CUPE 3903 concluded a busy month of bargaining with a trio of meetings this past week!
New Proposals Approved
At the General Membership Meeting on Monday (July 27), the Units 1, 2, & 3 Bargaining Team presented four further proposals before membership. The centrepiece of these was a comprehensive revision of the language covering health and safety in all three collective agreements (CAs).
Much of the language currently featured in our collective agreements is based around an old framework for fulfilling the University’s obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), initially negotiated between the Union and Employer in 1994 — when we were still the Canadian Union of Educational Workers local 3. Subsequent changes to the Act, York University, the structure of campus health and safety committees, medical science, the earth’s climate, and more have not been accounted for in succeeding collective agreements. The new proposal therefore attempts to build off of and then improve upon current health and safety practice at York University, to better ensure that proper (compensated) health and safety training is provided to our members; that our members can exert greater authority in the work of campus health and safety committees; that unsafe working conditions can be identified, reported, and improved in a timely manner; and that information about active and potential health and safety dangers at York is more readily available to members, among other transformations of the earlier, archaic language.
All four proposals were passed by membership and will be delivered to the Employer in the near future. Early versions of these proposals are linked on the CUPE 3903 bargaining webpage, which will be updated soon to account for further bargaining developments. At present, though, the Bargaining Team can report that (while the possibility of passing additional new proposals cannot be precluded) the updated packages the Employer will receive shortly are, indeed, complete for all three units.
Glendon Issues & Interim Provost Visit
Two days later, the Bargaining Team and the Employer held an abridged afternoon meeting, our fourth meeting with the Employer in July. At the Employer’s request, the featured event was an appearance by Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic Laina Bay-Cheng, who invited questions from the Union on the Administration’s tabled proposal for “revitalizing York’s French-language and bilingual mission and for making the best use of the University’s resources” by discontinuing Glendon College’s status as an autonomous Faculty, which she previously presented before a Special Meeting of the Glendon Faculty Council on May 20, 2026. The Union inquired about the motivations behind the proposal, the intention behind the Provost discussing this proposal at a bargaining meeting, and the adverse effect that the proposed plans for Glendon could have on its employees, students, and York’s historical commitment to Francophone and bilingual education in Ontario.
The Bargaining Team appreciated the Provost taking the time to speak with the Union, although we were adamant in expressing that this thirty-minute Q&A does not constitute a formal consultation. This is an important distinction, given the Employer’s CA-mandated obligation to actively engage the Union in the event of any policy decision likely to “result in a significant alteration to the volume and/or distribution of employment in the bargaining unit or in a particular hiring unit(s)”. Any potential future “growth” of the University notwithstanding, as the Provost believed possible if the plan she proposed were effected, it is impossible to anticipate anything but an immediate reduction in work for our members if Glendon’s program (and employees) are folded into Keele. It is difficult to imagine the same bilingual mandate likewise enduring at Keele under the proposed plans, without the unique protections that Glendon was afforded as its own faculty with its own devoted campus.
More Bargaining Updates
After the Provost departed, the Bargaining Team presented a new proposal — Article 12.18.5 — for the Unit 2 collective agreement. The proposal intends to create a permanent, voluntary severance option for long-serving Unit 2 members within the Affirmative Action (Conversion) Pool, in the form of a one-time payment scaled to the member’s work history. This proposal aims to create more stable, more financially supportive pathways for those Unit 2 members seeking to exit long-term careers at York. The Employer asked how the University might maintain the services of a talented instructor now given the option of terminating their York career in exchange for a one-time payment. This is indeed a good question, although not necessarily one best addressed to the Union.
The meeting ended on a positive note, as the Employer returned with their first “sign-offs”! Pending our own review, both parties will have agreed (in writing) to a number of the “housekeeping” proposals members previously approved, all intended to make the use of each collective agreement more intuitive (and thus more effective) for members, and to update language in accordance with current practices. We will provide further information on these and all future sign-offs at cupe3903.org/bargain.
What’s Next
With apologies for the longer report, we will conclude now by noting that the Bargaining Team has scheduled its first few August meetings for Tuesdays from 11AM – 1PM, and that our next meeting with the Employer will be on August 6, from 10AM – 5PM. There remain a number of proposals for the Bargaining Team to present, although we hope that the Employer takes the opportunity provided by our submitting a complete package to optimize our time at the table by signing-off on additional proposals as soon as they can.
In solidarity,
CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team (Units 1, 2, & 3)
bargaining@cupe3903.org