The University asked permanent members in Unit 3 to switch to a different pay regime. While the said members were paid to date at the end of every month, with a mid month advance, it was more desirable to be paid biweekly. Yet this payroll change is not about the biweekly pay that Unit 1 members have been selecting as one of the options on their contract at sign time. What the employer wants to convert payroll into is two week pay but with one week lag!

The ESL instructors (permanent) are going to vote on the proposed change. The Executive Committee recommends voting it down. Read a letter to U3 members Statement on Payroll Conversion to learn more.

Today is workers holiday – International Workers Day. Workers celebrate around the world.

What you need to know about May Day

by Leo Panitch

For more than 100 years, May Day has symbolized the common struggles of workers around the globe. Why is it largely ignored in North America? The answer lies in part in American labour’s long repression of its own radical past, out of which international May Day was actually born a century ago.

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After a busy year teaching, researching and learning, you deserve a break!

Come to the union social Friday April 21 (the day after our AGM) to the mostly empty 319 Merritt Street building for a relaxing evening, drink food and fun supplied (well, you may have to do something with the latter one).

OUR ANNUAL GENERAL MEMBERS MEETING is on 

Thursday, APRIL 20

4:00 PM IN AS 203 

One more additional election that is not on the agenda on the poster:

Four delegates to CUPE National Convention October 2 – 6, 2017 in Toronto.

The local is offering a temporary job that includes scanning and processing of grievance files into a software called LabourWare. While an asset, no experience with LabourWare is necessary (training will be provided). The objective is to have grievances digitized, easily accessible and searchable.  A degree of experience with the grievance process is required for the job. See the call by clicking on the link below.

CUPE4207 Grievance Scanner Job Posting

Unit 3, instructors in ESL Services,  is preparing for bargaining. At this special general membership meeting Unit 3 members will be discussing the results of a recently conducted survey on improvement of their working conditions.

The U3 Bargaining Committee has compiled the results of the survey and will be presenting them at this Special GMM. Unit 3 members will then identify a list of issues that would be the priority focus in bargaining. The priorities will be ratified by a vote at this meeting.

The meeting is open to all members. Only members of Unit 3 can vote.

AGENDA:

1. Update – Joint U2/U3 Labour Management Meeting, Feb. 24

(including upcoming Academic Program Review of ESL Services)

2. English-Only Policy for IELP Students

3. Unit 3 Bargaining Priorities Meeting

The membership spoke. Seventy six per cent votes were cast in support of the tentative agreement. This means that the deal is in effect until September 6, 2019.

We still have the alternate strike office at 319 Merritt. The Strike Preparation Committee is having a meeting tomorrow to discuss returning things to their usual places and resting all the traffic safety equipment in storage until it is needed again.

In addition to wrapping up and to close, the SPC is going to plan a social at the 319 Merritt building. Stay tuned and of course, as always, members are welcome to plan or just to show up at the union office, tomorrow, Friday, March 17 at 2 pm for the social planning!

There will be two general membership meetings for Unit 1 members to vote on the tentative collective agreement reached in the early morning hours of March 3rd.

About the ratification process:

Once the terms of the newly negotiated agreement are singed by members of the negotiating teams, the document must be presented to the respective governing bodies for a vote. The employer will present the tentative deal for ratification to a Board of Trustees committee on March 9th. We will wait for the employer to conduct the ratification vote first, given our negative experience in 2012  when they intended to remove an article from the tentatively signed deal and ratify thus conditionally. This illegal move pushed Unit 3 to go on a 10-day strike to force the employer to adhere to the Labour Relations Act.

Members of Unit 1 will be presented with the new language of the tentative collective agreement  on

Wednesday, March 15,  5:00 – 7:00, Room: Academic South 204

Thursday, March 16 , 12:00 – 3:00, Room: Thistle 240

At each meeting members will be free to ask questions and engage in a discussion. The meetings will conclude with a secret ballot vote. The question on the ballot simply asks members to indicate by ‘yes’ if they accept the terms of the tentative collective agreement, or to signal by ‘no’ if they do not accept it as is.

If a majority of votes (50% plus one) accept the terms of the tentative agreement then it is ratified and becomes a legally binding document.  Only members of Unit 1 can vote.

The UNIT 1 Bargaining Committee has reached a tentative agreement.

There is NO strike.

Ratification meeting will be set up to vote on it.