At an ascension meeting in Convocation Hall late Monday night, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902, Unit 1, voted to send the tentative agreement with U of T to the general membership for ratification.

The agreement, reached on February 9 after months of negotiations between the union and the university, includes many significant gains for teaching assistants. “We sought to improve compensation, equity, healthcare, support for unfunded members, and working conditions,” Aleks Ivovic, Chief Spokesperson for the unit’s bargaining team, said. “We have made significant gains in these areas and we are proud to present the agreement to our members.”

The main issue at the bargaining table was funding. The union sought to increase the minimum graduate funding package upwards from $15,000 to $20,000 over the next two years.

Ratification polls for the unit membership are available at all three campuses, and are open until Friday, February 16 at 2:00 PM. If the ratification vote fails, the bargaining team will return to negotiations until February 26, the unit’s strike deadline.

The Varsity has reached out to the union for a copy of the tentative agreement.