Today, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902 Unit 1 announced on X that its members had voted to ratify a tentative agreement with U of T on members’ employment terms, which a union bargaining team signed on March 4. The unit represents around 6,000 academic workers at U of T, including most post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students employed as teaching assistants at U of T.

If members had not ratified the agreement, the unit would have had to return to negotiations, posing the risk of a future strike.

Last week’s negotiations

In the early hours of March 4, the bargaining team, representing five units from CUPE 3902 and CUPE 3261 — which together represent approximately 8,000 U of T education and support workers — came to tentative collective agreements with U of T administration. In the weeks leading up to the deal, the units were threatening to strike, which would have drastically disrupted many university operations. The university made its final offers shortly before the units would have crossed the legal threshold at 12:01 am on March 4 allowing them to strike. 

U of T’s Vice President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture Kelly Hannah-Moffat also released a statement on March 4 thanking the units’ bargaining teams for their “professionalism and hard work throughout negotiations.”

Although the bargaining teams signed the tentative agreements, each units’ members then needed to vote on whether to ratify the newly negotiated agreements before they could go into effect. 

The ratification

CUPE 3902 Unit 1 held an online vote from March 8–11 where members determined whether to ratify the agreement. 3,304 members of the unit — just over half of the unit’s members — cast their ballots, with 87.8 per cent of voters in favour of adopting the agreement.

The new three-year agreement, which will go into effect on March 12, includes wage increases, shift premiums on weekends for certain workers, higher health insurance maximums in some areas, and a guaranteed subsequent appointment for masters or undergraduate students in positions represented by the unit who have worked at least 100 hours in a given year.

In an email to the unit’s members, Lily Ziuyue Zhang — the unit’s vice-president — wrote, “This round of bargaining may be over, but your organizing doesn’t stop.” She wrote that the unit would release further information in the coming days for how members can get involved in the units’ work and in “other important initiatives.”

The other four units of CUPE that bargained alongside CUPE 3902 Unit 1 are also holding separate ratification votes. The three units from CUPE 3261 — which collectively represent over 1,000 caretakers, food service workers, and dining hall staff — have scheduled multiple sessions for members of each unit, from Tuesday through Friday of this week, to discuss and vote on ratification. 

CUPE 3902 Unit 5 is holding its ratification vote online from March 11–14.

Editor’s note (3/12/2024): This article has been updated to include details about CUPE 3902 Unit 5’s ratification vote

On March 11, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902 Unit 1 announced on X that its members had voted to ratify a tentative agreement with U of T on members’ employment terms, which a union bargaining team signed on March 4. The unit represents around 6,000 academic workers at U of T that are not employed by the federated colleges, including post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students employed as teaching assistants at U of T.

CUPE 3902 Unit 5 — which represents post-doctoral students and bargained alongside CUPE 3902 Unit 1 —  held the ratification vote for its collective agreement with the university from March 11–14, with members opting to approve the agreement.

The three units from CUPE 3261 — which collectively represent over 1,000 caretakers, food service workers, and dining hall staff — held multiple sessions for members of each unit from March 19–22 to discuss and vote on ratification. All units voted in favour of their agreements.

If members of one of the units had not ratified the agreement, the unit would have had to return to negotiations, posing the risk of a future strike.

Last week’s negotiations

In the early hours of March 4, the bargaining team, representing five units from CUPE 3902 and CUPE 3261 — which together represent approximately 8,000 U of T education and support workers — came to tentative collective agreements with U of T administration. In the weeks leading up to the deal, the units were threatening to strike, which would have drastically disrupted many university operations. The university made its final offers shortly before the units would have crossed the legal threshold at 12:01 am on March 4 allowing them to strike. 

U of T’s Vice President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture Kelly Hannah-Moffat also released a statement on March 4 thanking the units’ bargaining teams for their “professionalism and hard work throughout negotiations.”

Although the bargaining teams signed the tentative agreements, each units’ members then needed to vote on whether to ratify the newly negotiated agreements before they could go into effect. 

The ratification

CUPE 3902 Unit 1 held an online vote from March 8–11 where members determined whether to ratify the agreement. 3,304 members of the unit — just over half of the unit’s members — cast their ballots, with 87.8 per cent of voters in favour of adopting the agreement.

The new three-year agreement, which will go into effect on March 12, includes wage increases, shift premiums on weekends for certain workers, higher health insurance maximums in some areas, and a guaranteed subsequent appointment for masters or undergraduate students in positions represented by the unit who have worked at least 100 hours in a given year.

In an email to the unit’s members, Lily Ziuyue Zhang — the unit’s vice-president — wrote, “This round of bargaining may be over, but your organizing doesn’t stop.” She wrote that the unit would release further information in the coming days for how members can get involved in the units’ work and in “other important initiatives.”

Out of its approximately 800 members, 430 members of CUPE 3902 Unit 5 voted in the ratification election, with 97 per cent opting to approve the agreement. The unit’s agreement includes a nine per cent retroactive wage increase for 2023 and a professional development fund with $500 per member per year. 

During ratification meetings, members of CUPE 3261’s full-time/part time (FT/PT), casual, and 89 Chestnuts units also voted to approve the new agreements. 96 per cent of FT/PT meeting attendees and casual unit attendees voted in favour of their new agreements, while 89 per cent of 89 Chestnut meeting attendees voted their approval. The agreements, which came into effect on March 17, feature a $25 mimimum wage for all FT/PT unit workers, a $25 minimum wage for all non-tipped workers in 89 Chestnut unit, and two extra sick days for casual unit members.

Editor’s note (March 17): This article has been updated to include details about the ratification votes by CUPE 3902 Unit 5 and CUPE 3261’s FT/PT, casual, and 89 Chestnut units.