CUPE 3902 members decided to extend polling dates until March 5 for ratification of the tentative agreement. Polls at UTM were opened briefly on Wednesday in the Davis Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will reopen this Monday and Tuesday during the same times.
If the agreement is ratified, it will solidify the contract between the university and teaching assistants, course instructors, and invigilators until April 2014. The new settlement includes provisions laid out in the previous agreement with specific amendments based on the union members’ demands.
The most critical of issues for union members is the salary of teaching assistants. TAs demanded an increase of 1.75% effective May 2012 and a further 2% in May 2013. For undergraduate members, a wage increase of 1.75% effective May 2012 is sought. The union hopes to establish wage parity between undergraduate and graduate members, a goal they have pursued since 1976.
By the end this new collective agreement, the total financial funds in the control of the union will have increased from $727,000 to $1.477 million.
Wayne Dealy, the chair of CUPE 3902, stated that he and the other organizers will not comment on the details of the settlement until the rest of the members have a chance to vote on the agreement.
Full details of the agreement can be viewed on the union website. Whether union members will strike if the agreement is not ratified is still undetermined.
