Starting this week and continuing for the next four weeks, the CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2, & 3 Bargaining Team (BT) will be meeting two days a week with the employer rather than one in hopes to make significant progress at the bargaining table. To date, the BT has presented approximately more than half of our proposals to the employer, with the remaining items to be presented over the coming weeks.
At our bargaining session on August 6, 2026 with the employer, the BT presented proposals on how Notice of Recommended Appointments (NRAs) are delivered and subsequent deadline for receiving written Offer of Appointments, class sizes and proof-of-practice requirements for Clinical Course Directors in Nursing, members access to accommodation information through Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS), Long Service Guarantee and Transitional Continuing Appointments (TCA), research, emergency, inclement weather and Indigenous Ceremony leaves as well as those due to pregnancy loss, fund protections and workplace accommodations. While some proposals garnered little to no immediate response from the employer, the proposals on nursing proof-of-practice, TCA, emergency and inclement weather leaves, and fund protections were thoroughly discussed.
This week the BT received one pass back from the employer regarding the use of anonymous online comments from third-party platforms used in discipline meetings. The employer also indicated that they would not agree to our proposal regarding Article 8 in the Collective Agreements dealing with disclosing evidence prior to disciplinary meetings. “Broadly speaking” the Employer was also not favourable to our proposal on severance citing the University’s current financial restraints but indicated they would be open to further discussions with a more “policy-driven or needs-based approach.”
It was a full day of bargaining at the table, with a surprise leak in the York lanes ceiling and confirmation from the employer that the sounds in the ceiling are in fact squirrels. Speaking of health and safety, the BT looks forward to presenting their comprehensive health and safety proposal to the employer in the coming weeks.
The BT and the employer have now reached agreement and signed off on four housekeeping proposals (outdated article numbers and typo corrections). While the BT is pleased to see some forward momentum, we do hope the employer will be able to provide more formal responses or pass backs on several previously presented BT proposals soon.
We encourage members to attend our upcoming bargaining sessions with the employer. While members cannot communicate directly to the employer at bargaining sessions, members can share their thoughts with the BT either on the BT Notepad (shared with those attending on Zoom) or by writing a note and providing it to any BT member in the room. You can also email the BT at bargaining@cupe3903.org.
Planning for these upcoming bargaining sessions and discussions of employer responses and pass backs occur during the weekly BT meetings. The next BT meeting is Tuesday, August 11, 2026, from 11AM – 1PM. All upcoming meeting dates, in-person locations, and zoom links can be found by visiting the CUPE 3903 calendar.
In solidarity,
CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team (Units 1, 2, & 3)
bargaining@cupe3903.org