of the local are automatically members of the Trans
Feminist Action Caucus whether or not you have ever attended a meeting.
Food, drinks, and two TTC tokens will be provided for members who attend.
Child care and accessible transportation funds are available by request to
Carolyn at
cupe3903tfac@gmail.com. To ask questions or to be added to the TFAC
listserv, contact Healy at
healythompson@gmail.com or Carolyn at
cupe3903tfac@gmail.com.
From now to the next TFAC meeting we will
be accepting nominations for two elections officers to be chosen by the
membership on January 7. Elections officers are responsible for ensuring
open and fair elections process for the TFAC co-chair positions for
2009-2010, including advertising the positions to members, opening the
nomination period, campaign period, and elections at the TFAC annual
general meeting at the end of February. Elections officers are not
eligible for nomination for the TFAC co-chair positions.
We would also like to invite you to lend
your suggestions and organizing skills for the TFAC winter social. In
previous years TFAC has hosted dinners for our members, and guest speakers
and socials for the CUPE 3903 membership at large. Usually this social is
combined with our AGM.
d) Executive Meetings:
Mondays and Fridays at 5:00 PM in Strike Headquarters
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at
12:00 PM in Strike Headquarters
e) Strike Committee Meetings:
Mondays at 12:30 PM in Strike Headquarters
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM Downtown
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 PM in
Strike Headquarters
Fridays at 3:30 PM in Strike Headquarters
4. Bargaining Updates from January 3rd
a) 1:00 PM
The employer took time to caucus which
meant that we did not meet with the mediator until 10:30 in the morning.
He stated that there should be an immense effort on both parties sides to
resolve the dispute over the weekend, because of the pressures created by
the January 5th semester resumption.
Most notably, we have seen some movement
on fund increases. The Employer claims they have made increases of
$275,200 which is significantly higher than previous positions, and they
also claim that catch-up has now been resolved for many funds. The chart
below illustrates the increases they have now made, our estimates for
catch-up, and the current demands that are on the table.
While there have been increases in
remuneration for Teaching Stream Appointments to $70,000 (as opposed to
$60,000) and a decrease in course load from 4.0 to 3.5, many of the other
issues will have to be the subject of further discussions, both within the
bargaining team and with the employer – especially those surrounding
eligibility criteria and concerns about whether or not their proposed plan
actually increases job security will be the subject of further
discussions.
It has been requested of the Bargaining
Team that we provide updates every four hours, and we hope to do so
throughout the rest of the day. Stay tuned...
- Professional Development Fund
Currently in our Collective Agreement
(CA): $50,000
3903 Catchup Total: $61,000
Demand: $150,000
Employer's Offer: 65,750 in Year 1 and
100,000 in Year 2
- PhD Completion Fund*
Currently in our Collective Agreement
(CA): $95,000
3903 Catchup Total: $104,483
Demand: $125,000 / $157,000
Employer's Offer: $100,000
- Research Costs Fund
Currently in our Collective Agreement
(CA): $46,700
3903 Catchup Total: $68,912
Demand: $146,700
Employer's Offer: $52,000 in Year 1 &
$60,000 in Year 2
- Research Grants Fund
Currently in our Collective Agreement
(CA): $115,000
3903 Catchup Total: $138,272
Demand: $175,000
Employer's Offer: $135,000 in Year 1 and
$165,000 in Year 2
- Graduate Student Bursary*
Currently in our Collective Agreement
(CA): $125,000
3903 Catchup Total: $184,455
Demand: $187,500 / $250,000
Employer's Offer: $167,750 in Year 1
- Conference Travel Fund*
Currently in our Collective Agreement
(CA): $58,300
3903 Catchup Total: $70,097
Demand: 108,300
Employer's Offer: $67,000 in Year 1 &
$85,000 in Year 2
- Masters Bursary Fund*
Current: $79,550
3903 Catchup Total: $117,387
Demand: $144,550 / $209,550
Employer's Offer: $107,000
- GA Bursary*
Current: $189,000
3903 Catchup Total: $331,704
Demand: $250,000 / $275,000
Employer's Offer: $235,000
b) 5:30 PM
We're still in the process of talking
about what to do with the employer's offers around funds and health care -
we are going to be meeting with them very soon to end the day of
negotiation meeting. when we're done with that we will send an update
about where we now stand with our counter-proposals on these issues, as
well as some tentative agreements on tuition indexation language, U3
grievance procedures, and Health & Safety language.
c) 8:30 PM
The BT has decided to stay to hear the
response of the employer at 10pm.
BARGAINING UPDATE JANUARY 3rd 8:30 PM
This afternoon we resolved some of the
outstanding issues surrounding health and safety, Unit 3 grievance
procedures, and the letters of intent in the Unit 1 and Unit 3 collective
agreements concerning tuition indexation – this being one of the major
gains from the 2000-2001 strike. We also communicated that we would
accept some of the fund increases they proposed, that we're holding our
position in others, and altering our demands in more key areas. Our
counter-proposals to their movement on funds issues are indicated in the
attached document. We distributed a similar version to the employer.
Today the employer put a total of approximately $232,000 on the table for
funds. We have responded by reducing our demands for total funds by
$256,850, while, we think, maintaining the key points where we want to
develop more gains. We consider this to be a mutual sign that both
parties are actually committed to bringing the negotiations closer
together. Hopefully this is the beginning of more to come.
We also stated that we would be willing to
accept the fund protections language they've proposed, provided certain
issues can be clarified. We also said that we would be okay with the list
of funds that would be protected under erosion of our funds by membership
growth. The fund protection language is included here.
Article XX Fund Protection
There will be no diminution in the per
employee amount in the funds
listed below during the term of this
collective agreement as a result
of an increase in the number of employees
in the bargaining unit as at
October 1, 2009 and October 1, 2010. The
basis on which growth in the
number of employees will be measured is
the number of employees as of
October 1, 2008. For example, if the per
employee amount available is
$10 based on 100 employees as of October
1, 2008, the fund will be
supplemented by $100 in the second year of
the Collective Agreement.
If the number of employees is 90 as of
October 1,2010, no supplement
will be required and the fund will be
$1000.
The list of funds protected:
Childcare subsidies (Unit 1, 2, 3)
Professional Development Fund (Unit 1, 2,
3)
GA Bursary Fund (Unit 3)
UHIP Fund (based on number of
international students in the Unit 1 and
3 bargaining units)
Graduate Student Bursary Fund (Unit 1)
Masters Bursary Fund (Unit 1)
PhD Completion Fund (Unit 1)
Research Grant Funds (Unit 2)
Conference Travel Fund (Unit 2)
Teaching Development Fund (Unit 2)
We also communicated that we agree with a
number of their counterproposals to health benefit improvements, (dental,
vision, and paramedical services), but under the condition that we need to
maintain the Extended Health Benefits (EHB) fund in order to be able to
assist our members to cover greater necessities in health care costs,
health emergencies, or the need to access services not covered by our
health care plans. They have suggested that the cost of their proposed
post-retirement benefits program would come from money saved from their
proposed removal of the EHB fund – we reiterated that this is not an
acceptable condition for us, and that we will be bargaining on these items
as separate issues.
We also discussed that there were a number
of omissions and discrepancies in their recent documents, and indicated
some small changes to their new proposal packages that we are continuing
to review. We requested that they compile a list of what has in fact been
agreed upon.
d) 11:30 PM
LAST BARGAINING UPDATE OF JANUARY 3/2009
We met one last time with the employer in
order to hear their responses to our counterproposals regarding funds, and
benefits. They stated that we are still far apart, and in the context of
our ambitious fund proposals that they do not want to accept any new funds
(they two new funds we are proposing are a union-administered child care
fund which has been repeatedly identified as a key priority, and the new
immigration and citizenship fund). They want, rather, only to make
increases in existing funds. However, they did not actually make any more
increases to the existing funds They also continue to be resistant to
extending the research costs fund and master's bursary funds to Unit 3
members. They did note the movement we had made on the graduate student
bursary.
We still need to revisit fund protection
as there is some language that needs to be reviewed. Also, they continue
to link the new paramedical services plan as contingent on the removal of
the Extended Health Benefits (EHB) fund. Also they indicated a
willingness to talk about post-retirement benefits outside of the removal
of the EHB fund, but see it as a way of funding the proposal. We continue
to press them to engage in producing a joint master document to keep track
of our agreed-to proposals, so that the bargaining process is less
confused but it is unclear as to whether they will agree to this.
We plan to meet with the Employer again
tomorrow at the Holiday Inn Express, at 10:30 am,
in order to talk about SRCs, review the documents that were passed to us
and perhaps some of the other priorities that have not been dealt with.
The Holiday Inn Express is at Norfinch
Drive, which is off of Finch west of Jane St, east of HWY 400.
CUPE Local 3903 |
York University, 104 East Office Building
4700 Keele St.,
Toronto Ontario M3J-1P3
Tel:
416-736-5154 | Fax: 416-736-5480 |
http://www.cupe3903.tao.ca
Please note that the
cupe3903news@gmail.com email account is for outgoing messages only.
Direct all inquiries directly to staff or executive committee members.
Copyright © 2008 Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3903
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