TORONTO, November 5, 2008 — The negotiating team for CUPE 3903, the union representing contract faculty, teaching assistants and graduate assistants at York University, will be seeking their membership’s counsel today ahead of a legal strike deadline of 12:01am on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008.

The team must decide its response to the University’s final offer of 2.3% total wages and benefits over a three year deal. The total package falls well-below the sector average for 2008.

“In the eleventh hour the University agreed to finally match the wages of the other on-campus unions,” said Graham Potts, Chief Negotiator for the Union’s bargaining team, “but it has yet to address how graduate growth has eroded job security and the union’s complement of benefits and needs-based funds.”

“The University has grown our membership without growing our funds. This is a recipe for poverty and poorer all-around quality of education for our members as students and teachers,” added Potts.

The Union cites the following as major oversights in the University’s latest offer:

- erosion of needs-based funds caused by twenty-five percent membership growth over four-years and an estimated future twenty-percent growth by 2010. The University has only committed to marginal increases in funds.

- the lack of job security safeguards for contract faculty who teach nearly half of the university’s undergraduate classes. Currently, contract faculty must re-apply for their jobs every four to eight months, even if they have worked at the university for years.

- inflation protection by locking wages to the consumer price index and a two-year contract in order to respond to changing economic circumstances.

The Union has been negotiating with the University since July in order to reach a fair settlement for both parties in hopes of avoiding a potential strike.

“We presented the University with a number of avenues of possible settlement. Unfortunately, the Employer declined to respond in kind, presenting the same package and the same concessions day after day. They have effectively told us that they do not bargain with student-workers,” Potts said.

The Union will be presenting the University’s last offer to an open-meeting of the membership Wednesday night. Afterwards, the executive and bargaining team will decide whether to accept the University’s offer.

“In fairness to our membership we will present the University’s final offer before we make a decision on how to proceed. Obviously, we had hoped to be able to present something substantially better but given the circumstances it appears the University would rather risk a strike than come to the table and offer solutions,” said Potts.
Background

CUPE 3903 represents approximately 870 contract faculty, 1,700 TAs and 770 GAs.

York University has offered 2.3% per year total compensation or 6.9% over three years.
York University Staff Association received 9.25 % in three-year contract in 2008.

The University has offered the Union a 3% wage increase for 2008.
Wage adjustments in the Canadian public sector in 2008 averaged 3.3% (HRDC)

CUPE 3903 Membership Growth

In 2003/04, the membership of CUPE 3903 was 2515. Using projections provided by York University, CUPE estimates its membership to grow by twenty-percent from 2008 to 2010 in order to reach 3800 members. The membership of CUPE 3903 will have increased by approximately fifty (50) percent from 2003/04 to 2009/10.

CUPE 3903 Funds

Membership growth combined with aggregate inflation over the same period has eroded the real value of all of the Union’s funds. The total erosion of the Union’s funds is far greater than fifty (50) percent. At present, the Employer has offered a combined $42,200 increase. Indexation requires the minimum expansion of these fund to sustain the pre-2005/06 per capita figures is approximately $640,000. The Employer’s current offer presents the membership with a concession of approximately $600,000.

CUPE 3903 Job Security

The Union, with the full support of the York University Faculty Association (YUFA), requested the University engage in tripartite discussions to establish improved job security for senior contract faculty. Contract faculty in 3903 may work for years or even decades without any job security, continually seeking out new four and eight-month contracts. The University declined to engage the issue.

CUPE 3903 Wages

Claims by the University that its graduate students are paid at “highly competitive hourly rates” are misleading, because these are part-time positions. Most Teaching Assistants (TA’s) are currently guaranteed a minimum salary of $12,307. Over a year, that’s little more than a thousand dollars per month. Graduate assistants earn less at $8717 per year. Tuition fees at York University remain at $5500 annually.

The Union has pressed the University to tie its wages to the inflation rate. Given the turbulence in the economy, CUPE 3903 believes wage security is of paramount importance – especially for those members living below the low-income cut-off (LICO) or “poverty line.” The Union has also requested a two-year contract in the face of graduate restructuring at York. The University declined to consider either issue.