From today’s big solidarity rally with undergraduates:
My photos are included in: CUPE 3902 on strike in 2015
Picketing day 5
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Friends,
STRIKE NEWSLETTER:
You can read the most recent news from the picket lines and other strike operations here:
http://cupe3902.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CUPE3902-Newsletter-March-5.pdf
UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICE COMPLAINTS:
CUPE’s legal team on behalf of our Local is filing and Unfair Labour Practice complaint against the Employer for numerous infractions of Ontario labour law. Thank you to those who have reported coercive, threatening and unethical behaviour. Even after the complaint is filed, we will continue collecting instances of the following activities. They will be added to the complaint:
a) Instances of members’ work being given to another CUPE 3902 member during the strike;
b) Instances of Unit 3 (Sessional Lecturers) members or Faculty taking on members’ work during the strike;
c) Instances of non-employees (e.g., current undergrads) taking on members’ work during the strike;
d) Instances of members’ work changed or eliminated as a result of changes to course syllabi or course marking schemes;
e) Any instances of coercive, threatening, intimidating or other unwelcome and unpleasant conversations or actions taken by supervisors, chairs or anyone else acting as a representative of the Employer.
If you have specifically been told that your work has been altered, diminished or eliminated AND that this is a permanent change (i.e. that the work will not be there after the strike), these are the strongest grounds for a complaint. Even if you haven’t been told this directly, we still want to know about your experience. You should fill out the complaint form on our web site (www.cupe3902.org).
MARCH AND PARTY TOMORROW:
A reminder that we will have a large contingent marching in the International Women’s Day march tomorrow (Saturday). The rally begins at 11:00 at the OISE auditorium, and the march follows.
At 8 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday), there is a big party and fundraiser for CUPE 3902 and CUPE 3903 at The Rhino on Queen St West. We hope many people will come out for a good time.
In Solidarity,
–Ryan
Dear Union members,
Thank you for such a strong showing this week on picket lines! It’s been an amazing first week, and we want to ensure that it’s only better and more effective moving forward.
As a first measure, we have set up a new system that aims to streamline the scheduling of picket duty. Before outlining the instructions, please note the following IMPORTANT updates:
1. Please DO NOT sign up for two consecutive (4-hour) shifts in one day.
The CUPE National Strike Fund Regulations which will be in force as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday, 9 March 2015 do not allow payment of more than $60 per day regardless of the number of hours you work in one day. Further, the Regulations require you to work at least five (5) of seven (7) days in a week to be eligible for the maximum weekly strike pay of $300. You must be performing assigned strike duties to be eligible strike pay.
To be clear, this does not apply retroactively to picket duty that was done over the last week. This only applies moving forward.
An email will be sent out tomorrow which will explain this in greater detail. To reiterate, please do not sign up for two shifts in any one day.
2. Booking for multiple people
The new system allows you to schedule up to 5 people to picket together, during the same time slot. This will allow you to make sure that you are picketing with friends who share a similar availability.
HOWEVER, please note that if you use this feature and one of your group needs to reschedule, you must cancel the group booking altogether. You may then either book again with the remaining people or book individually.
3. Satellite campuses
Schedules for pickets at satellite campuses have changed. They are now from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., inclusive of travel time. This means that our buses will leave St. George at 10:00 a.m. and be back at St. George by 2:00 p.m. Picketers at those campuses, therefore, will only be required to picket outdoors for 2.5 hours. We recognize that this is during lunch, and that traveling to the satellite campuses is more inconvenient. As a result, we will be providing lunch for those who perform their picket duty during these shifts.
4. Weekend Pickets
At the moment, the current schedule does not include weekend picket duty, but it will. As soon as we have that set up, we will inform you by email. You will be be able to complete up to two shifts over the weekend (one per day). In the event of the continuation of the strike, we will release a new week of scheduling options (which may change from week to week) on the weekend before. Please bear with us. An effective strike is also one that evolves as necessary.
5. Cancellation and Rescheduling:
With the exception of this upcoming Monday, you will need to book your shift at least 24 hours in advance. Cancellation and rescheduling must be done at least 12 hours in advance.
6. Sign-in Sheets
This is a reminder that you must CLEARLY write your name and the SHIFT on the sign-in sheets with your picket captains (and picket captains must sign-in themselves!). These sheets operate essentially as the mechanism for payroll. If they are not legible, it may result in incomplete strike pay. A new system for sign-up sheets is still in the works that will hopefully make this simpler. As soon as that is functional, we will inform picket captains. For now, however, please write clearly.
7. Picket captains
We ask that picket captains do not use this online scheduling system for now. Please wait for instructions coming shortly regarding your picket duty.
INSTRUCTIONS
To register for this week’s picket schedule, please click on the following links:
You will need to register for each 4-hour shift separately. You will receive an email confirmation for each of your shifts. This will also be followed by a reminder email on the day before your shift.
To picket at UTM:
https://picketschedule_utm.youcanbook.me/
To picket at UTSC:
https://picketschedule_utsc.youcanbook.me/
For general picket duty (with a preference for the St. George campus):
https://picketschedule_general.youcanbook.me/
In solidarity,
Strike Committee
Please circulate this message to members in your departments:
Members who experience intimidation, harassment, threats, and/or loss of Unit 1 work as a result of their participation in the strike are asked to submit the attached form to strike@cupe3902.org. If the matter is urgent and requires immediate attention, please contact comms@cupe3902.org or phone the Union office at 416-593-7057.
Best,
Lok-Kin Yeung
Chief Steward
CUPE 3902
Dear Members,
We are now entering day 10 of the CUPE 3902 strike, which means that we will have the assistance of the CUPE National Strike Fund for strike pay, rather than the funds of CUPE Local 3902.
CUPE Strike Fund Regulations explain that to be eligible for strike pay you must have been on active payroll at U of T and held a position within the bargaining unit as of February 27, 2015.
Further, you must actively participate in the strike by performing assigned strike duties for at least 20 hours over a period of at least 5 days in each calendar week as assigned by the strike committee. The five days can include weekends, only if the strike duties have been assigned and performed on those days.
These Regulations allow for strike pay of $60 per day to a maximum of $300 per week.
To be clear, a member cannot be paid $120 for doing two (2) shifts of four (4) hours in any one day.
If you performed assigned strike duties last week in this manner, the funds of CUPE Local 3902 will be allocated to provide payment. However, on a go-forward basis no one may be paid more than $60 per day or more than $300 per week regardless of the hours worked.
In exceptional circumstances, pro-rated strike pay on a daily basis may be available to a member who was unable to perform strike duty for a full five days, because they work at another institution, for example, subject to approval by the Local’s Strike Committee and the National Representative. The goal is to ensure maximum participation and settle any potential strike as quickly as possible by putting as much pressure as possible on the University administration.
Our Local will also be accessing funds from the CUPE National Strike Fund to assist with a range of Strike Support activities such as legal assistance, communications and media. We thank you for your participation in the strike.
Dr. Erin Black | Chair | CUPE 3902
803-180 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON, M5S 2V6
chair@cupe3902.org | 416-806-3902