News

*Updated as of May 14, 2020*

The CUPE 1281 Convention will take place on Monday, July 20, 2020 from 10 am to 4 pm. The CUPE 1281 Executive have made the tough decision to hold Convention online this year to ensure the safety of members and so that online preparations for the meeting can begin.

Who can attend the CUPE 1281 Convention?

Each sub-unit delegation consists of the sub-unit delegates elected from among the membership of the sub-unit. One delegate position is held by the Steward, and the others are determined according to the PBUs (number of positions in the bargaining unit ). Please see below for how many delegates your sub-unit is permitted to bring.

1-5 PBUs = 1 delegate
6-10 PBUs = 2 delegates
11-20 PBUs = 3 delegates
21-40 PBUs = 4 delegates
41-80 PBUs = 5 delegates
Sub-locals with 80 PBUs or more are entitled to 6 delegates

Example: if your sub-unit has 15 members total (including the Steward), you are entitled to your Steward’s attendance plus 3 additional delegates, i.e. your total voting delegation will consist of 4 people.

What elections and appointments will take place at the CUPE 1281 Convention?

CUPE 1281 Executive positions

February 11, 2020

CUPE Local 1281 strongly condemns the actions that Ryerson University has taken to sever all ties with the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU). This drastic measure starves the RSU of the fees that full time undergraduate students and all graduate students pay to their students’ union.This action also prevents these students from accessing advocacy services, important equity service centres like the Centre for Women and Trans People, Rye Pride, the Racialised Students Collective, Rye Access, Centre for Safer Sex and Sexual Violence Support, and the Good Food Room are all jeopardy. 

Ryerson University, because of their extreme decision to terminate the operation agreement with the RSU, is attempting to force the dissolution of a decades old community stronghold that employs eight full time staff who are members of CUPE 1281. Employees of the RSU are the original chartered members of CUPE 1281 from 1974. Our members should be able to continue to do their jobs; it’s inappropriate for the university to intervene this way and to put their jobs at risk.

We stand with Ryerson students who deserve an autonomous students’ union that’s free to critique and challenge the University administration. Currently, Ryerson University is trying to set up a new student “government” with appointed students to determine it’s organizational structure, while the RSU is running it’s annual general elections without access to it’s membership lists because the university will not release them. This is a problem.

We call on Ryerson University to re-open communications with the RSU, to fairly negotiate an operational agreement, and release the levy fees to the RSU so that their important services and advocacy can continue to support Ryerson students and the community at large.

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For more information contact Lyndall Musselman, President of CUPE Local 1281

president@cupe1281.ca 

On Friday December 20, 2019, outgoing members of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) executive board made a number of incendiary and unfounded allegations against our unionized CMG staff, CUPE 1281 and our CUPE National Staff Representatives.  Such needlessly inflammatory statements do nothing to bring the Parties closer to concluding a  Collective Agreement that’s been outstanding since 2016 nor to repair a relationship frayed by months of hard line concessionary bargaining that took aim at cornerstone entitlements such as severance on retirement and sick leave. 

Unionized workers are entitled to mobilize for a fair deal. Union staffers are no exception. Our campaign, which focused on the personal experiences of our members was true, accurate and always respectful. We continue to stand by the campaign and our members at CMG as they continue to bargain for a fair deal in the New Year, with a new CMG management team. 

For more information, please contact CMG 1281 CUPE Steward Deb Hong at CMGSteward@gmail.com. 

MEDIA RELEASE

“CUPE 1281 is Fighting Back Against the Ford PSE Agenda”

For Immediate Release

January 27th, 2019

The Executive of CUPE Local 1281 joins the chorus of  post-secondary students and workers on post-secondary education campuses to condemn the attacks from the Ford Government announced on January 17th. University and college students in Ontario now face a precarious and defunded future pursuing their education.

Meanwhile, our members, many of whom are employed by students’ unions or other student run organizations on university campuses, are forced to consider whether or not their workplaces will survive the new Ford Government mandate to make their student levies optional. CUPE Local 1281 sees this announcement as a blatant attack on students’ rights, important services for equity seeking student groups, and our members’ jobs. Moreover, this new directive by the Ford Government is but one part of a wider undermining of the social safety net of the Province, adding to already under attack areas ranging from social assistance to health care.

Our Local will fight back and do all that we can to support students’ right to organize and ensure post-secondary education in Ontario is not pushed out of reach or made unsafe for marginalized students or those coming from low-income backgrounds.

To our fellow organizers across the Province, we call for unity and diversity in action against the direct and consistent offensives of the Ford regime. Together, we will win.

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For more information, contact:
Naila Lalji, CUPE Local 1281 President
president@cupe1281.ca
Tel: 416-551-0057