The Bargaining Committee shall consist of the President, the First Vice-President, a member of the Grievance Committee and four members elected from the general membership, one of whom shall be a long service employee (15 or more years’ service), and one member of YUSA working at the Glendon campus elected by the Glendon membership. In the event that no long service employee and/or no member working at Glendon stands for election, the position(s) may be filled by a member-at-large. The function of this Committee shall be to negotiate any changes to the current Collective Agreement (see Article XIII). One member of the committee shall be elected by the committee to be the Chair.

Role & Responsibilities

Per Article V, Section 1a of the YUSA Constitution, the Unit 1 Bargaining Committee, responsible to the Executive Board, shall negotiate any changes to the current Unit 1 Collective Agreement (see Article XIII).

Per Article 7.05 of the YUSA Unit 2 Collective Agreement, the Unit 2 Bargaining Committee, responsible to the Executive Board, shall negotiate any changes to the current Unit 2 Collective Agreement.

Committee Members must sign confidentiality agreements.

Goals

The primary goal of the Bargaining Committee is to prepare for and conduct negotiations, with the employer, to renew Collective Agreements.

The Bargaining Committee shall keep the Executive Board informed of all ongoing negotiations with the employer. Any memorandum of agreement signed by YUSA’s Bargaining Committee and York University shall not be binding upon the general membership of the Union until the terms of such an agreement are ratified by the general membership as specified in the Constitution (Article XIII, Section 2).

Members & Composition

Unit 1 Bargaining Committee

The Unit 1 Bargaining Committee shall consist of the President, the First Vice-President, a member of the Grievance Committee and four (4) members elected from the general membership, one (1) of whom shall be a long service employee (15 or more years’ service), and one (1) member of YUSA working at the Glendon campus elected by the Glendon membership.  The Second Vice-President is an ex-officio member of the committee and participates in bargaining when operationally possible. In the event that no long service employee and/or no member working at Glendon stands for election, the position(s) may be filled by a member-at-large. Other subject matter experts can be invited to meetings/negotiations as required.

In accordance with the YUSA Policy for the Role and Selection of Chairs and Vice Chairs, the Committee shall elect biennially from among its members a Chair and Vice Chair for a two (2) year term. The Chair shall represent the Committee as a voting member on the YUSA Executive Board.

Per Article 7.06 of the YUSA Unit 1 Collective Agreement, up to seven (7) Unit 1 Committee Members shall be given time off during normal working hours without loss of pay while attending negotiation meetings with the Employer. Any member of the Bargaining Committee who normally works on the evening or night shift will be given time off with pay of three and one-half (3½) hours, if the negotiation meeting lasts three and one-half (3½) hours or less, and seven (7) hours if the meeting lasts more than three and one-half (3½) hours.

Unit 2 Bargaining Committee

Per Article 7.05 of the YUSA Unit 2 Collective Agreement, the Unit 2 Bargaining Committee shall be comprised of the President, the First Vice-President or, the Second Vice-President, Chair of the Unit 1 Bargaining Committee, and up to four (4) YUSA Unit 2 members.  The Unit 1 Chair shall represent the Unit 2 Committee as a voting member on the YUSA Executive Board.

Committee Members shall be given time off during normal working hours without loss of pay while attending negotiation meetings with the Employer.

Chair

The Chair of the Unit 1 Bargaining Committee, will be a member of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 Committees, elected bi-annually by the Unit 1 Committee (see Constitution Article V, Section 1).

The Chair will:

• Coordinate meetings of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 Bargaining Committees;
• Prepare agendas and Chair meetings of the Committee;
• Draft communications on behalf of the Committee related to the Committee’s work;
• Report to the Executive Board on the work of each Committee (Unit 1 and Unit 2);
• Act as a liaison between the Committee and the Executive Board;
• Represent the Committee as a voting member on the Executive Board.

Vice Chair

The Vice Chair of the Unit 1 Bargaining Committee, will be a member of the Unit 1 Committee and will act in the absence of the Chair.

Formation Details

The membership of the Committees is governed by Elections according to the Constitution.

Term

The term of Committee members will be two years, beginning on January 1.

Due to the time sensitive nature of the work involved during a bargaining year, there is an expectation that members will refrain from taking excessive vacation time during negotiations.

A Committee member who does not uphold their responsibilities or misses a significant number of meetings without a reasonable explanation may be asked by the Chair or Vice Chair to resign from the Committee. If the member refuses to resign, de-appointment action may be taken to remove the member from the Committee (see Article VI, Sections 3 and 4). Committee Members who must be absent from the Committee for an extended period, shall take a leave from the Committee by contacting the Chair.

Communication & Meetings

The Committee will hold regular meetings, beginning in January (or as soon as possible after the start of its term), to study the Collective Agreement, clause by clause, bearing in mind any difficulties encountered by YUSA members during the past year(s) that could be alleviated by contract changes. It will seek input from the Executive Board, other YUSA Committees, Stewards and the membership at large. This may be done through mail or online surveys, meetings and/or by any other means the Committee chooses.

During bargaining years, the Committee shall:

• schedule a list of meeting dates,
• negotiate with the employer
• design a timetable, working backwards from the legal date for the start of any possible job action, and arrive at a date upon which YUSA should apply for conciliation, if necessary,
• prepare bargaining proposals,
• review ratified contracts for the purposes of aiding the bargaining process, and
• monitor changes to legislations.

A list of priorities shall be prepared, taking into consideration the response of the general membership to initial requests for input. This list will be discussed with the Executive Board.

Bargaining proposals shall be presented to YUSA’s legal team for review and then the YUSA Executive Board for approval prior to being presented to the Employer.

The general membership will be kept informed, on a regular basis, of progress during the bargaining process. This may be done through meetings, mailings or both.

During non-bargaining years, the Committee shall:

• meet regularly,
• research and meet with other similar organizations,
• monitor legislation,
• compile concerns of the membership in preparation for drafting bargaining proposals.

According to the Constitution (Article XVI, Section 2) all meetings shall be governed by the Constitution. In cases where this is inadequate, Bourinot’s Rules of Order shall govern.

Minutes

Minutes should be taken at all meetings with the employer. The minutes should be provided to the YUSA office for record-keeping at the conclusion of negotiations.

Quorum

Attendance by fifty percent of the Committee members, or their pre-designated alternates, shall constitute a quorum. Any vacant position shall not be counted for quorum (see Article X, Section 4).

Decision-making

Wherever possible, decision-making by consensus is preferred. If consensus cannot be achieved, Committee members must agree on how to deal with the outstanding issue (i.e., vote; continue the discussion; shelve the issue for another meeting; take the issue to the Executive Board.) There shall be no proxy voting or email voting unless explicitly determined by the Committee in advance of the vote.

Accountability & Governance

The Bargaining Committee is not required to obtain approval from the Executive Board in order to sign a memorandum of agreement.

According to the Constitution (Article V, Section 1) all Committees are responsible to the Executive Board, and according to Section 2 of the same Article, all Committees are required at minimum, to prepare and present semi-annual reports, during the months of May and October, to the Executive Board. The reports will be made available to the membership after having been presented at the Executive Board. Normally the reports will be drafted by the Committee Chair and agreed upon by the Committee members prior to being presented at the Executive Board. The Committee cannot commit the use of YUSA financial or human resources without prior approval from the Executive Board.