UWindsor Graduate and Teaching Assistants voted for a strike mandate against underfunding
March 11, 2011
WINDSOR, Ont.– Frustrated by the slow pace of contract negotiations, and demands for a major concession, Graduate and Teaching Assistants, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4580 held a strike vote last night.
CUPE Local 4580 is comprised of over 900 University of Windsor students employed as Graduate and Teaching Assistants on campus. The meeting was well attended and resulted in a vote 77 percent in support of giving a strike mandate to their bargaining committee.
“Graduate students are not typical students,” says Local 4580 President Denton Cockburn, “they are funded to apply their knowledge to improve quality of education within a post-secondary institution. The success of their studies requires that they are financed to complete their Master or Doctorate and assist other Faculty Teaching Members. What the employer is proposing would significantly reduce funding to Graduate Students. This will not help the quality of education at this University which is necessary for it to compete with other institutions.” He added.
The Contract between the University and CUPE Local 4580 expired last August. “Many of our current members and a number of our Executive are graduating this year; we think the University refusal to negotiate with us on days we know they are available is a sign they treat us as second class members of this community” Cockburn continued.
“In addition, the University has ignored the Union proposals to address workload issues for Teaching assistants, many of whom are afforded insufficient time to complete their duties. This is not acceptable to our members. We need this University Administration to make our negotiations a priority” said Denton Cockburn.
“We are urging students, parents, and area residents to contact university administrators to demand they make this negotiation with Graduate Students a priority. We, for our part, are waiting at the bargaining table for a fair settlement to avoid a disruption that will hurt the university’s students and University of Windsor reputation.” Cockburn concluded.
Contract Negotiations Update
March 11, 2011
Following a successful strike mandate vote, CUPE 4580 has contacted the University of Windsor urging them to schedule immediate bargaining dates with CUPE 4580. The next official bargaining dates are March 28 - 29; which are 32 days from last time we met. The union has requested that the University takes our bargaining process seriously so that a strike can be averted. You can see a copy of the letter if you CLICK HERE.
To view the time line and what has been happening during our bargaining meetings, please go to this page: CLICK HERE.
LETTER TO UWINDSOR ADMINISTRATION (NEW)
WHAT IS A STRIKE MANDATE VOTE?
A strike mandate vote is NOT a vote to strike. Rather, it
is a vote to show the employer that you support your bargaining team and
the proposals we have developed together over the past year. You support
it by giving your bargaining team a mandate to call for a strike,
at some point in the future, if necessary to secure a fair
contract for all of us.
Again, a strike mandate vote is NOT a vote to
go on strike. In fact, history shows that a high “YES” vote in strike
mandate vote tends to reduce the likelihood that a strike will be
necessary, as the employer will become more willing to work with our
bargaining team to make the improvements to the contract members have
asked for.
Will there automatically be a strike if I vote “YES” in the strike
mandate vote?
While a “YES” vote does give the bargaining team
the right to use their judgment and consider calling for a strike if
necessary (at some point in the future and ONLY in the event that talks
break down and we are otherwise unable to negotiate a fair contract that
addresses the needs identified by our members) a strike will NOT
necessarily occur.
Why do we need to hold a strike mandate at this time?
A clear “YES” vote is one source of
bargaining power. After almost two months at the bargaining table,
majority of the issues identified by our members remain unresolved. If
we have a strong “YES” result in the strike mandate vote, it is likely
that a progress is to be made at the table.
2011-2012 Elections: Nomination Form
March 7, 2011
Please note that the following positions are for elections this year.
President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant-at-Arms, Trustee 1, Trustee 2, Trustee 3.
To be eligible for nomination, a member shall be currently employed by the University of Windsor as a GA or TA. Furthermore, a member may only stand for nomination for one position.
If you would like to nominate someone, please fill out the 'Nomination Form' and submit it to CUPE 4580 Executives during our Strike Vote Meeting which will be held on Thursday, March 10, 2011 @ 7pm at Winclare A - Vanier Hall.
As you may be aware; all current Executives will be graduating soon. Therefore, it is important that others consider running for some of these positions!
Brock GAs/TAs Could Strike by March 14, 2011
Monday, March 1; By: Peter Downs/QMI Agency
ST. CATHARINES — The union representing Brock University's teaching assistants and instructors has drawn a line in the sand on protracted contract talks.
CUPE Local 4207, representing more than 800 TAs, part-time instructors, marker-graders and lab demonstrators, could hit the picket line March 14 if they're unable to get past their bargaining impasse.
"We wanted a firm deadline so that things could not be delayed any longer," local president Dan Crow said Monday.
The union recently sat down with Brock administration for a conciliation session but wasn't able to accomplish anything, Crow said.
"The last time we met, it was not a very productive day. We decided at that time that a strike deadline was going to be necessary to shake things up and get some movement," he said.
The employees, who belong to two bargaining units, have been working without a contract since their three-year agreement expired in June ...
U of Windsor Graduate Student Rally Videos
January 27, 2011
CBC Windsor News:
A Channel Windsor News:
Blackburn News:
Graduate Student Rally, Thursday Jan 27 @ 11:45am
January 27, 2011
Graduate Students are holding rally on campus in an effort to fight major cuts in Graduate Funding (part of it is TA/GA funds). Here is a message from rally organizers: we strongly encourage EVERYONE to attend!
"Over the course of past few semesters, graduate students have been affected tremendously in terms of available funds. While the enrollment of graduate students has gone up by approximately 33%, the funding for Graduate Assistantships has remained the same! To add to this, Dean of Graduate studies has already stated that funding allocated for GA-ships is going to decrease by $600,000 over next 2 years. Moreover, there has been a significant decrease in number of available Research Assistantship positions."
"What’s frustrating the most is that large number of students are promised, in their Letters of Offer, an X amount of funding in GAships (subject to financial availability). Most incoming students have no idea what our financial situation is like, and with an attractive amount on the letter of offer, they choose Windsor over others schools that promise less. However, when they get here, they realize that they are lucky to even get half of what they were promised and in some cases, students get $0!"
"In light of this, Graduate Students are gathering this Thursday (January 27) at 11:45am to hold a Rally in an effort to fight major cuts in Graduate support funds."
Graduate Students Letter of Concern
January 14, 2011
This letter was forwarded to us by some Graduate Students who have been affected tremendously by current cuts in GAship funds. If you agree with this letter, follow the link below and let the University know that you are being affected too!
Dear Fellow Grad Students,
As you all know, the departments have been cutting the
budgets - most importantly the budget for our GA-ships. We
continue to see an increase in the enrollment of grad
students each year, but many of our GA positions have been
lost, and for those that do end up with a GA-ship, their
contracts have less and less hours each semester! We
continue to do the same amount of work each semester, yet we
constantly see these cuts! Not only does this not make
sense, but it is completely unfair to all of us.
The GA-ships are the main source
of funding for grad students, and in some cases the only
source of funding. Some of us depend on these GA-ships to
pay for our living expenses as well as the sky rocketing
tuitions.
So it is time to let the
University know that we are being tremendously affected and
that we are truly concerned about what is happening to us.
We need to stay united and let the University administration
know that GA cuts are totally unacceptable!
Let your voices be heard by
sending an e-mail to the President, Vice President Academics
and Dean of Graduate studies by following this link:
http://4580.cupe.ca/petition/grad%20students%20petition.htm
(It should not take you more than 1 minute to submit the
email to University Administration by following this link).
Please make sure that you send
your concerns as soon as possible! By choosing to ignore
this email, you are simply telling the administration that
you do not care about these budget cuts and are giving them
a reason to continue to reduce our GA positions and money
available for GA-ships.
If we can stay united and get
enough students to express their concerns, we just might be
able to make a difference that will benefit us! Speak to
your peers about this, and encourage them to send their
concerns to the administration as well!
LETTER OF CONCERN - CLICK HERE
University of Windsor Workers Vote to Strike
October 12, 2010 by: Frances Willick, The Windsor Star
WINDSOR, Ont. -- The union representing 230 employees at the University of Windsor voted 83 per cent in favour of a strike Thursday night.
CUPE Local 1393 represents a wide range of workers, including plumbers and other trades workers, education assistants, hazardous materials technicians, web designers and communications officers.
Local 1393 president Aldo DiCarlo said he was surprised by the results of the vote. "It really tells you how fed up and how mistreated these employees are on campus to say, 'That's it, we've had it.'"
DiCarlo said the main issues are job security - particularly the contracting out of services to workers who are paid "two to three times" what union members are paid - services to students and faculty and what he called the university's unwillingness to negotiate.
The union has been without a contract since March 31, 2010. ...
Did you Know?! ...
November 22, 2010
Students who are offered Assistantships at the Ph.D. level shall receive no fewer than six (6) terms of support (6 semesters as a GA), students at Masters level shall receive no fewer than two (2) terms of support (2 semesters as a GA)!
For more info on your rights as a Graduate or Undergraduate Assistant, please see your Collective Agreement.
Ruling gives U of T profs 4.5 per cent over two years
October 12, 2010 by: Louise Brown, The Star
TORONTO, Ont. – A labour arbitrator, saying he will not be a “minion of government” and bend to Queen’s Park’s call for a public sector wage freeze, has granted professors and librarians at the University of Toronto a 4.5 per cent raise over two years.
In a toughly worded ruling released Tuesday, Martin Teplitsky said he refused to give U of T faculty a raise of 0 per cent just because Premier Dalton McGuinty has asked for it through his new Compensation Restraint Act or because the university says it can’t afford to pay a raise from its recession-battered coffers.
Taking either of these factors into consideration would “compromise my independence,” wrote Teplitsky in a 15-page decision. “I would appear a minion of government.”
Instead, he noted his ruling echoes the average private sector wage hike this year in Ontario of about 2.3 per cent ...
Don’t target universities in debt fight
August 2, 2010 by: Mark Langer, The Star
There is no question that Ontario is in a difficult financial situation. The citizens of our province know it. Public sector employees know it. And the government knows it. To address our budget deficit, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has introduced the Public Sector Compensation Restraint to Protect Public Services Act. So far, this act has been portrayed in the media as a two-year salary freeze for all public sector employees, including university faculty. This is not the case.
The act only freezes wages for some public sector workers. Employees who are unionized or who bargain collectively — including teachers, nurses, doctors and university faculty — fall outside the legislation. The government is asking these workers to accept two years of net-zero compensation increases when their current contracts expire. Duncan is using moral suasion to achieve a set of desired salary outcomes that work within his current fiscal plan.
This means that the government’s compensation policy does not prevent any public sector union or collective bargaining entity from negotiating their next contract freely. These rights continue to be protected by the Ontario Labour
Relations Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the
university sector, this means that every faculty association can
continue to bargain as usual. Duncan has affirmed that collective
bargaining will continue, both in his 2010 budget and in a meeting with
public sector unions on July 20
...
Ontario government announces wage freeze “consultations”
July 21, 2010 by: Fred Hahn, CUPE Ontario
What we heard:
Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan called unions and employers to a closed door “consultation” session on July 20, to announce the government's intention to launch a series of “consultations” aimed at implementing its “zero-zero” two year public sector wage freeze.
The meeting was attended by CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn, CUPE Ontario First Vice-President and OCHU President Michael Hurley, and CUPE Ontario Acting Regional Director Linda Thurston-Neeley, along with leaders from the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), and many of the affected unions.
This initial “consultation” session appeared to be the next step in the government's previously announced plan to achieve two years of zero wage increases throughout the unionized and non-unionized public sector. The Minister said there is no new legislation planned beyond the wage freeze law (Bill 16) affecting non-union workers that came into effect following the 2010 spring budget. ...
Ontario Government Wants Wage a Freeze for all University Employees
“CUPE Ontario wants what's good for Ontario, but if it slows down the economic recovery by inhibiting consumer spending, that's not what anybody wants. And that's what freezing workers' wages is going to do."
Fred Hahn, CUPE Ontario President