The four unions collectively represent nearly 15,000 UofT employees on all three campuses, whose Collective Agreements all expire around the same time this spring. United Steel Workers Local 1998 represents over 6,000 administrative support staff, CUPE Local 3902 represents over 6,000 Teaching Assistants, Sessional Lecturers and other short-term teaching staff, CUPE Local 3261 represents 900 maintenance and service workers, and CUPE Local 1230 represents around 400 employees in the library system. They have been joined by CUPE Local 2484, representing UofT childcare workers, and received generous support from CUPE Local 3907, representing OISE Graduate Assistants, who though not in a position to bargain yet, declared their solidarity with those who are. 

This initial act of coordination was followed up by a full-day workshop attended by all of UofT’s major unions on May 1, to develop common bargaining demands and strategy.

Our Unit 1 Collective Agreement expired on April 30, 2008. But all conditions of the current Agreement remain frozen until a new one is signed. Bargaining may get underway over the summer, but likely won’t pick up momentum until the fall.

However, we have now begun what promises to be a very eventful round of bargaining, given the determination of our own members to make gains, and the leverage we can now draw on from bargaining in the same year as - and in coordination with - so many other UofT employees.

The Steelworkers have done a breakdown of the UofT budget to show that the money to improve working conditions and learning conditions really is there: it's just a matter of political will. Click here to see the budget analysis.

Also on Monday April 7, the Unions put out a media release about their joint declaration:

“UofT’s major employee groups share many of the same concerns going into this round of bargaining,” said Ron Hoinkes, President of CUPE Local 3261. “With enrolment on the increase, all staff are carrying a heavier burden to keep the University running. The University needs to reinvest in all its staff – from those who teach and staff the offices and libraries, to those who maintain the buildings – because we are the ones who make the difference in delivering a quality education.”

“By informing the Administration all at the same time that we intend to enter into negotiations, we are demonstrating our solidarity as UofT employees,” said Allison Dubarry, President of USW Local 1998.

The employee groups also received support from UofT’s students’ unions. “It’s time for UofT employees and students to stand together to solve the crisis in post-secondary education,” said Andrea Armborst, President of the University of Toronto Students’ Union, representing 41,500 full-time undergraduates. “Provincial funding needs to increase. Cutting corners on staff is not a solution.”

“UofT has been keen to drastically expand graduate student enrolment, without considering what this means for those at the heart of the University: not only students, but the staff they rely on,” said Gina Trubiani, President of the Graduate Students’ Union, representing over 13,000 graduate students. “We hope that this can be addressed this year at the bargaining table.”

“As students, we recognize that inadequate support for university workers has a detrimental effect on the student experience,” commented Ryan Hayes, President of the Arts and Science Students' Union. “It’s great that the Administration is spending millions to expand student space in Robarts Library, but we also need to address the fact that understaffing of library services has made it hard to even find the books we need. Not to mention that our tutorials and classes are larger than ever before.”