Bargaining updates
we are bargaining for dignity in labour and learning
The contract committee has developed the following bargaining proposals under six broad categories, focusing on dignity of our labour and dignity of our students’ learning. Our working conditions are UBC’s learning conditions! We plan to provide regular updates on this page after each day at the bargaining table—sorted below by each category!
Read our detailed bargaining proposals here:
equity, inclusion, and union representation
This category is about making UBC a more equitable place to work for all our members and making it easier for us to be effective in standing up for the rights of members together as a union when it’s needed most. This includes expanding our anti-discrimination protections,protections for academic freedom, addressing excessive police presence, as well as obtaining more information from UBC about disciplinary meetings.
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We presented our equity, inclusion, and union representation proposals first. The employer had a few questions, and seemed generally interested in discussing quite a few of our proposals. They mentioned that they believed there was a monetary element in some proposals, which may delay discussion on some topics.
a fair contract for GAAs
We’ve been negotiating how GAAs fit into our collective agreement since last October. Since then, we’ve made major progress on many aspects of GAA work, including things like allocation of work, leaves, vacation time, hiring processes, and job posting timelines. However, UBC has refused to accept a definition of the category “GAA” that includes all members who signed cards and were certified into our union in 2023. Our proposals here mostly revolve around continuing GAA negotiations where we left off, and updating language around our “union recognition” clause to make sure that all workers certified into our union are recognized as members of our bargaining unit.
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We presented our GAA-related proposals to the employer. During bargaining, the employer indicated that they would be unwilling to discuss proposals related to the GAAs until they had submitted a filing to the labour relations board. Read down below for our Unfair Labour Practice complaint and a discussion of how UBC has prevented GAAs from reaching a fair contract for over two years. (See bargaining blog for an explainer on our ULP complaint)
improving undergraduate education
CUPE 2278 members are at the forefront of delivering high quality education for UBC students. But shrinking TA contracts and inconsistent training make it hard for members to do their jobs. These proposals aim to bring more consistent TA training and limit class sizes. Our working conditions are UBC’s learning conditions!
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We presented our proposals to the employer. They seemed to ask very few questions on these proposals and seemed amenable to some of them,especially in the realm of improving TA training.
procedural
These proposals relate to everyday processes that affect our jobs: posting, job selection, ensuring that hiring preference is maintained even during budget cuts, and some redefinitions to make our collective agreement easier to read and understand.
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We presented our procedural proposals to the employer. After some discussion and questions, the employer seemed eager to get to work on these proposals. We agreed to discuss many of them in more detail at our next session of bargaining! Keep posted for updates on October 8th.
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One of the employer’s proposals revolved around extending the time periods where TAs can be asked to work before the start of the academic term and after the end of the term. They proposed a number of changes to Article B 3.04 of our collective agreement. Specifically, the employer wanted to change some language to add “work after April 30” . The employer also proposed an additional Letter of Understanding that would require Teaching Assistants to work outside of their contract as a result of exams being rescheduled.
In response to this, we proposed a conceptual “Contract Extension Agreement” that the employer would have to fill out each time they would like a TA to work before the start date or after the end date of the contract. This would allow for members, with their mutual agreement, to be compensated additionally for work done before or after a contract starts.. We are waiting to hear the employer’s response on this.
We also discussed making sure that “full” TA positions match the length of time TAs actually work and made meaningful progress with the employer on changing this. Currently, we are proposing defining a “full Teaching Assistant position” as 192 hours within a single academic term. This is a technical change, but it clarifies language that has caused confusion in departments around preference and payment. For example, we have seen confusion within department administration around what counts as a full TA position resulting in members getting paid less than they are owed, especially in summer terms. Clarity here would go a long way towards preventing these administrative errors.
Additionally, the employer has also indicated that they are ready to agree to two of our less-contentious procedural proposals:
Procedural 3: TA position vs TAship (i.e., the ship has sailed!)
Procedural 8: Whistleblower protection update
dignified conditions at the centre for accessibility
Exam invigilators at the Centre for Accessibility face chronic understaffing and a lack of support from UBC. These proposals address major issues for members at the CfA, including more transparent hiring practices, paid breaks, and guaranteed leaves.
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We presented the initial demands to the employer. We plan to set aside a separate session of bargaining to discuss CfA-related issues and give opportunity for CfA members to meet with the employer and make their voice heard. Keep posted!
monetary proposals: wages, health, and wellbeing
Our monetary proposals are those that we think will cost the employer money. These include wages, pay equity, healthcare, tuition waivers, ending the minimum funding clawback, and others.
We generally present and discuss the “non-monetary” proposals (or those that we don’t think will cost the employer anything) first, because these are easier to make significant progress on, and less likely to result in our negotiations breaking down. Once we’ve discussed the non-monetary proposals as much as we can, we will move onto monetary.
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We presented our monetary proposals to the employer. However, we plan to first discuss non-monetary proposals. Once we’ve made sufficient progress on the non-monetary, we will move into discussion on the monetary. We know these proposals are a top priority for our members, so expect lots more from us once we start discussing them.