International Workers Legal Fund (I.W.L.F.)

The International Workers Legal Fund (I.W.L.F.) covers eligible expenses for members who are experiencing troubles related to their visa and/or immigration status that interfere with their ability to perform their Unit 7 work. If you identify as in the group this fund intends to serve and have constructive feedback, and/or are interested in participating on the Local’s Equity Funds Committee, please write to your Secretary-Treasurer at st@cupe3902.org.

The Local’s Equity Funds Committee (anonymously) reviews applications for the Survivors Fund, Trans Fund, International Legal Workers Fund, and Black and Indigenous Workers Fund. Your Secretary Treasurer, Vice-President, President or President’s designate, and ideally, community members representing each fund (two members per fund in Unit 1 and one member per fund in Unit 7), sit on this committee.

This is a member-driven fund that came out of members’ needs, and was specifically modeled on the CUPE 3903 Sexual Assault Survivor Fund.

Who is eligible to apply to the fund?

Each year of the International Workers Legal Fund (1 September – 31 August), anyone who meets the following criteria is eligible to apply:

  1. You have secured at least 1 hour of Unit 7 work by the time the application is made, or have a guaranteed subsequent appointment.
  2. You are international (i.e., not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada).
  3. You are experiencing legal troubles related to your visa and/or immigration status that interfere with your ability to perform your Unit 7 work.
Application deadlines: Applications are due during the fund year in which expenses are incurred. Exceptions to this may be made on a case-by-case basis (such as when expenses are incurred close to the end of the fund year). Please write to your Secretary-Treasurer at st@cupe3902.org if you have any questions.
What expenses are eligible for reimbursement?

Understanding that your status as an international worker can impact many areas of life, the fund deliberately does not define all eligible expenses. Members are invited to submit claims for any expenses they consider eligible.

The IWLF is intended to assist members with legal costs associated with an emergency situation such as deportation. (It is not meant to cover costs associated with applying for permanent residency or citizenship, applying for or renewing a visa, or routine legal costs related to immigration.) Examples of eligible expenses include:

  1. Legal fees related to an emergency immigration situation (for members and/or their dependents).
  2. Associated filing fees.
  3. Childcare needed to make legal appointments.
  4. Transportation to and from legal appointments.
  5. Lost wages for days in court.
  6. Emergency repatriation, including moving fees, travel costs, etc.
 

Expenses incurred in the fund year (1 September – 31 August) will be eligible for reimbursement.

How much money will I get?

There is an annual cap of $1,500 per member per fund year, and a lifetime cap of $5,000 per member.  

The fund year turns over on 1 September, so it is possible to maximize benefits by submitting two back-to-back applications, one in August and the other in September.

When will I get my money?

Equity Fund review meetings in Winter 2023 are scheduled on February 2, February 24, March 24, and April 21. For your application to be considered at one of these meetings, it must be received at least one day in advance. We will do our best to accommodate last-minute applications, but this cannot be guaranteed.We aim to mail disbursement cheques to eligible applicants within two weeks of approval.

How will disbursement decisions be made?

Applications will be reviewed and eligibility decisions made on a case-by-case basis by the Equity Funds Committee. The Equity Funds Committee is comprised of the Secretary-Treasurer, the President (or designate), the Vice-Presidents of any Unit with Equity Funds, and members to represent the relevant constituencies, to be appointed by the Executive Committee after a call for applications.

The Secretary-Treasurer chairs meetings of the Equity Funds Committee, presenting an anonymized and paraphrased version of each application to the committee for review. No other officer or member of the Local has access to Equity Fund applications.

How do I apply?

If you have worked 1+ hour since 1 September of the fund year, the application form will be available online and accessible through the Union’s website. To find the application, login to the Member Portal (found by scrolling up to the top right of this page), and select the ‘Forms’ tab.

A complete application for the fund will include:

  1. Political membership — you must have signed a membership card or filled out a Membership Application Form. (If you do not have a CUPE No. (found on the left-hand side of the Portal home page), then you have yet to gain political membership. To do so, select the ‘Forms’ tab and fill out the Membership Application Form PLEASE NOTE: processing membership applications can take up to one hour.)
  2. The International Workers Legal Fund Application Form.
  3. Supporting documentation — this documentation should include a statement outlining the need for which funding is being requested, and any other supporting documentation you may have (receipts, invoices, letters of support, etc.).

You will receive an automatic confirmation email for each application you submit. PLEASE NOTE: if you do not receive a confirmation email you did not successfully submit the application. If you experience any issues during the application process, please see the Fund Application FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The fund year is 1 September – 31 August. The fund cap per person per year resets every year.