Welcome to CUPA
Unionisation
FAQs
What is collective bargaining and how is it
different from what we have now?
How has collective
bargaining benefited Postdocs elsewhere?
Where have other
Postdocs unionized?
Why is the CUPA
becoming a labour union?
Are Postdocs even
employees?
What are the rights
of international Postdocs to participate in the Union?
At what point do
we start paying dues and for what will they be used?
What
is
collective bargaining and how is it different from what we have now?
Collective
bargaining is a process that
equalizes the power relationship between employees and their employer.
With
collective bargaining, Postdoc representatives we choose will survey us
to
determine priorities and will then negotiate a contract with Carleton
University. We can negotiate for improvements in wages, hours,
benefits, and
terms and conditions of employment. We will have an opportunity to
democratically approve the agreement that Carleton University and our
bargaining team reach, before it becomes a binding contract.
A
contract is enforced by a grievance procedure,
ending with binding arbitration before a neutral third party, rather
than Carleton
administration, as is currently the case. Without a contract, Carleton
University has the unilateral ability to decide and change our wages,
benefits,
and working conditions. Recently the administration imposed a health
plan on
all Postdocs--with no consultation on the scope of the plan, its costs
or its
structure. Under collective bargaining, Postdocs would be able to
negotiate the
terms and conditions of a health plan that suits us. In contrast to
unilaterally imposed policies, a collective agreement has to be
bargained.
How has
collective bargaining benefited Postdocs elsewhere?
A
recent article in Science’s Next Wave
outlines many of the improvements won by
unionized Postdocs at the University of Connecticut Healthcare Center
(UCHC)
though collective bargaining. In the first contract, Postdocs won
significant
wage increases (as much as $10,000 in some cases), annual cost of
living
adjustments, improved evaluation procedures and advances in other
aspects of
their rights and working conditions. Although, at the time Postdocs
were
unionizing at UCHC, some claimed that higher pay for Postdocs would
mean fewer
positions or that Union representation might negatively impact Postdoc
relationships with their advisors, these concerns have not
materialized. Some
also fear that the multiple and varied nature of Postdoc funding
sources would
make it difficult to bargain wages without negatively affecting grants.
However, unionized Postdocs at UCHC say they have not seen any negative
impact
on grants from collective bargaining (Benderly, Science’s Next Wave, 3
March
2006). That is why the CUPA decided to pursue unionization.
Where have
other Postdocs unionized?
A
majority of Postdocs have unionized at
McMaster University, Queen’s University, the University of Western
Ontario,
l'Université du Québec à Montréal, Memorial University, the University
of
Connecticut, Rutgers, the University of Massachusetts, and the
University of
California.
Why
is the
CUPA becoming a labour union?
Carleton University administrators
determine
many of our employment issues beyond the control of our funding
sources, PIs,
and research groups. Almost all other Carleton employees have already
unionized
and engage in collective bargaining with the administration. Postdocs
are the
only group of academics at Carleton who do not have a collective
bargaining
agent. Our advisors and principle investigators have their own
collective
bargaining agent--the Faculty Association. By signing up a majority of
Postdocs, we, too, can exercise our legal rights to bargain with
Carleton
University.
Are Postdocs
even employees?
In
February 2012 the Ontario Labour Relations
Board ruled in a precedent-setting
case that Postdocs are employees, thereby having the right to unionize. This case emerged in response to the
unionization drive undertaken
by Postdoc at the University of Toronto. At that time, the University
of Toronto
objected to the application on the grounds that Postdocs are “academic
trainees,” similar in status to senior graduate students, whose
relationship to
the university and to their advisors are not one of employment.
Following two
and half years of hearings, the Ontario Labour Relations Board firmly
rejected
this argument, noting it “must be particularly careful to give effect
to the
substance rather than the form of the relationship.” Although Postdocs
benefit
from continued learning and mentorship, the board reasoned, this is
true of
many academic posts. Continuing education and professional development
do not
preclude an employment relationship. Further, various hallmarks of
employment
exist, such as remuneration (as opposed to funding), direction and
control by a
supervisor, and the university’s ability to terminate the engagement,
even if
it does not classify Postdocs as employees or issue their stipends as
employment income. As a result of this ruling, Postdocs are
indisputably
employees of Carleton University
What are
the rights of international Postdocs to participate in the Union?
International
scholars have the same rights to
join and participate as Canadian citizens.
At
what
point do we start paying dues and for what will they be used?
No
one in will pay dues until they have had an
opportunity to vote on and approve a contract. After Carleton Postdocs
ratify a
contract, they will start paying dues to the CUPA. Because unions are
not-for-profit organizations, the amount of dues charged is related to
how much
it costs to provide services to the members. Dues rates are set by the
membership in a meeting and then put out to a secret-ballot vote of the
entire
membership. Dues support a variety of resources that equalize
power with the
employer and enable us to represent our members. These include
educational,
legal, organizing, negotiating, and other representational
services.
