Hi Sisters & Brothers,
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A)       IMPORTANT SURVEY:        

All TAs (Sessionals will also receive one soon) will be receiving an email later today with a link to the CUPE 3913 SURVEY to prepare for our upcoming negotiations.  It is urgently important that you take the survey in order to help us prepare our Collective Agreement  Language.
Deadline is March 21, 2008 at midnight.
Please make sure you print out the ballot at the end of the survey, fill it in and drop it at the office for a
Chance to win one of three Tuition Fee Rebate prizes:
$1000; $300; or $200.
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B)       IF THERE IS A STRIKE:

We have been receiving quite a few inquiries about the state of negotiations between the University and the Faculty Association.

We will try to address some of the issues, but we ask that if you have any further questions, you please drop by the office to discuss them further as email is not exactly the best mode of communication for these matters.  While we will try to be as brief as possible, the following information is a bit complex, but it is important that it be made as clear as possible.

As things progress, and more information becomes available, we will keep you informed of any developments and/or issues that you would need to be aware of.  Please be aware that the Faculty and the University are under a media black out while in Mediation, so not a lot of information is forthcoming.

1)      As a Sessional or a TA (and hence a Unionized position), your contract is between the Union (you as represented by the Local, that is) and the University.  The University has to continue paying you as per your contract - if this contract is violated in any way, the Union (CUPE 3913 that is), would go to the Labour Board to ensure that everyone gets paid as per the contract signed.

2)      If there is an extension of the time lines past the agreed-to end-of-work date where you have to do work, then there will have to be payment for any work done past that date.

3)      The Executive, on February 12, 2008, unanimously passed a motion to support the Faculty Association and to urge the University to expedite matters.  For the Faculty, negotiations have been ongoing for months and months on end. The official communication from the Faculty Association is that their strike deadline is March 14, 2008 at 12.01 a.m.

4)      As your Union, we understand the position you are in and we will make sure that you are not adversely affected by developments that are covered by the Ontario Labour Relations Act and your own Collective Agreement.

5)      Having said that,  please be aware that if there in fact is a strike, there will be a protocol that will be followed by the parties affected.  We do not as yet know what that protocol will look like. 

6)      As your Executive, we have a right and a duty to inform you about your rights and your obligations in the case of a potential lock out by the University and/or a potential strike by another Union on Campus:

a)      You are not to do work that is not in your contract (Assignment of Work Agreement) - if you never signed one please come and talk to us ASAP.
b)      You have a right under the Collective Agreement to refuse to do work that is not part of your regularly scheduled duties.
c)      For   a more detailed  (and the actual legal language) please read Article 7 in your Collective Agreement.
d)      The University has no right to, and in fact has an obligation not to ask you to perform any duties that  are normally performed by striking employees.
e)      We urge you to support the picket lines whenever you can (if there are any) by standing shoulder to shoulder with the Faculty.
f)      You have a legal right not to cross the picket line if you feel it is not safe to do so - in which case (we assume the protocol will clarify where and who to call), you are to call your supervisor (in this case it would usually be the Chair - but they'd be on strike too, so it will probably be the Dean) to come and escort you safely across the picket line.
g)      And again: you are not to do work that is not in your contract (Assignment of Work Agreement) - if you never signed one please come and talk to us ASAP.

We hope this helps.  Please do not hesitate to drop by the office if you need any more information.
And don't forget to do the survey.

In Solidarity
The Exec