This page contains some frequently asked questions about the proposed across-the-board 3% dues rate. New answers can be added as we receive more questions. The answers are organized thematically.
About Increasing Dues
What’s the proposal?
After substantial research by the Ad Hoc Finance Committee, and following their recommendation, the Executive Committee is proposing an across-the-board 3% dues rate for all units in CUPE 3903. This would mean that the dues rate for Units 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 would be harmonized at 3.0%.
What are the current dues?
Currently, the dues rate is 2.8% for members of Unit 1 and 2.3% for members of Units 2, 3, and 4. Unit 5 does not currently have a dues rate.
Why 3%?
Based on various forecasting scenarios, we expect that 3% would raise just over $200,000 annually for the Union, which would offset increasing expenses so that we can keep up the fight. Specifically, based on membership projections for the 2025 calendar year (accounting for the possibility of membership numbers decreasing due to ongoing restructuring), a 3% across-the-board dues rate would provide us with approximately $217,232.17 to $225,685.79 in additional income (after paying our 34% tax to CUPE National), depending on how many members we have for that year.
Why increase dues now?
The financial viability of the Union is rapidly approaching a tipping point that will be extremely difficult to reverse if it isn’t addressed now. It has also been 14 years since we last increased our dues rate, which means that it has fallen out of pace with rising inflation and rising operating costs.
It is especially important right now to secure a healthy financial future for CUPE 3903 in the face of many intersecting pressures that we are facing in our workplaces in 2024, from Employer-driven legal fees when we protect our members’ rights to increasing repression of resistance across campus.
Is there anything else we can do? Is there no other option?
Although the Ad Hoc Finance committee has extensively explored other potential options, none of them provide the long-term financial sustainability that a dues increase would. By increasing dues, the basic functioning of CUPE 3903 can be continually and steadily supported.
Options like levies provide only a brief boost of additional income, but they fail to nourish the Union’s financial health in the long term. Options like fundraising also have this issue but additionally, much like taking a loan, they leave our Union vulnerable to external pressures.
What would the additional revenue from a dues increase go towards?
The additional revenue from a dues increase would support the Union’s essential ability to advocate for and represent members when you need it most. We have grievance cases in upcoming arbitrations as well as other expenses (e.g., software costs, staff salaries, meeting expenses, committee honoraria) that we are obligated to pay. Without bringing in more income, we will not be able to file grievances and fight for you (or we would have to drop grievances the moment they go to mediation or arbitration), make Union spaces accessible for everyone, pay honoraria to committee members who do vital work for the Union, among other things.
Will increasing dues solve our financial problems?
Although increasing dues alone won’t solve all of the union’s issues with financial sustainability, it is the single most important and most impactful change that we can make to help ensure that CUPE 3903 continues to provide crucial support to members for the long term. Because increasing dues percentages is a small change that will nourish the Union’s financial health year after year, it is key to supporting CUPE 3903’s economic stability not just now, but in the future as well.
Are we increasing dues to pay for the recent strike (Feb. to Apr. 2024)?
No, we are not increasing dues to pay for the recent strike because the Local Defense and Strike Fund is a separate account and has its own budget. We are obligated to contribute money to the Local Defense and Strike Fund as required by our Bylaws, Article 18(h). Only the money that is contributed to the Local Defense and Strike Fund is used to fund a strike.
A dues increase could mean that we can contribute more to the Local Defense and Strike Fund. This would arguably be a wise decision, as the Employer will not be motivated to bargain if they know we are not financially able to strike. However, any such decision would be included in the budget that the membership will approve at the annual AGM.
How much revenue could this proposed dues increase bring in?
Accounting for decreases in membership year after year (due to ongoing restructuring at York; fewer 50 members per year for U1, 10% decline per year for U2, and stable for U3), the proposed dues increase would provide us with approximately $217,232.17 to $225,685.79 in additional income for the 2025 calendar year (after paying the 34% tax to CUPE National). It is anticipated that the proposed dues increase will bring in approximately $200,000 year after year.
How much will a dues increase cost me?
The numbers here are just a guideline. Depending on the specifics of your contract (e.g., what type of position(s) you hold), your specific dues will vary.
Based on the 2024-25 salary rates, for a Unit 1 member, an increase to 3% would cost you an extra $3.47 per month ($27.76 per 8-month contract) on each 1.0 TAship (T1). This is equivalent to less than the cost of a cup of coffee per month.
Based on the 2024-25 salary rates, for a Unit 2 member, an increase to 3% would cost you $18.16 per month ($145.28 per 8 month contract) on each 1.0 CDship or $12.15 per month ($97.20 per 8-month contract) on each 1.0 TAship. This is equivalent to the cost of 2 to 4 cups of coffee per month.
Based on the 2024-25 salary rates, for a Unit 3 member, an increase to 3% would cost you $7.51 per month ($60.08 per 8-month contract) on each 1.0 GAship. This is equivalent to the cost of 1.5 cups of coffee per month.
Based on the 2023-24 salary rates, for a Unit 4 member, an increase to 3% would cost you $X per month. This is equivalent to the cost of X cups of coffee per month.
Are dues tax-deductible?
Yes! The dues you pay are listed on your T4 income statement issued by the Employer (Box 44). You should enter them on Line 21200 of your tax return to claim a tax deduction and other tax benefits (e.g., partial refund of dues paid if eligible). This means that even with a slight dues increase, you can still receive tax benefits at the end of the year.
Is the dues increase permanent?
No, just because dues may be increased now does not mean that it will stay at the proposed rate forever. We, as members, can vote to change the dues rate again in the future when we have a better picture of our financial situation.
About the Vote
What kind of vote will this be?
Amending the dues rates is an amendment to our bylaws. The notice for this proposed bylaw amendment was given on Aug. 19, 2024 [hyperlinked]. The vote on the proposed dues rates is scheduled for the GMM on November 27, 2024 at 11:00am.
When will this bylaw amendment be decided? How do I vote?
The vote on the proposed dues rates is scheduled to open at the GMM on November 27, 2024 at 11:00 am and close at 2:00 pm. All members who register for that meeting will be eligible to vote. Ballots will be sent through Simply Voting to the email address that you use to register for the meeting. You can register for that meeting through the Zoom link on our website [hyperlinked]: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIod-itrzojHNLIsr1tQBnWrZUiqmRrdGqx.
Will this be a unit-specific vote?
No. Following CUPE National’s constitution, votes on dues rates are all-units votes. This means that all the members of the Local vote together on the bylaw amendment. We cannot have separate votes on this by unit.
About the Union’s Finances
Where does our income come from?
We have one main source of income: membership dues. We also generate interest from our bank holdings, receive the Equity Fund from the Employer (which is to offset the salary cost of the Staff Representative/Equity); however, both of these amounts together total less than $15,000 per year. We can generate income through special assessments (e.g., special levy), but we do not currently have one. Membership dues provide us with approximately $1,600,000 every year.
Don’t we have a lot of income?
Yes, we do have a lot of income—but we also have a lot of expenses. It’s really expensive to run a large union that fights for and materially supports its members to the extent that CUPE 3903 does. York has made it increasingly expensive for us to operate in the past 5 years by taking an adversarial approach to labour relations whereby they are not willing to resolve your grievances without referring to expensive legal processes, like arbitration. Our income just can’t keep up with our expenses.
Why are we spending so much on legal expenses?
York takes an adversarial approach to labour relations whereby they are not willing to resolve your grievances without referring to expensive legal processes, like arbitration. Because grievances are not resolved through negotiated settlements, we must spend increasingly more funds on lawyers, mediators, and arbitrators.
Is there another solution to reducing legal expenses?
Yes and no. The Executive Committee and the Grievance Committee are investigating ways to minimize the use of lawyers to resolve grievances. However, if York continues to push grievances to mediation and arbitration, then we are stuck and we need to pay the costs to fight these cases.
What other expenses are we incurring? Is it only legal expenses that cost a lot?
No, it is not only legal expenses that cost a lot. We have five staff members, which is a large but highly necessary expense for our Union. Without staff, we would not be able to provide the extent or quality of representation, advocacy, and expertise that we can currently offer. Our other major expense is “Contributions,” which are per capita and affiliation fees and donations. As a large union with many members, we pay a lot in per capita and affiliation fees.
CUPE National receives 34% of our annual income; in the 2023-24 fiscal year, this amounted to approximately $562,221. CUPE Ontario taxes are 0.04% of gross income, which, in the 2023-24 fiscal year, amounted to approximately $24,000. The Toronto and York Region Labour Council affiliation fee is also approximately $7,000 annually. Other contributions include donations to the Lee Wiggins Childcare Centre, the York University Cooperative Daycare Centre, the Trans Feminist Action Caucus (TFAC has its own budget and account), and other causes (e.g., Palestine solidarity, other Locals on strike). Lastly, we also contribute to our Local Defense and Strike Fund as required by our Bylaws, Article 18(h). We have fallen behind on contributing to our Local Defense and Strike Fund; ideally we would start this up again during the current fiscal year.
Why are we donating so much?
Materially supporting causes and organizations who need it is not just an important act of community care, it also helps us when we need support from others. By maintaining reciprocal ties to other meaningful efforts toward change and politically-aligned groups, we make sure that when we have a strike, an unexpected crisis, or other hardship, that there are holistic networks we can count on to be there for us.
As a social union, CUPE 3903 is dedicated to making not just our workplaces better, but bettering our broader communities as well, and this means showing up for others in tangible ways that matter, including donations. Still, even if we cut all of our donations, it would still not come close to resolving the financial problems that the Union is facing.
About Alternatives to a Dues Increase
What about a special levy instead of increasing dues?
We have had special levies in the past (at least in 2000, 2009, and 2018). A special levy isn’t a terrible solution; however, special levies are time-limited and thus effectively one-time additions of income. We cannot have a special levy for a longer period, which means that it cannot generate income years into the future. With continued increasing costs, we may constantly need to have special levies to make up for deficits. A dues increase is the only solution to generating income long-term. We would ideally not have any future levies with a dues increase.
Can we fundraise instead of increasing dues?
While fundraising can provide a meaningful injection of funds to support the Union, it is also generally a one-off type of support. Because we are not eligible for non-for-profit status, donations to CUPE 3903 are also not eligible for tax deductions, meaning that we are less likely to get recurring donors. Being heavily reliant on outside income also has the potential to leave our important work at the mercy of external interests.
Why not get a loan instead of increasing dues?
It is not a well-thought out strategy to rely on a loan when there isn’t a foreseeable future income source that will make it easier to pay back that loan. Not only will we need to pay back the loan but also the interest on the loan. Additionally, any significant loan we take from outside parties could leave us in a precarious position of being both materially and politically indebted to external forces.
Since we have surpluses in our funds (e.g., EHB, PDF, etc.), can we move money from there to our main operating account?
These funds are restricted by our Collective Agreements to be used for only the designated purposes, so we are unable to move money that is allocated for them into our main operating account. Our Secretary-Treasurer has actually already requested in April 2024 to do this temporarily as a financial stopgap and been summarily denied by the Employer.
More Information
Who has studied this issue? What work has been done on the Local’s financial sustainability?
The Secretary-Treasurer (Melvin Chan) and staff have been discussing the budgetary shortfall since Melvin assumed the office in March 2024. An open call for Executive Committee and rank-and-file members to join an Ad Hoc Finance Committee was made at the Annual General Meeting in June 2024. Four Executives and two rank-and-file members joined. The Ad Hoc Finance Committee, coordinated by the Secretary-Treasurer and supported by two staff members, has been studying this issue since June 2024. The recommendation to raise dues comes out of months of study, and discussions are now being held more broadly with the membership.
Who can I contact if I have questions?
Please contact Melvin Chan, Secretary-Treasurer, with any questions at sectreasurer3903@gmail.com.