Historic first contract for university dons; Simon Fraser students ratify deal
New deal for Ontario Food Basics workers
TORONTO — Ontario Food Basics workers voted 88 per cent to ratify a new collective agreement on Oct. 7 that protects and grows full-time jobs, secures wage and benefit increases and extends the health benefit plan for part-time workers.
“There was a lot at stake, as these were the first negotiations between Unifor and Food Basics parent company Metro since the pandemic started,” says national president Jerry Dias. “The bargaining committee secured an agreement that moves forward on key union priorities, including securing and adding more full-time jobs.”
The new four-year collective agreement covers more than 1,400 employees at 20 Food Basics stores across Ontario, says the union.
The new collective agreement includes wage increases for full- and part-time workers — with full back pay — and also the elimination of part-time wage tiers, the extension of a health benefit plan for part-time workers and improved optical plan for full-time and part-time plan members, says Unifor.
Historic first contract for university dons
TORONTO — University of Toronto residence dons achieved a historic collective agreement on Oct. 12, which is the first of its kind at the university.
“The collective agreement brings fairness, equity and a real voice in the workplace that were long overdue for a unique group of workers,” says Colleen Burke, president of the United Steelworkers (USW), Local 1998, which represents the residence dons as well as thousands of other University of Toronto employees.
The residence dons act as a resource for students in university residences and are responsible for community development, social and educational programming, crisis intervention, referrals, policy enforcement and residents’ overall well-being. The dons are also university students who live in the same residences as the students they serve.
The three-year agreement — which runs until the end of 2024 — covers dozens of dons at four University of Toronto Colleges: Innis, New College, University College and Woodsworth, says the union.
The dons voted to join the USW in 2020, and then persevered through a challenging bargaining process that was prolonged and complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, says Burke.
Simon Fraser students ratify deal
BURNABY, B.C. — The Simon Fraser Student Society and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) ratified a new five-year collective agreement on Oct. 7 for staff at the student society.
The new agreement eliminates a two-tier wage structure and will ensure every CUPE member at the society will be guaranteed a living wage by 2023, says CUPE.
“Two-tier wages have no place in the workplace. I want to congratulate our members and thank the student society for working with us in addressing this inequity,” says Fiona Brady Lenfesty, president of CUPE, Local 3338. “This agreement is a prime example of what collaborative bargaining can yield: concrete improvements for workers.”
The collective agreement was reached after a year of negotiations. It includes a two-per-cent wage increase in each year of the agreement and improved access to benefits for all workers, says the union.
