The University remains committed to achieving a negotiated collective agreement with the York University Staff Association (YUSA).
In an effort to bring collective bargaining to a successful conclusion, on June 8 the University provided YUSA with a Comprehensive Framework Proposal for Settlement. Having heard from YUSA colleagues, the University further revised this proposal on June 16. This proposal includes compensation increases to the maximum allowable limit under Bill 124.
Since bargaining between the University and YUSA began in November 2021, limited progress has been made during the 25 negotiating meetings. That is why the University has taken the steps of first requesting the appointment of a provincial conciliation officer on April 29, 2022 and then subsequently requesting a no board report on June 8, 2022.
The date on which a legal work stoppage could begin is July 1, 2022 at 12:01am. The parties are meeting extensively before then. York is working diligently towards a negotiated agreement and hopes labour action will be avoided.
Collective bargaining is a process by which a committee representing the union and a committee representing the employer negotiate a collective agreement.
With several certified bargaining units at York, and all Ontario universities, collective bargaining is a normal part of the labour relations cycle.
Please visit the Government of Ontario’s collective bargaining page for more information about the process and how it unfolds.
A strike vote is a vote taken by the union. It is one of the conditions that must be met before employees represented by a union may legally go on strike.
More than 50 per cent of those voting must vote in favour of the strike for employees to engage in a legal strike.
On June 13, the University agreed to YUSA’s proposal for the parties to engage Eli Gedalof as a third-party mediator to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. The University believes that with the assistance of the mediator an agreement can be reached before July 1, 2022.
The parties are scheduled to meet with Mediator Gedalof on several times in the coming days (meeting days).
A “no board” report is a step in the collective bargaining process that can occur after the parties have met with a provincially-appointed conciliation officer, following which one or both of the parties can request a “no-board” report.
The conciliation officer then advises the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development that an agreement has not been reached. The Minister then sends written notice, the “no-board” report letter, to both the union and the employer.
Once the notice is issued, it prompts a 17-day countdown to a date when a union can commence a strike, or an employer can commence a lockout.
Since bargaining between the University and YUSA began in November 2021, limited progress has been made during the 25 negotiating meetings that had been completed as of June 8, 2022. That is why the University has taken the steps of first requesting the appointment of a provincial conciliation officer on April 29, 2022 and then subsequently requesting a no board report on June 8, 2022.
The no board report has been received, which sets July 1, 2022 at 12:01 am as the date on which either party may decide to commence a legal work stoppage.