After voting for a strike action mandate in August, members of CUPE 3261 and USW 1998, campus unions representing thousands of workers across the University of Toronto, voted to ratify the tentative agreements their bargaining committees negotiated with the university administration.
Earlier this month, 96 per cent of USW 1998’s members voted to approve the agreement, in comparison to 74 per cent in favour in 2014, the last time the union negotiated with the university.
In a statement posted on their website, union President Colleen Burke noted that the “agreement contains no concessions. Instead, it makes important gains in both monetary and non- monetary areas.” Wages will increase in the coming years, and health benefits have improved.
CUPE 3261, representing service workers across U of T, also successfully ratified labour agreements. The full-time and part-time unit voted 83 per cent in favour, and the casual unit voted 57 per cent in favour. The full tentative agreement was not posted on their website “for reasons of confidentiality,” and the union noted that they were unable to discuss some issues, such as the ending of contracting-out of services.
