14 Sep Letter to Mr. Shepard

Posted at 14:27h in collective agreement, mobilization, negotiations, news by

Dear CUPEU members,

Please find below the letter addressing CUPEU’s concerns in regards to our CA to Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor, Mr. Shepard. The letter was hand delivered on Friday, September 14, 2018.

Regards,

Gillian

Dr. Alan Shepard
President & Vice-Chancellor
Concordia University
Montreal, Quebec

Friday, September 14, 2018

Dear President Shepard:

I am writing to you as CUPEU currently does not have a valid Collective Agreements (CA) with
the university. In fact, four Concordia University CSN unions had their CAs rejected by the
Ministry of Labour as the CAs were signed after they had expired on August 31, 2017. These
rejections were anticipated by a CSN advisor and communicated to the University during June
of 2017.

The predicament of having a rejected CA has placed our union, and our members, in an
ambiguous position in regards to employee relations with Concordia University. Though, the
rejected CA, and its salary scales, are being used to pay our salaries and guide in day to day
operations, our concerns are the following:

1) Tribunal administratif du travail (TAT):

In the case that a union member’s grievance requires arbitration at the Tribunal administratif du
travail (TAT), the arbitrator assigned to the case would resolve that case based on the last valid
CA, e.g., the last CA between the union and the University that the Ministry of Labour had
accepted.

2) Provisions from the rejected CA

In the rejected CAs, certain provisions were to begin after the signing. For example parity
committees to examine working conditions or pay equity were to start “three months after
signing”. Though we have union members ready to participate on these committees, as our last
valid CA has expired and our rejected CA is not recognized, these committees have not been
formed.

3) Prevention of concluding the negotiations for the next CA

The continued delays in moving forward with a Letter of Agreement to resolve the status of the
rejected CA will prevent us from concluding negotiations for our next CA.

CONCLUSION

It is within the best interests of the University, CUPEU and our members to reduce ambiguity in
the workplace and conclude our previous negotiations project.

Regards,

Gillian Roper
President
Concordia University Professional Employees’ Union (CSN)