Dates set for Final Offer vote

The Ontario Labour Relations Board has confirmed that the Final Offer vote for employees who are members of CAW Local 555, Unit 1 will be held September 2nd and 3rd.

Details on the times and locations of the polls are being finalized but they will be held in several locations and will be both on campus and other university locations. Full details will be shared as soon as they are available.

The Final Offer vote is the opportunity for members of the CAW Local 555 Unit 1 bargaining unit to have their say on the University's Final Offer.

A “yes” vote means the University's Final Offer would become the new collective agreement and implementation would begin immediately.

A “no” vote does not mean a better deal will be offered by the University and could mean a strike should CAW leadership decide to act on its strike mandate.

According to the latest update from the University's Bargaining Committee , “The union has a legal strike mandate of 58% and while we understand this does not meet the two thirds majority required in CAW's constitution, the union has outlined clearly to members in its Bargaining Bulletin on August 7th that the CAW national executive can override this requirement and force a strike. Your participation in the Final Offer Vote will decide what happens next. Not participating in the Vote could have the same effect as a no vote.”

The University and the union have agreed that the earliest strike date would now be September 4th, so that any potential strike would not interfere with the Vote.

The University's Final Offer to Settle includes significant improvements to the job evaluation system that make the system more equitable and fair to employees, while addressing the delays and frustrations in the current system. A joint University/union appeal and grievance process includes new protections that are not available under the current process.

The details on the Job Evaluation system are available here. The proposed improvements include new and stronger rights for employees that safeguard salaries and provide grievance options, including a new third step in the grievance process for binding third party arbitration.

A summary about the JES system is also available here.