Strike and Lockout FAQ
A lockout occurs when the Employer denies employees access to the workplace and stops paying them in order to exert pressure on the union and its members to settle on the Employer’s terms. Lockouts have been rare in the university sector in Canada but it is a legal option open to our Employer.
The university could stop paying you and providing your benefits and advise you that you are not permitted to report to work.
Most likely not. The employer owns the York email system and could disable an employee’s email access at any time.
A strike is a legal withdrawal of our labour. During a strike you will stop performing work (either in person or online) for the university for the duration of the strike. You will receive strike pay from the union for picket duty, because the university will not pay your salary for the duration of the strike.
During a strike it is key to withdraw our labour from York University in order to motivate the employer to bargain and offer a fair deal.
We do not have a set strike date at this time. The soonest we could legally strike would be 17 days after the issuance of the no board report.
During a strike all members must not cross the picket lines. If you cross a picket line and perform work for the university you greatly damage the ability for your colleagues to achieve a deal and would be subject to sanction under the YUSA Constitution.
The length of a strike is something we cannot predict. It depends on how strong the strike effort is and how much pressure it puts on the Employer to settle. The longer a strike lasts, the more the members have to weigh the costs of staying out versus the costs of returning to work with a settlement that may not meet all their goals.
For the majority of members strike duties will involve walking on picket lines. Shifts are typically half day shifts. For members who require accommodation there will be accommodated duties offered. We also will need some people to help with logistics, staffing the strike headquarters, etc.
Picket lines are primarily a means to communicate our grievances and to seek support for the strike. Picket lines are a way to build solidarity within the bargaining unit and with other supporters. Picketing involves attending a site at the entrance of campus to provide information and give visibility to YUSA’s demands. Your picket captain will give you directions on picket procedures, and you should follow that direction. At all times, remain professional, courteous and non-confrontational. YUSA members have the right to walk the picket line, and the public has the right to cross it. Members can try to dissuade people from crossing the picket line by sharing information about why YUSA is on strike and what the issues at hand are. If there are any problems, the picket captain should be notified.
Email zeripha@yusapuy.ca and elspeth@yusapuy.ca and let them know you want to be a picket captain and they will get back to you with next steps.
We will be offering accommodated duties to members who require medical or family status accommodations. We are still working out all the necessary roles but there will be opportunities for members who require accommodation to either work at the strike headquarters or remotely instead of being on the picket lines. We will be setting up an address where members who require accommodation can communicate their accommodation needs to us as we get closer to the strike deadline.
Safety is our first priority for picket lines. We will be using “cattle gates” to prevent cars from driving through pickets, and we will provide safety gear, and will establish safety protocols for all picket lines. All picket lines will have a picket captain who will be trained and responsible for member safety.
Picket lines will be located at the main intersections at the edge of campus (i.e. York Blvd and Keele Street).
Typically members would not cross the picket line during a strike. However there are a few exceptions such as if your doctor is located in York Lanes, etc. We are currently exploring parking options; however parking is available at the Pioneer Village TTC station for $7 per day, or at Black Creek Pioneer Village a one week parking pass is $40.
Yes
Members on a work permit can participate in a strike as any other member. Foreign workers (FW) are entitled to be part of a lawfully authorized strike. Work permits cannot be revoked despite the occurrence of a labour dispute at the workplace. In the case of a legal strike, FWs have several means of recourse, including:
- Waiting out the strike with minimal strike pay (like others in the same situation);
- Returning home; or
- Finding another position where there are identified shortages in the labour market and proceeding with the normal work permit application process.
For more information please see the Canadian Government website.
If we go on strike the collective agreement no longer applies and the the employer would stop paying members their salary whether they are on vacation or not.
Members who are currently on WSIB or LTD would continue to receive those payments. LTD benefits are based on an insurance contract between the employee and Sun Life so they would not be impacted.
If a strike is called and picket lines are set up, the Employer will no longer pay us.
YUSA Strike Pay has been set at $500 a week for 20 hours of strike duty. Strike duty can be completed in five 4-hour shifts per week.
The amount paid will be non-taxable. To be eligible, members will have to participate in strike duty which will primarily be picket duty. Those members seeking accommodation will be able to partake in modified strike duties. Pro-rated strike pay will be available for those who work reduced strike duty hours.
If you do not perform picket duty or other strike duty then you will not receive strike pay.
We are intending to direct deposit strike pay into members’ bank accounts. We will be circulating paperwork for members to give us their banking information so we can set up direct deposits.
This will depend on the strike protocol that is negotiated with the employer. We have not yet negotiated a protocol.
Strikes do impose financial burdens on members, particularly if they last a long time. In addition to strike pay, unions find ways to assist members with particularly difficult financial situations so they will continue to participate in the strike. YUSA will advocate for interest-free loans with credit unions for those having a difficult time paying their mortgage and we have already discussed arrangements with Alterna. As well, we may ask for support from other unions to make donations to our local strike fund, which can be used to provide additional assistance to members experiencing acute financial pressures.
Mortgage Relief: YUSA will write a letter that members can take to their banks and negotiate an interest-free loan or mortgage payment deferrals.
Remediation: Other unions on campus have commonly received retroactive reimbursement for any loss to their salaries during a strike, and YUSA would also be requesting this from the employer.
The collective agreement ceases to be in effect 17 days after the no board report is issued. During a strike members do not receive any pay from the university and do not perform work for the university so there would be no pension contribution or vacation accrual during that time.
No. No union dues would be deducted from strike pay.
The collective agreement ceases to be in effect so the employer is not obligated to pay sick pay. Members who are on maternity or parental leave would already be in receipt of EI and that would be unaffected by the strike.
If we go on strike you would still remain on EI until the regular end of the sessional leave.
Yes, your EI benefits will continue for the duration of your leave.
Yes, if you can show you were arranging the leave before the strike or lockout. Prior to any strike or lockout write to the employer, stating your intent to take the leave. Be sure to keep a copy for yourself at home.
Members who are currently on WSIB or LTD would continue to receive those payments. LTD benefits are based on an insurance contract between the employee and Sun Life so they would not be impacted.
The employer is still asking for major concessions. This means they are trying to take away rights that we have previously negotiated. While we have made progress on some articles, as long as these concessions remain on the table it is unlikely we will reach an agreement.
YUSA is seeking improvements to a number of areas of the collective agreement but the #1 issue that members identified to the bargaining team is continued access to fair remote work opportunities. While the employer will likely continue remote work in some form in the Fall the employer could revoke or alter this policy at any time. The employer’s policy also gives managers discretion to offer or not offer remote work as they deem appropriate.
Vacation: Reducing Vacation entitlements and taking away member’s preference when booking days off.
Job Evaluation: The Employer is proposing to entirely dismantle the Joint Job Evaluation system and replace it with a unilateral employer run system.
Benefits: Taking away the ability of YUSA to challenge improper denials of your benefits claims.
Interns: Allowing unlimited numbers of non-unionized interns to perform YUSA work.
3 days and you’re fired: If you are absent for 3 days without providing a reason acceptable to the university your employment can be immediately terminated.
A strike vote asks the membership whether they will give their Executive the authority to call a strike if and when the Executive decides it is absolutely necessary. The Executive can only call a strike if a majority of those voting in a strike vote say yes. A positive strike vote is known as a strike mandate. Once a strike mandate is given, the Executive does not have to come back to the membership for further authorization to use this mandate.
A strike mandate sends a strong signal to the Employer (and in our case the mediator) that the members support YUSA’s Bargaining Team and their firm stance on our key priority issues. A strike mandate is a negotiating tool to put the maximum pressure on the Employer to come to a fair and equitable settlement with the union. It signals that the membership is willing to engage in actions to win a collective agreement with terms that meet our needs and interests.
We are working on options for members in this circumstance and will be sharing details shortly.
Unit 1 members can vote.
No. Even if a majority of the membership votes yes in the actual strike vote, the vote itself does not automatically trigger a strike. A strike is triggered only if the Executive decides it is necessary. As well, a strong strike mandate—with a high turnout of members and a high percentage voting in favour of a strike—is considered the best way to avert an actual strike, because it signals to the Employer how committed the members are to progress on their key issues and gives them an incentive to make a better offer. The Bargaining Team can keep negotiating with a strike mandate in hand in order get a better deal and avert an actual strike. If the Executive believes that the Employer has made an offer that should be brought to the membership for a potential ratification vote, this can also mean that the strike mandate is not actually used.
If we fail to get a strike mandate, negotiations for all intents and purposes will be over. Without a strike mandate, the Employer will have no incentive to offer us contract terms that meet our members’ interests and priorities. They will be able to set the terms of the agreement in their favour. They could impose their preferred terms on the issues that have been discussed at the bargaining table or they could ask for a Ministry-supervised final offer vote. Our Bargaining Team could return to negotiations, but the Employer will know that they don’t have the members’ support. This will certainly put a limit on any progress we wish to make in this round of bargaining, and we will almost certainly have to accept major concessions. This could also undermine our ability to make gains in future rounds of bargaining.
No. YUSA and the employer have already set bargaining dates during and after the strike vote and YUSA intends to continue to bargain to reach a fair deal after the strike vote occurs. In fact, having a strike mandate helps the bargaining process to work, as it creates additional pressure to find a settlement acceptable to both sides.
Binding arbitration is when the union and Employer agree that a third party — an arbitrator — will decide the terms of the new collective agreement. In sectors where the workers are delivering what the government has determined is an essential service, binding arbitration is mandatory and strikes and lockouts are illegal. In all other sectors, including the university sector, binding arbitration is voluntary and must be agreed to by both sides. Amongst unions, binding arbitration is generally seen as a poorer alternative to using the collective power of membership to get an acceptable settlement.
Work-to-rule is any job action in which employees do their jobs exactly as outlined by the rules of their contract. For YUSA members this could mean things like taking your full lunch hour and two 15 minute breaks, and ending your shifts promptly at the end of your working day.
A back-to-work protocol is negotiated between the union and the Employer, and sets out the terms on which employees will return to work after a strike has ended. Back-to-work protocols often cover issues like if we will be paid for work that must be made up in any remediation period, or the reorganization of deadlines for various processes that may have halted during a strike. The leverage that a union has in negotiating a good back-to-work protocol rests in the members’ unwillingness to return to work unless these key issues are dealt with. Because YUSA has not been on strike in many years we have not had to negotiate such a protocol, but other unions on campus have always sought remediation pay for completing work missed or delayed owing to the strike.
