It’s official: Bargaining is underway
As you may know, the 3903 bargaining team served the employer with notice to bargain June 1, which was the first day we were permitted to do so under the Labour Relations Act, 1995. See “Beginning the negotiation process.” The bargaining team served notice at the first opportunity because we know how much is at stake for 3903 members when it comes to equity, wages, and benefits. It took a week for the employer to respond to the notice to bargain. We are following up with dates to meet the week of June 27 and we would love to kick off bargaining with members by our side either remotely or in person. Watch the 3903 website for announcements confirming dates for our first meetings with the employer.
It’s your choice: Join us in person or remotely
The bargaining team dug into the bargaining parameters, voted on at the May 23 Special General Membership Meeting. After discussing a number of factors, such as how to ensure maximum safety and accessibility for members, and how to best engage members, we decided on a hybrid model for this round. We will present the employer with a plan to resume in-person bargaining meetings as we’ve done historically, with the option of zoom bargaining for members of both teams. We would make allowances for members to join either in-person or on zoom.
The team keeps growing!
The bargaining team was excited to welcome two new members: Anni Siren and Sabika Zaidi will be representing Unit 3 members, a unit that has been seriously harmed by the employer’s violations of the scope clause going back to 2016. At the SGMM on June 22, members will get to vote on the two recording secretary candidates for the bargaining team. Watch for upcoming videos where members of the bargaining team will introduce themselves and their bargaining priorities.
Preliminary survey results: Wages are not keeping up with the cost of living
The bargaining team got a preliminary report from members of the Bargaining Research Committee, who have been looking over the completed surveys. So far, there’s a healthy response rate of survey completion. Preliminary results of bargaining priorities for 3903 members suggest that wages/cost of living and health benefits are top of mind across all three units. The information from surveys shapes our bargaining proposals, so if you haven’t had a chance yet–please fill out a bargaining survey soon. We want to know your priorities!
From priorities to proposals
Proposals are a major focus for the bargaining team at this stage. With the team made up almost equally of new and returning folks, we talked through the process of identifying issues and crafting proposals. We look back to where we got to in the last round; we consider long standing problems, often revealed by grievance fact patterns; we take into account entrenched inequities; and we make note of other ways the 3903 membership expresses its will, including through surveys and at SGMMs. With lots of support from staff who help us with language and how new proposals interact with the existing collective agreement, we’ll be drafting all-units proposals, which are relevant to Units 1, 2, and 3 (such as on benefits and wages), as well as unit-specific proposals (such as graduate funding for units 1 and 3, and job security for unit 2). All proposals will be presented to the membership for discussion before they are passed to the employer.
Get involved!
There are many ways you can be involved in bargaining. Please fill out the bargaining survey; attend an upcoming bargaining prep meeting (June 20, 2:00-3:00pm; June 22, 11:00am-12:00pm); come to the June 22 SGMM, 12:00-3:00pm (register in advance here); participate in the bargaining kickoff (details TBA).