Simon Fraser University
Job Action Information

#10

Tuesday, 25 March, 2003 10:00 am

Re: CUPE 3338 Bargaining Update

All classes are running normally this morning. There is no impact on transit, food services or library services as a result of today's job action.

Strand Hall on the Burnaby Mountain campus is being picketed and CUPE employees are not working in the building. Pickets went up at 8 a.m. and are expected to remain until 8 p.m. The departments affected by this job action include the President's office, Financial Services, and Human Resources.

Information about the labour dispute can be found on the web site:http://www.sfu.ca/strike/

Negotiations with CUPE 3338 are scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday March 26, 2003.

#9

Friday, 21 March, 2003 1:26 pm

Re: CUPE 3338 Bargaining Update

CUPE 3338 asked the mediator to book out of mediation at 1:00 PM yesterday. 72- hour strike notice was received by Simon Fraser University this morning and was acknowledged by the Labour Relations Board at 9:59 a.m. today. The union will be in a legal strike position at 9:59 a.m. Monday, March 24, 2003, and has publicly announced its intention to begin job action.

This decision is highly regrettable since CUPE has not yet responded to an offer tabled by the University on March 4, 2003. In its offer, the University dramatically reduced its bargaining proposals to three monetary and three non-monetary items that fall within the mandate required by the Public Sector Employers' Council (PSEC).

The parties were originally scheduled to meet with the mediator on March 13, 2003, but that session was cancelled by CUPE because the union's chief negotiator chose to participate in activities related to the UBC labour dispute. Further mediation was scheduled with CUPE 3338 for Wednesday, March 26, 2003, before CUPE 3338 asked the mediator to book out yesterday. CUPE has indicated that they still intend to proceed with a negotiation session on Wednesday.

SFU has been working hard to conclude an agreement under challenging circumstances. For any collective agreement commencing January 1, 2002 or later, PSEC's mandate requires that general wage increases must be held to 0% until March 31, 2005. Exceptions to the 0-0-0 mandate are allowed where efficiency savings can be found or where it can be shown that current compensation packages are below market and have resulted in recruitment or retention problems. The University believes that the proposals it has put on the table offer a creative way to resolve outstanding issues while remaining in compliance.

The University is now concerned that labour issues elsewhere are working to the detriment of individual CUPE 3338 members as well as students and other employees at SFU.

#8

Tuesday, March 18, 2003 3:03 pm

Re: CUPE 3338 Bargaining Update

A second day of mediation at the Labour Relations Board has now been scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, 2003.

At mediation on March 4th, the University reviewed its list of unresolved bargaining issues and dramatically reduced its outstanding proposals to three non-monetary and three monetary proposals that fall within the government's mandate.

Friday, March14, 2003 2:57 pm

Re: Poly Party Bargaining Update

The Poly Party and the University met twice this week in mediation at the Labour Relations Board. On the evening of Thursday, March 13, 2003, the negotiating committees reached a tentative agreement. This tentative agreement will be subject to a ratification vote by Poly Party members and approval by the Board of Governors.

The negotiations were concluded under challenging circumstances for both parties given the strict government mandate regarding general wage increases in the public sector. However, the University believes that the parties were able to find creative means to address a number of issues and continue to be in compliance with the mandate.

The ratification vote and approval will be scheduled soon.

Thursday, March 13, 2003

Mediation with CUPE 3338

A mediation meeting scheduled for today, Thursday, March 13, 2003, has been cancelled at CUPE's request. The date for the rescheduled mediation session will be announced as soon as it is confirmed. 

Mediation with PolyParty (trades and labourers)

Mediation with PolyParty continues at the Labour Relations Board today, Thursday, March 13, 2003.

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 3:09 pm

Re: Poly Party Bargaining Update

Poly Party (trades and labourers) has been taking legal job action in the form of a prohibition on overtime since February 7, 2003. Poly Party has responded favourably to a request by the University to recommence mediation and a new mediation day has now been scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, 2003.

Wednesday, March5, 2003 3:03 pm

Re: CUPE 3338 Bargaining Update

On Tuesday, March 4, 2003, CUPE 3338 and the University met separately with the mediator appointed by the Labour Relations Board and reviewed unresolved bargaining issues. At 3:30 in the afternoon, the University presented a formal proposal that included a wage offer. In order to allow CUPE time to review the proposal, both parties agreed to cancel today's (March 5, 2003) mediation session and to reschedule another mediation day for Thursday, March 13, 2003.

Monday, February 24, 2003 1:58 pm

Re: Poly Party Bargaining Update

As you are aware, the Poly Party (trades and labourers) has been in legal job action since February 7, 2003, with a prohibition on overtime by its members. At 10am on Friday, February 21, 2003, Poly Party members withdrew their services for a study session that continued for the rest of the business day. Today, Poly Party members returned to work and are performing their normal duties. The overtime ban remains in place. Additional bargaining updates will be provided should the situation change.

Friday, February 21, 2003 3:06 pm

Re: CUPE 3338 Bargaining Update

The collective agreement with CUPE 3338 expired on March 31, 2002. Over the past 12 months the parties have met regularly to negotiate a new agreement. The parties had a number of bargaining days scheduled in February 2003, however, on February 10, 2003, CUPE applied to the Labour Relations Board for mediation. Mediation is scheduled for March 4 and 5, 2003, at the Labour Relations Board. On Tuesday, February 25, 2003, the members of CUPE 3338 will be taking a strike mandate vote.

Please note that no CUPE initiated job action can occur while mediation continues and, if mediation fails, CUPE will be required to first serve the University with 72-hour strike notice before any job action could commence.

#1

February 7, 2003 4:24 pm

RE:  Poly Party Bargaining Update

Please be advised that the Poly Party has commenced its job action at SFU -Burnaby Campus with a prohibition on overtime by its members. The Poly Party has indicated that they intend to NOT establish a picket line, at this time, and that Poly Party staff will continue to perform their normal duties.

If you have any questions, please contact Dario Nonis (dnonis@sfu.ca or 291-3602)
or myself.

Bruce L. Anderson
Director, Human Resources
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, British Columbia
tel. (604)291-4273
fax: (604)291-3449
email: banderson@sfu.ca