LABOUR BRIEFS
3
Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018
CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER
85 per cent
approve York
University
strike mandate
TORONTO — Contract fac-
ulty, teaching assistants and
graduate assistants at York Uni-
versity in Toronto voted by a
margin of 85 per cent in favour
of a strike mandate.
A high turnout cast their votes
between Jan. 22 and 26, said the
union. The education work-
ers are members of the Cana-
dian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE), Local 3903.
"The strong mandate deliv-
ered by our membership is an in-
dication of how highly they value
their role as mentors and front-
line educators," said Julian Ar-
end, CUPE 3903 vice-president
for contract faculty.
The union's previous collec-
tive agreement expired on Aug.
31, 2017.
York's administration has
been unresponsive on issues of
job security for contract faculty,
protecting funding for teaching
assistants, and maintaining em-
ployment levels for graduate as-
sistants, said CUPE.
The parties have been meet-
ing with the assistance of a Min-
istry of Labour-appointed con-
ciliator since Jan. 8, according to
the union.
Ruling ends
Teck's random
drug, alcohol
testing
SPARWOOD, B.C. — The
United Steelworkers (USW)
won an arbitration case on Jan.
23 that puts an end to random
drug testing by Teck Resources
at its unionized coal mines in the
Elk Valley in British Columbia.
In 2012, Teck began random-
ly testing employees for drug
and alcohol use. The union op-
posed this and took action to
oppose its implementation.
The arbitration decision rec-
ognizes the importance of em-
ployee privacy rights and im-
poses a high bar on employers
to justify random testing, said
the union.
"The arbitrator completely
rejected the idea that some theo-
retical, but non-existent safety
risk justifies the intrusion of
random testing when there is no
evidence of workplace problems
due to drug and alcohol use,"
said Stephen Hunt, USW district
3 director.
The victory by USW Locals
7884 and 9346 means the test-
ing is to end at Fording River
and Elkview mines and it is also
struck down at Coal Mountain
and Line Creek mines, all in B.C.
Agreement
signed for
Mount Royal,
Que., workers
MOUNT ROYAL, Que. —
Workers at the Town of Mount
Royal in Quebec — who gath-
ered at a union meeting on the
evening of Jan. 23 — voted 73 per
cent in favour of a new deal.
It covers a period from Jan. 1,
2015, to Dec. 31, 2021 and calls
for a total wage increase of 17.5
per cent; 7.05 per cent retro-
actively for the three years that
have passed and a total of 10.45
per cent for the coming four
years, said the Canadian Union
of Public Employees (CUPE).
Eleven workers will be
switched to permanent status
and the minimum employee
level will be set at 59 permanent
employees, said the union.
OSGOODE'S
PART-TIME
PROFESSIONAL LLM
IN LABOUR RELATIONS
& EMPLOYMENT LAW
IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO KNOW
THE LAW. MASTER IT.
Osgoode's LLM in Labour Relations and Employment Law is the leading
program of its kind in the world. Learn from Canada's top law professors and
international faculty, which have included Alan Bogg (Oxford), Ruth Dukes
(Glasgow), and Bruce Kaufman (Georgia State).
Apply by May 9th | Start in September
Canada's leading Professional LLM for lawyers,
executives and experienced professionals
Learn more at osgoodepd.ca/labour-reporter
Allison Cheron, LLB, LLM
Manager & Senior Counsel
Client Service Centre, LSUC
MAJOR SUBJECT
AREAS INCLUDE:
· Collective Bargaining Law
· The Common Law of
Employment
· Freedom of Association
· Human and Equality Rights
· Labour Law and Economics
· Work Regulation
· International Labour Law
Outside Toronto?
Attend class by
videoconference and
complete your degree
from your home
or office.
