Union Prepares To Up the Ante as Collective Bargaining Stalls

Our Employer (the U of T administration) opened this round of bargaining  by  calling  for  “no  net-increase in compensation.”  This  means  that the total cost (including all wages, benefits, training, leaves of absence, etc.) of our bargaining unit for 2013-2014 cannot increase in any year of the new Collective Agreement without corresponding reductions elsewhere. The Union will not accept this as a framework for our bargaining because their plan would freeze the value of our Collective Agreement, which means realizable decreases given the rising costs of living and tuition.  The  value  of  each  member’s  $800  Healthcare  Spending  Account, for example, would also certainly go down as usage rises and medical expenses increase.

The Bargaining Team (BT) has unequivocally told the Employer that we cannot come to a new agreement under the conditions of a freeze. Despite  the  Employer’s  claim  that  an  unnamed  “government  directive”  prevents them from negotiating increases for us, TAs and Sessionals at Guelph, Windsor and elsewhere have very recently achieved significant wage increases of roughly 5% without any government interference.

In the coming weeks, Unit 1 members will gather to take a strike vote, during which each of us will be asked to cast a ballot in favour of or against authorizing the Union to call a strike if we cannot negotiate a fair collective agreement by other means. We will make this decision based on our own Bargaining Commitments, the Employer’s  proposals  and  actions  to date, the sacrifices required to strike, and the gains we could win as the result of a strike. Look for more Bulletins and information sessions in your Department. Also, please make a point to attend the next Unit 1 meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 07, from 5 to 8 in VIC 212.

Why Would We Go on Strike?

Our Bargaining Commitments clearly state that any tentative agreement with the Employer must include an increase to our funding package and our wage rates as well as improvements to our benefits like healthcare and  childcare.  The  Employer’s  insistence that we negotiate under the condition of a total compensation freeze forces us to consider taking labour action. So far the Employer has not come close to agreeing to any of the major proposals the Union has brought forward. If this does not change at the bargaining table, we will have to consider using other legal options, including labour action.

How Would the Process Work?

We are currently in negotiations with the Employer, and will be taking a strike vote as negotiations continue.  The  strike  vote  will  be  a  key  tool  for  the  Union’s  Bargaining  Team  to  use  in  an  effort  to  achieve  a  tentative agreement that would be acceptable to members. If the Bargaining Team reaches a tentative

UNIT 1 BARGAINING BULLETIN #7 University of Toronto Education Workers – CUPE Local 3902

October 5, 2014

Strike Vote!

agreement with the Employer, it will be provided to members at a Unit meeting, where they will decide by vote whether to send the agreement to a secret-ballot ratification vote of the entire Unit membership. If the Bargaining Team cannot reach a tentative agreement we would enter a legal process called “conciliation,”  during  which  a  conciliator  appointed  by  the  Ontario  Ministry  of  Labour  would be brought in to help us and the Employer reach an agreement. If no tentative agreement can be reached or can be approved by members after conciliation, then our bargaining unit would be in a legal strike position and we could choose to strike, to take other labour actions or to continue negotiations (assuming the Employer does not lock us out of our jobs and cut off our pay, which would also be legal for them to do at that stage). More details will be provided in the coming weeks, and this flow chart traces the steps of the process.

What Is a Strike Vote?

Please note that the strike vote will not immediately initiate a strike. Rather, it signals to the Employer how serious we are about our bargaining priorities and that we will not tolerate attacks on our already meagre standard of living. But a strike vote will allow us to take legal labour action if necessary down the road, if we cannot otherwise reach an agreement. The strike vote indicates what we are willing to do in order to reach an agreement that respects our worth as education workers. Members should anticipate a strike vote being held before the end of this semester.

What Would a Strike Require?

The most obvious form of labour action is a strike, during which members cease to perform all Unit 1 work duties.  But  labour  actions  can  also  include  “working  to  rule,”  during  which  members  would  continue  to  perform their minimum duties strictly according to rules and regulations so as to intensively slow down work at U of T. We could organize walk-outs or other disruptions, or we could work half-time or on rotation,  as  with  last  year’s  Canada  Post  strike.  

A strike is not an inevitable part of the bargaining process. Our unit has been on strike 3 times in our history, and we have negotiated 18 collective agreements. Strikes have won our unit some of its most important gains, such as overwork protections, paid leaves, subsequent appointments, and the guarantee for the minimum funding package.

While on strike, members would be asked to participate on a picket line. The minimum picket duty required to  receive  strike  pay  is  twenty  hours  per  week.  Each  member’s  first  10  hours  of  picket  duty  or  other  strike  support are considered service to the Union and are not paid. Members who strike will not receive their wages from the Employer, but for their picket duty they are provided strike pay of $300 per week. Strong strikes are winning strikes, and joining the picket line is an act of solidarity that helps to achieve common goals. However, if you wish to forego strike pay, you do not have to join a picket line and can stay home or do other research during the strike. The Union provides food, drink and childcare for picketers. Members who are not physically or logistically able to be on a picket line for 20 hours a week can receive alternate duties assigned by the Union to support a strike.