York management is hopeful agreement will be ratified
Jacqueline Perlin
Assistant News Editor
York administration and students can sigh a deep breath of relief as another strike has most likely been avoided.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1356—which represents York’s support staff including custodial services, housing, and grounds maintenance—reached a tentative agreement with the employer last Thursday, November 17.
“This is a great victory for the union so far,” says Calvin Traynor, president of CUPE 1356. He explains the union must still ratify the agreement November 28, but expressed he is confident the membership will do exactly that.
“[The negotiation process] went fairly good,” he says of the bargaining process, which has gone on since the contract expired September 2011. “There were no red flags popping up anywhere.”
Wallace Pidgeon of York media relations says the university remains hopeful the tentative deal will be ratified by the membership.
Once the contract is ratified by the membership, the Local will have consolidated a three-year deal with the employer.
