Contract academic workers at Brock University
Our local and the coalition group, Indigenous Solidarity Coalition, have released a statement on the Wet’suwe’ten nation’s land defense against Canadian state’s enforcement of the Coastal GasLink pipeline be built on this unceded land.
Read the joint statement here.
We are meeting for our February GMM on Thursday, the 27th at 5 pm in the Sankey Chamber.
AGENDA for the meeting:
We have just finished counting the strike mandate vote ballots in the presence of our CUPE National Representative.
Eighty five percent of the ballots were YES votes. Where do go from now?
Unit 1 Bargaining Committee will deliver this strong message to the employer. We are not meeting at the bargaining table in February. There are two days, February 20th and 28th, scheduled for conciliation. The 85% strike mandate will be a powerful leverage the BC will being to the conciliator.
Conciliation is another legal step in the bargaining process that either party requests when negotiations come to impasse. We have requested conciliation in December. The strong YES vote should help to keep bargaining moving ahead in the presence of the conciliator.
Tables with ballot boxes ready for strike mandate vote will be staffed at these locations on campus:
Why you should vote YES for a strike mandate
We have been without a Collective Agreement since September 2019, and negotiations for a new collective agreement have been proceeding slowly. The university has not bargained seriously since the summer, and we have agreed to only a few minor issues. The University is not willing to consider any of the bargaining priorities that we had ratified last year. Instead, they seem content on not accepting any gains, and instead are seeking to weaken the language that protects our working conditions. Because of this, we need to send a strong message to the University that they need to take us seriously. To do this, we need a strong strike mandate vote!
A strike mandate vote is not a vote for a strike. It is a legal requirement under the Ontario Labour Relations Board. A strong strike vote will send a message that we are united for a stronger collective agreement.
Of course, this is nothing new. In past rounds of bargaining, real movement has often begun only after a strong Yes vote. We do not want to go on strike. No one does. But the best way to avoid one is to demonstrate that we are ready for one. Vote YES to give a strike mandate to get a fair collective agreement!
Voting days and locations.
For most of the locations, times are yet to be announced; it very much at this time depends on scheduling of elected officers of the union to be able to staff the tables.
On Monday and Tuesday, the tables will be closed for the time of town hall and general membership meeting.
MONDAY FEB 10th from 1 to 3 pm in Sankey Chamber
and TUESDAY FEB 11th from 4 to 7 in Schmon Tower room 107.
Members wishing to vote at those meetings are still able to do so at the meeting.
Saturday, February 8th
Monday, February 10th times TBA
Tuesday, February 11th times TBA
Wednesday, February 12th times TBA
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020 
in Sankey Chamber at 5 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: There will be a guest speaker from OSSTF district 22, Shannon Smith, President. OSSTF is a labour union representing primarily high school teachers. Together with the elementary school teachers, education workers have waged a long battle to push off changes to public education that would negatively impact students, their parents and society in general. Come to the GMM to hear about the plans of the provincial government to usher in measures to invite private for profit forms of education!
AGENDA: Members are, of course, free to add items on the agenda either by emailing the info@cupe4207.org email or directly at the GMM!
Dec 9, 2019
It is becoming increasingly clear to the union that management is tone deaf to the union’s attempts to improve the dignity, respect, equity, and well-being of CUPE 4207 members. A short, tense bargaining meeting took place on Dec 9, 2019, where management basically stated that they were unwilling to contemplate any of the significant priorities that the union had brought to the table thus far. … Read more…
We have been informed by Human Resources that members whose contract expires December 31, and who do not hold a contract in the Winter, should expect their last pay on January 10th. Since the switch to the Workday system, members had no access to their payslips after their last day of contract. The employer has enabled members to access their pay information seven days after the final pay deposit. Here is what they sent us: … Read more…
