The following introduction was prepared as part of the extensive Spring 2005 Bargaining Resources Project. Please consider printing out the text below and posting in your department as part of your CUPE board.

CUPE Local 3903 is your union, constantly struggling to improve the working conditions of more than 3200 teaching assistants (Unit 1), contract faculty (Unit 2) and graduate and research assistants (Unit 3) at York University. If you are working at the university in one of these capacities, you are a CUPE 3903 member. York promotes the funding packages it offers to graduate students, but it is the members, like you, of CUPE 3903 who have fought hard to win the rights and benefits enshrined in our Collective Agreement. One important gain that CUPE 3903 has won for its Unit 1 and 3 members is the graduate financial assistance (GFA), commonly referred to as the tuition rebate.

This year you will be hearing a lot about CUPE 3903 and the events of the bargaining process that will directly affect you. This document gives you a brief outline of the bargaining process and how you can become involved. More detailed information can be found in your CUPE handbook or on the website (www.cupe3903.tao.ca).

What is Collective Bargaining?

The process of collective bargaining is the main tool through which the conflict of interest between the workers and employers is channeled and accommodated. It is a method of determining wages, hours and other conditions of employment through direct negotiations between the union and the employer. Normally the result of collective bargaining is a written contract, which covers all employees in the bargaining unit. The collective agreement, once arrived at, is binding for the period of time stipulated in it.

The Ontario Labour Relations Act governs the bargaining process between CUPE 3903 and the administration of York University formal. This Act, and its administration through the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB), establishes many of the parameters within which negotiations take place. To understand what is happening as we continue through the bargaining process it is important to understand both the formal, legal framework and specific CUPE 3903 policies and practices.

What is Happening Now?

CUPE 3903 is committed to an open style of bargaining with an emphasis on the democratic participation of members. For us, bargaining begins long before we formally sit down with the employer, and involves the extensive gathering and sharing of information with members.

We generally begin to mobilize for bargaining several months or even a year before the official notice to bargain can be given. Discussions take place about past rounds of bargaining, including what worked and what didn’t work and proposals won and lost. A bargaining team is elected at a general membership meeting. Bargaining surveys are developed and distributed to gather input from the members and numerous meetings are held on bargaining proposals. These discussions were an opportunity to learn from each other and are what the bargaining team used to develop proposals that were discussed, debated and approved at a general membership meeting. Our proposals for the next collective agreement, which will affect members in this current year, were then taken to the employer. These proposals reflect the needs and concerns of your colleagues from previous academic years and are meant to improve your working environment.

What’s My Role?

There are a number of ways you can get involved and the sooner the better! As the bargaining team works for you they need to hear about what is happening in your working environment. There are many decisions that are made along the way to a Collective Agreement and without your input these decisions may not reflect your needs. So speak up and get in there!

It is every CUPE 3903 member’s responsibility to become aware and involved in their department and at general membership meetings. At these meetings your voice will be heard and you will be able to make connections with other CUPE 3903 members in other departments. Become familiar with CUPE 3903 communications and contact numbers. Subscribe to CUPE 3903 email lists. Give us a call and ask how you can get involved.

What’s a Strike Vote?

One of the first things you may hear about this fall is a “strike vote”. If no significant progress is being made in bargaining, the CUPE 3903 executive, in consultation with the bargaining team and the general membership, may call for a strike vote. A positive strike vote is a precondition for being in a legal strike position, but it is also much more than that. A strike vote is a key way for unions to express support for bargaining proposals and is generally used in an attempt to pressure the employer to improve its offer. Voting ‘yes’ does not mean that a union will inevitably go on strike. A strong strike vote indicates to the employer that members are serious about what they want to achieve in bargaining. A ‘no’ strike vote could substantially weakens the union’s position at the bargaining table.

After a strike vote, the employer may provide an improved offer, or, in the absence of significant progress in bargaining, a strike may be called. The actual decision to go on strike involves more than just the strike vote numbers, it encompasses what members say in a variety of situations, and a sense of how bargaining is progressing. Again the key is for you to stay informed and stay involved.

What's involved in Strike Preparation?

You may begin to hear about “strike preparation”. Again, this does not necessarily mean that there will be a strike, only that we need to be prepared. This may involve attending picketing training and or even signing up for picket duty. Generally, the goal of a strike is to demonstrate to the employer and the community that we are indispensable to the functioning of the university.

If there is a strike there are a few key things you need to know. The first is the importance of staying informed and being involved in the process. Attend meetings, talk to your department steward, and read the updates circulated by CUPE 3903. You will also need to take part in picketing or other strike duties to receive your strike pay ($200 per week). Also, in the event of a strike emergency funds will be available through the union for members in need.

How does Ratification work?

The last stage in the bargaining process is the ratification of the collective agreements. Once a tentative agreement is reached, the ratification vote is the memberships chance to accept or reject the offer. While all Units negotiate together, each unit votes separately on its own contract. If the agreements are turned down, bargaining continues. If the agreements are accepted, the process ends and the new collective agreements come into force.

Things you can do:

• Come out to 3903 General Membership Meetings (GMMs) or Bargaining Mobilization Committee (BMC) meetings. Let the bargaining team know which issues and bargaining demands are most important to you. (All upcoming GMMs and BMC meetings will be posted on the website: www.cupe3903.tao.ca/)
• Stay informed about union activities and bargaining updates: read Critical Times and the 3903 newsletter, sign up to 3903news email list, check www.cupe3903.tao.ca.
• Talk to other contract faculty, TAs and GAs in your department about the importance of improving our wages, benefits and working conditions.
• Get in touch with your department’s steward and ask her what you can do to help keep other members in your department informed about the bargaining process and our bargaining demands. To find out who your steward is, contact Noaman at noaman.ali @ gmail.com
• Become a department steward! Contact noaman.ali @ gmail.com
• Support our bargaining team by giving us a strong strike mandate. Vote “yes” and in show the Employer that we are serious about our bargaining demands.

If you have any questions or concerns about the bargaining process, remember that CUPE 3903 is your union and the executive, bargaining team, staff and stewards are just some of the people eager to talk to you about what is happening, to assist you with problems and concerns and to help you get involved.

For additional information contact: www.cupe3903.tao.ca or 416-736-5154

You are your union!

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