(Toronto) The members of CUPE Local 3261, shippers and receivers at the University of Toronto Press, have ratified a two-year agreement with the U of T Press with 85 per cent voting in favour of the agreement. The union believes that this agreement is a victory for these workers: the employer withdrew all of the concessions originally proposed and the employees also made modest gains in wages and benefits. This settlement narrowly averted a strike which was to have begun on July 25, 2001. Many in the labour and university communities had already pledged support for these workers.
CUPE members achieved a wage increase of four per cent over two years and approximately two per cent in lump-sum payouts. This settlement maintains and strengthens the integrity of the contract so that members may become union officials without facing any penalty.
The contract also now contains a provision for early retirement and the employers agreement to re-open the contract to negotiate pension improvements if they are achieved by the Local 3261 bargaining unit at the University of Toronto.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, Canadas largest union, represents workers employed by both public and private sector organizations in health care, emergency services, education, municipalities, social services, libraries, utilities, transportation and airlines, and front-line water services. Founded in 1963 by the amalgamation of the National Union of Public Service Employees and the National Union of Public Employees, CUPE represents half a million workers, 180,000 of whom are in Ontario.
Contact
Mary Catherine McCarthy, CUPE National Representative
416 292-3999 ext.258
Mehdi Kouhestaninejad, President, CUPE Local 3261
(416) 946-7620