As Strike Looms, YUFA Must Bargain Without Distraction

The staff at the York University Faculty Association (YUFA), represented by CUPE 1281, are mere days away from a strike deadline. Conciliation is ongoing, but the union has serious concerns about how seriously the employer is taking negotiations, given that they have yet to table their monetary proposals and are planning to hold an event at the same time as conciliation.

Divided Attention

The union and employer are scheduled to meet with the government-appointed conciliator on October 22nd. On the same day, YUFA Executive officers announced an online public drop-in meeting with YUFA members to publicly discuss their bargaining with CUPE 1281.

Scheduling this event during conciliation shows a troubling lack of focus. Time is running out to bargain a fair deal; both parties need to be at the table with their full commitment.

Monetary Proposals Not Yet Tabled

After months of bargaining, the employer has yet to present any monetary proposals. They have maintained “reserves”, i.e. the right to present proposals at a later date, on the parts of the collective agreement that deal with monetary issues, including wages. While it is common for employers to reserve monetary proposals in the early stages of bargaining, it is both unusual and counterproductive to keep reserves on monetary items at such a late stage in the bargaining process.

On the previous conciliation date of October 7th, CUPE 1281 provided another full proposal package which highlighted the union’s key proposals of improved protections against harassment and discrimination in the workplace, resisting managerial bloat and union busting, along with improving job security and layoff provisions.

CUPE 1281 is still waiting for the employer’s response to the union’s latest comprehensive proposal package.

Strike Position as of October 27th

Both the employer’s divided attention and their lack of engagement with monetary and union proposals are particularly worrisome given that the staff at YUFA will be in a legal strike position as of October 27th.

A “no board” report was filed by the Ministry of Labour on October 9th. After a 17-day waiting period, the union is in a legal position to walk off the job if negotiations remain stalled.

Despite how far apart the parties remain in bargaining, CUPE 1281 remains committed and focused. We will use the day of conciliation on October 22nd as productively as possible. CUPE 1281 believes that a fair settlement can be reached and a strike averted. We call on the YUFA Executive to show the same commitment on this last scheduled day of talks before October 27th.

Sign this e-action now and urge the YUFA Executive to settle a fair and equitable contract without union-busting concessions.

YUFA Must Bargain Fair Settlement as Staff Request No Board

Seven members fo teh YUFA staff pose with placards.

YUFA staff held a practice picket on October 6.

After months of bargaining and following the first day of conciliation on October 3, CUPE 1281, representing staff at the York University Faculty Association (YUFA), requested a “No Board” report from the Ministry of Labour conciliator. This step is taken when negotiations reach an impasse and allows the Union to be in a legal strike position 17 days after the Ministry formally issues the report if no agreement is reached.

CUPE 1281 has worked very hard to move talks forward after YUFA stalled discussions. The first day of conciliation on October 3 was consumed entirely by YUFA’s push to create an Executive Director. This new managerial position would be outside the bargaining unit, causing the erosion of collaborative workplace structures and the weakening of the staff collective agreement. Additionally, YUFA had no explanation regarding how it would afford this position, raising the possibility of job losses.

Conversely, the Union’s demands for stronger protections against harassment and discrimination, and meaningful job security, were left unanswered or outright rejected.

Despite these misgivings about the Executive Director, on October 7 the Union tried to work with the Employer’s stated goals while being mindful of YUFA’s budget by presenting a counter proposal for a staff coordinator model. This model would be similar to YUFA’s own model where departmental chairs retain bargaining unit membership.

The Union draws a hard line when it comes to maintaining consultative and democratic union practices, the scope of staff duties, and continues to seek stronger protections for meaningful job security and against harassment and discrimination.

The employer has not responded. They have also yet to respond to CUPE 1281’s counter proposal tabled in August that keeps the staff lawyer demanded by the Employer inside the bargaining unit. YUFA has publicly claimed it dropped 45 proposals. While this is progress after months of intransigence, they entered conciliation with more than 100 proposals on the table, and the proposals that remain continue to push top-down, union-busting restructuring, threatening both staff health and safety and job security. YUFA has yet to table their monetary proposals, where they could introduce new concessions.

A third conciliation session has been scheduled for October 22. CUPE 1281 believes that an expeditious and fair settlement can be reached if YUFA reciprocates by making significant movements on the Union’s key proposals and dropping all union busting concessions. We invite YUFA to take conciliation seriously and come to the table in good faith on October 22.

CUPE 1281 Solidarity Statement with the Global Sumud Flotilla

CUPE 1281 denounces in the strongest terms Israel’s violent attacks and forcible detainments targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla. Dozens of boats carrying nearly 500 people from more than 40 countries, including students, faculty, trade unionists, and human rights defenders, have been intercepted and seized by Israeli forces. This is not only an assault on the Palestinian people but an attack on global solidarity itself.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is a courageous act of collective resistance, seeking to break the illegal siege on Gaza and deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid. To criminalize this humanitarian mission and detain citizens of dozens of countries is to criminalize international solidarity itself. It is an attempt to intimidate and silence all who stand against militarism, occupation, and genocide.

As a union representing many workers in the university sector, CUPE 1281 recognizes that our own institutions are deeply entangled in this violence. Universities across Canada profit from investments in weapons manufacturers, host militarized research projects, and attempt to silence students and staff who speak out for Palestine. This complicity ties our campuses directly to the machinery of war and genocide.

We believe universities must not be sites of complicity but of resistance. We call on our members, academic staff, support staff, and students to organize collectively for divestment from arms manufacturers, to end all research partnerships with militaries and corporations complicit in occupation, and to defend the right to teach, research, and organize without fear of repression. Our classrooms, labs, and union halls must not serve the interests of war profiteers. They must be turned into spaces that nurture critical thought, solidarity, and liberation.

CUPE 1281 salutes the comrades aboard the flotilla who continue forward despite Israeli repression and we affirm that their struggle is our struggle. From our workplaces, classrooms, and campuses, we echo their cry: the siege must be broken, the flotilla must sail free, and Palestine must be free.

Solidarity with Palestine is worker solidarity. An injury to one is an injury to all.

CUPE 1281 Calls on YUFA to Bargain Fair Deal as Conciliation Begins

On October 3 and 7, CUPE 1281 – the union representing the staff who work for the York University Faculty Association (YUFA), will be meeting with a Ministry of Labour appointed conciliator. Unfortunately, the parties remain far apart. The YUFA Executive continues to misrepresent both their own proposals and those of the staff, while circulating misinformation to YUFA’s members.

To ensure transparency and factual accuracy, we are sharing a letter sent to all YUFA members on September 24, which includes both the most recent full proposal packages from CUPE 1281 and from YUFA.

Throughout bargaining, staff at YUFA have been transparent about our challenges in the workplace and our goals to protect our job security against top-down restructuring, harassment, and discrimination. CUPE 1281 staff have been reaching out to YUFA members in advance of conciliation, urging YUFA members to contact their bargaining team to bargain fairly with staff.

YUFA’s proposals aim to weaken the staff union and roll back hard-won rights. In contrast, CUPE 1281’s proposals are modest and aimed at improving workplace health, safety and wellbeing. YUFA’s concessionary package seeks to:

change the definition of the bargaining unit to allow non-union hiring and contracting out, including scabbing
remove staff participation from key YUFA meetings and silence staff voices
strip anti-harassment and anti-discrimination protections from the collective agreement, and
delete safeguards against electronic monitoring, abuse of management authority, and other essential protections.

The changes YUFA is seeking as an employer would ultimately undermine YUFA as a certified trade union itself. By attacking and weakening its staff’s collective agreement, YUFA undermines its own ability to defend against the actions of its own employer (York University) and pushes the broader labour movement several steps backwards. These actions also erode YUFA’s credibility and undercut any claims it may make to intra-union solidarity at York or within the broader labour movement.

YUFA staff play a pivotal role in defending the rights of YUFA members. Why is YUFA not defending its staff?

Sign this e-action now and urge the YUFA Executive to settle a fair and equitable contract without union-busting concessions.

YUFA Staff File for Conciliation

Despite three bargaining meetings in August, there has been little movement on key CUPE 1281 demands and the York University Faculty Association (YUFA) continues to demand concessions. Negotiations are now at an impasse and CUPE 1281 filed for conciliation.

100% Strike Vote

CUPE 1281 remains committed to reaching a settlement at the bargaining table with the assistance of a conciliator.

But YUFA staff are united: all eight voted in favour of strike action if necessary to 1) protect staff from harassment & discrimination and improve health and safety; 2) resist managerial bloat and union-busting; and 3) defend our job security and layoff protections.
With this vote, these CUPE 1281 members will be in strike position 17-days after either side deems conciliation has failed and requests a no board report.

At the last bargaining meeting, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn joined the bargaining table as an invited guest and urged YUFA’s leadership to reconsider its harmful proposals, especially at this juncture where employers are emboldened to roll-back workers’ rights.
YUFA still has time to reverse course and live up to its responsibilities to the broader labour movement. If YUFA staff are forced to strike, CUPE Ontario will support its CUPE 1281 members.

Tell the YUFA Bargaining Team to avoid a strike by YUFA staff

CUPE 1281 wants to settle a fair deal. We need your help.

Tell Professor Patricia Ellie Perkins, Professor Art Redding, Professor Anna Zalik, Professor Merouan Mekouar, Professor Ena Dua, and Professor Gertrude Mianda:

Demand that YUFA commit to robust anti-harassment protections and protect staff health and safety
Remove its demand to hire an Executive Director through union-busting concessions
Direct YUFA resources and energies back to defending workplace rights and principles of democratic trade unionism

Sign, send and share this letter today!

Save the date and join CUPE 1281 for a Solidarity Luncheon with YUFA Staff on September 18th at York University.

To learn more about why CUPE 1281 staff at YUFA are willing to take strike action to defend their collective agreement, keep reading.

Harassment & Discrimination: Not Part of the Job!

YUFA staff face high turnover and increasing harassment, discrimination, and bullying.
Since the last round of bargaining, CUPE 1281 has filed multiple grievances on harassment and discrimination, some of which remain unresolved.
CUPE 1281 remains firm on its equity-focused proposals to:

Strengthen anti-harassment protections, including protocols for safe meetings, and the right to refuse unsafe work when confronted with harassment and abuse.
Provide modest improvements to leave and wellness entitlements.

These proposals are about restoring respect, dignity, and stability in the YUFA workplace. YUFA rejected them, even claiming they “create differential treatment” for YUFA members.

The implication is clear: staff confronted with harassment from a member must simply keep working under unsafe conditions.

YUFA’s Response: More Managers, Less Job Security for Staff

In response to YUFA’s demand to hire a non-unionized in-house lawyer, CUPE 1281 countered with a a costed proposal which would include the in-house lawyer within the bargaining unit. Instead of engaging with the union’s counter-proposal, YUFA’s bargaining team insisted that it could not bargain further unless the staff accepted YUFA’s demand to hire an Executive Director.

YUFA cannot afford these new management positions without cutting existing staff. Earlier this year, the YUFA Executive sounded the alarm about YUFA finances and even passed a special dues increase to bolster its defence fund. Yet at the same time, the YUFA Executive refused to hire a temporary replacement for staff members on leave – leaving the office short-staffed and YUFA members with reduced staff support in their disputes with York University senior administration.

Now, YUFA intends to hire an Executive Director, a move that contradicts its constitution as a democratic, member-driven trade union, adding an unnecessary and costly layer of bureaucracy.

This is not about efficiency. This is about top-down managerial control.

Concessions That Gut Protections

YUFA staff provide institutional continuity and critical support for YUFA members. Neither the YUFA Executive nor its Ogletree Deakins legal team explained how it intends to pay the salaries of a non-unionized lawyer and Executive Director.

CUPE 1281 will take the necessary steps to defend against YUFA’s concessions that weaken protections and undermine the working conditions of YUFA staff, including roll-backs that:

Remove language requiring YUFA to act in a manner that is reasonable, non-discriminatory, and in good faith
Strip progressive discipline safeguards
Restrict the shop stewards from responding at critical moments
Remove prohibitions on electronic monitoring and surveillance
Cut staff wages, benefits and entitlements

Sign, send and share this letter today!

Tell YUFA to Bargain a Fair Deal! No Concessions!

The staff at the York University Faculty Association (YUFA) are facing over 100 employer proposals that would gut their collective agreement protections from harassment, allow the same electronic monitoring YUFA fought against with York, reduce rights to union representation and participation and exclude staff from meetings that are essential to their work, among many others.

YUFA has spent dues on a high-profile law firm to lead its bargaining. This is not something a union should do. They also propose to direct resources away from front-line services to pay for expensive managers. This will slow down servicing and harm YUFA’s credibility and bargaining position when their own members face their employer.

Send the YUFA Executive Committee a letter demanding they reverse course and bargain a fair agreement free of concessions and top down restructuring, which prioritizes both fairness and equity for staff and the needs of YUFA members.

For more information on the YUFA staff and what they do, see this page.

CUPE 1281 Statement Opposing Canada’s Military Budget Increase

CUPE 1281 firmly opposes the federal government’s decision to dramatically increase military spending in order to meet NATO’s target of 2 percent of GDP. This decision reflects a deep betrayal of working people, both in Canada and globally, and marks a dangerous escalation in Canada’s alignment with U.S.-led imperialism.

As workers in the public sector, we see firsthand the devastating consequences of austerity. Health care systems are collapsing, housing is increasingly unaffordable, students and educators are under-resourced, and communities are being left behind. Instead of addressing these urgent crises, the federal government has chosen to pour billions into the military. These funds will go to arms manufacturers, surveillance technologies, and war infrastructure, rather than to the services people actually need to live dignified lives.

This increase in military funding is not about defending peace or protecting people. It is about deepening Canada’s role in NATO and maintaining access to global markets and resources on behalf of corporations. It is a commitment to the violence of empire, not the safety of ordinary people. As a union that has always fought for justice and equity, we reject this militarization of public funds.

Canada’s military spending is inseparable from its ongoing colonial and imperialist agenda. While Indigenous communities continue to live without clean water, proper housing, and basic infrastructure, the government continuously chooses to invest in militarizing and expanding surveillance. While workers are told to accept wage restraints, the government funnels public money into warships and fighter jets, and while Canada claims to support peace and human rights, it exports arms to regimes that violate them daily. From a working-class perspective, we understand that militarism is not a side issue, it is central to how capitalism maintains itself. As anti-imperialist activists warned us, war is the inevitable result of capitalist states competing for global dominance. In this system, military budgets rise not to protect people, but to protect capital. Our government may claim to act in the name of national security, but it is the security of profits, not people, that is being defended.

Militarism also divides workers. It fosters nationalism, racism, and fear, tools that pit us against one another, at home and across borders. It justifies police violence and repression. It normalizes surveillance. It directs our anger toward imagined enemies abroad instead of the very real systems of exploitation we fight every day in our workplaces and communities.

CUPE 1281 reaffirms our commitment to peace, to internationalism, and to the belief that working people, no matter where they live, deserve dignity, not war. We stand in opposition to Canada’s military budget increase and in solidarity with all those resisting militarism, colonialism, and imperialism everywhere.

CUPE 1281 Statement Opposing Bill C-2 and its Impact on Migrant and Precarious Workers

CUPE 1281 strongly opposes Bill C-2, the so-called “Strong Borders Act,” which expands criminal penalties and surveillance powers under the guise of national security. This legislation will have serious and harmful consequences for migrant workers and anyone living or working with precarious immigration status.

Bill C-2 introduces new criminal offences for providing “false or misleading statements” or withholding information during immigration and border-related processes. This vague and sweeping language threatens workers who may be navigating complex immigration systems or working under coercive employers. The act of criminalizing mistakes, confusions, or fear-based omissions does not serve justice; it entrenches marginalization, particularly in groups where English or French are not their first language.

This bill will have a chilling effect on workers seeking help. Migrant and undocumented workers already face significant barriers to reporting workplace abuse or wage theft. The risk of detention, deportation, or criminal charges will push more people into silence, and those most likely to be affected are racialized, low-wage, non-unionized, and precarious workers.

Bill C-2 also increases the risk of surveillance and data sharing between Canadian and American authorities. This creates new dangers for those fleeing violence or economic hardship, and it strengthens the power of employers to intimidate workers by threatening to report them to immigration authorities. This will reinforce exploitation and undermine efforts to organize for better conditions.

As a union committed to defending all workers, CUPE 1281 rejects this legislation. It deepens fear, punishes vulnerability, and strengthens the power of employers and the state over those least able to defend themselves. It does not promote safety. It promotes silence, it does not uphold justice, it protects capital and borders at the expense of human dignity.

We stand in solidarity with all migrants, undocumented people, and precarious workers. No one should fear criminalization for seeking safety or speaking up about abuse. All workers deserve protection.

Apply for Vacant Committee and Delegate Positions!

It’s not too late to get more involved in CUPE 1281 and the broader labour movement! While many positions were filled at the Annual Convention in July, the executive committee is now accepting applications to fill the remaining vacant positions in our local.

To apply, please submit a concise – no more than half-page – statement of interest by filling out this Google Form and uploading the file to the final question by no later than Monday August 18. If you are unable to fill out the form completely, please email your statement to Leila at admin@cupe1281.ca.

Members can only serve on one standing committee, but may be selected to serve on multiple regional councils, if such an interest is stated and if vacancies remain. All current vacancies are listed below and can be viewed in this document. If you can not meet the aforementioned deadline but still want to apply, please send an email to Leila at admin@cupe1281.ca to inquire about the remaining vacancies.

Congratulations to Guelph 4 Palestine, 2025 Mary-Jo Nadeau BDS Award Winner!

CUPE 1281 is pleased to announce the winner of the 2025 Mary-Jo BDS Award: Guelph 4 Palestine!

In a field crowded by amazing organizations working for Palestinian liberation, it was difficult to pick a single group! G4P is a group of artists, healthcare professionals, students, people of faith and committed community members that have truly galvanized the city of Guelph. We recognize the creativity of their work, and how they have continuously connected with folks on many levels and in different places, including the People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity.

This award honours the legacy of Mary-Jo Nadeau, a former CUPE 1281 staff representative and activist, professor, leader, mentor and comrade to many.

Free Palestine!

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