40k Means 40k: Statement regarding Base Funding Increase
CUPE 3902 has been observing the changes in funding policy in many departments across the university as they intersect with Unit 1 and Unit 7 collective agreement language. In response to these changes, CUPE 3902 has written the following joint statement with the UTGSU, Base Funding Committee, and Engineering Caucus.
Letter on Base Funding Increases
40K MEANS 40K
The Graduate Student community at UofT welcomed the November 2024 announcement of an increase in base funding to all funded PhD and SJD programs. Though master's students and other unfunded graduate students who face the same pressures from the rising cost of living were left out, this marked the first meaningful change in graduate program funding in a decade.
However, it has become clear that there is no plan to implement this funding increase. The burden of this funding increase is being deflected to the departments, who in turn are clawing back as much of the 40k as possible from supervisor’s grant funds, merit-based awards, and teaching assistant work.
Many departments are scrambling to make up the difference through mechanisms that risk substantial negative consequences for research and teaching at the university. Some of these proposed measures include:
Large increases to graduate student research and/or teaching workloads in addition to the work already needed for the student’s progress through their PhD
The reduction or cancellation of funds used to support conference travel, research expenses, top ups for students holding competitive awards, students beyond the funded cohort, and students in financial need
Shortening program timelines and withholding previously guaranteed funding for students in years 5 and up without making any changes to doctoral program requirements
Downloading funding responsibilities to supervisors without attention to how this will impact student-supervisor relationships
The 40k base funding is critical to ensuring graduate students can live, work, and learn in Toronto, but there is no feasible path to this goal without the central administration providing the necessary funds and guardrails. In particular, this increase cannot come at the cost of clawbacks of other funding sources at the university, faculty, or department level. Our call is simple: the University’s central administration introduced the changes–they should pay for it.
Signatories:
CUPE 3902, CUPE 3902 Engineering Caucus, UTGSU, UTGSU BFC, UTGSU International Students' Caucus
If the university continues along this path of unloading funding responsibility to departments, it must ensure the implementation of the new funding scheme complies with the Unit 1 Collective Agreement, particularly the following provisions:
That no offsets to existing wage contributions to the funding package may be introduced
That employees cannot be asked to report other jobs to contribute towards base funding
That jobs covered by the collective agreements of CUPE 3902 may not be simply assigned, the correct hiring process must be observed
That funding letters, as outlined in the collective agreement, are legal agreements
CUPE 3902, as always, is prepared to grieve any violations of the collective agreement as they arise.