Category: Resources

July 2026 Updates on Bargaining Status and Open Positions

Post author By Operations Officer
Post date July 22, 2026

In brief

Seven positions are vacant across our Bargaining and Executive Committees.

For Research Employees: the University has frozen all raises until a new collective agreement is signed, and negotiations cannot proceed without delegates at the table.

For Postdocs: the negotiation for the first collective agreement began this July.

A virtual Special General Assembly in early September will elect new executives and bargaining team members.

Jump to open positions · How to apply

Why this matters

A colleague reviews their contract and notices their workload has quietly grown beyond what was agreed. Another realizes their benefits don’t cover something essential. A third sees that onboarding for new hires leaves them confused about their rights for months. Each of them thinks: this could be better.

This is how CARE started back in 2012. But for the last few years, CARE has been run by an incomplete cabinet of executives and a severe lack of bargaining delegates.

At present, Guénolé, our Collective Agreement Officer, is the only delegate on the Research Employee unit’s Bargaining Committee. This September, the Executive Committee is likely to be reduced to a single member: Guénolé again.

Without bargaining delegates and executives, we cannot negotiate to renew the collective agreement, and day-to-day operations stall.

Open positions

You can join the committees right away on an interim basis, giving you time to gradually learn how union representation works, from grievance to bargaining. Formal elections will take place at a virtual Special General Assembly in early September.

Bargaining Committee

Bargaining Delegates for Research Employee unit
Bargaining Delegates for Post-Doctoral Fellow unit

Executive Committee

General Coordinator
Secretary-Treasurer
Two (2) Grievance Officers
(maximum of two elected individuals per art. 4.1.1.iii of CARE bylaws)
One (1) Collective Agreement Officer
(maximum of two elected individuals per art. 4.1.1.ii of CARE bylaws)
Communications Officer

Bargaining update: Research Employee unit

The employer has issued a Notice to Bargain, and upcoming negotiations will shape salaries, benefits, and working conditions across both units for years to come. Here is what has happened so far with the expired collective agreement:

Early April: The University proposed extending the current agreement two more years, with any raise tied to the University’s own financial performance (which no one expects to improve).

The University’s proposal in detail:

“If the University’s Operating Revenue for the fiscal year 2026-2027 exceeds $647M, the University will increase the salary scales by the same percentage increase […]. If the increase for 2026-2027 is less than zero-point five percent (0.5%), such increase shall not be awarded for that year and shall instead be added to the percentage calculated for the 2027–2028 year, if any.”

May: We sent a reasonable counter-offer reflecting the unique funding structure of CARE members’ positions. CARE members’ salaries are funded by research grants, not the University’s operating budget. On that basis, the Bargaining Committee rejected the University’s proposal; our counter-offer contested only the salary provisions, leaving the rest unchanged.

June: Despite the reasonableness of our counter-offer, the University rejected it and sent us the Notice to Bargain. We formally entered the negotiation period.

Now: The University has put all raises on hold until a new collective agreement is signed.

Bargaining update: Post-Doctoral Fellow unit

We are negotiating our first collective agreement, which will establish salaries, benefits, and working conditions for all postdoctoral fellows for years to come. Here is what has happened so far:

July 14: Our bargaining committee and the employer held their first meeting, where the parties discussed all the issues to be negotiated.

To accelerate progress, we sought the assistance of a third party. A conciliator will be appointed shortly: the chief conciliator has personally confirmed this to our PSAC counsel. Once appointed, the conciliator will help both parties reach an agreement.

Summer: As we enter the summer break, both parties have agreed to notify the chief conciliator that conciliation and negotiation meetings will begin after the break.

September 15: Our next bargaining meeting with the employer is already scheduled.

We will share more details about the appointed conciliator as soon as we have them. In the meantime, please sign your union card if you have not signed it yet. The initial signing fee of two Canadian dollars funds our negotiation and legitimizes our bargaining power at court.

POstdoc – union card form

How to apply or get involved

Submit Your Application

You do not need prior union or negotiation experience: we provide onboarding, and all decisions are made collectively with the support of experienced members.

Participation can also be scaled to your capacity, from full committee membership, behind-the-scenes support (research, note-taking, translation, outreach), to general engagement.

To apply, please use this form to share your interest with the current executives.

Application form

Come to Our Coffee Chat

Location: Cafe Myriade, 1432 Rue Mackay, Montreal, Quebec H3G 2H7
Time and Date: 2 PM, Saturday, August 22nd, 2026

The current executives will be there to answer your questions and share their experience over past years. The union will cover the coffee and snacks.

Resources

Grievance 101

Protect Your Labour Rights!

What is a Grievance?

A grievance is a formal complaint made by a union. It is a means for the union to protect members’ rights. Filing a grievance is a legal right when there has been a violation of a right outlined in the collective agreement and/or a member has been wrongfully disciplined or terminated.

Types of Grievance

Individual Grievance

A complaint by an individual whose rights, as set out in the collective agreement, have been violated by management through, for example, discipline, harassment, denial of benefits or denial of entitlements. The individual grievance is filed by a union representative.

Group Grievance

A complaint by, for example, a group of individuals from a particular department or shift that has collectively been affected by a management action. Examples include the following:

an employer refusing to pay a shift differential or premium pay when the contract entitles members to it;
management unilaterally changing the start time of a shift; or
an employer refusing to allow a group of members to take family related leave, even though such leave is covered by the collective agreement.

The group grievance is filed by a union representative. All the members should sign the grievance, since adjudicators/arbitrators have been known to award compensation only to signatories.

Group Grievance Type 1: Policy Grievance

The union, not individual members, files a grievance when management or the employer violates or incorrectly interprets the collective agreement and a group, bargaining unit or the union at large is affected by this action. Policy grievances are not allowed in certain jurisdictions (labour codes define what may or may not be grieved).

Group Grievance Type 2: Union Grievance

The union grieves a dispute arising directly between the union and the employer. In this type of grievance, the union considers its rights to have been violated, not just the rights of members.

For example, a union might grieve on its own behalf when the employer fails to deduct union dues as specified in the collective agreement. Also, individual grievances can be filed in conjunction with the union grievance.

Grievance Procedure for Our Union

1. Investigate the member complaint.

2-1. If the complaint has to do with harassment, the member may file a complaint in accordance with the University’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities (see the CARE Collective Agreement, Article 4).

2-2. For other complaints:
Article 13 of our Collective Agreement specifies that “[t]he parties agree that in most circumstances it is preferable to resolve problems through discussions among those persons directly concerned before submitting a grievance.” Therefore, if possible, the union will resolve problems through discussions. Otherwise, the union will file a grievance.

3. Follow the grievance process outlined in the 2017-2022 collective agreement, Article 13.

4. Resolution / Arbitration.

References

PSAC

Resources

Union 101

A union aims to provide a fair representation of all members and negotiates in good faith on their behalf.

What Are the Union’s Roles?

Source of information related to working conditions and labour rights.
Representation for the members in situations such as collective bargaining and grievances in progress.
Promotion of its members’ and other workers’ interests, objectives and rights of a union.
Collaboration with other union bodies, organizations, and social groups.

But a union is NOT meant to protect low-performing employees.

Work standards and conduct are just as important in a unionized workplace, and management still has a responsibility to address poor performance. Unions make sure the hiring process is objective, so management can’t just hire and promote their friends.

A union is not a tool to harm the employer.

People who form a union are more satisfied and productive at work. Joining in unions also reduces costly turnover and makes the workplace safer.

Lastly, a union cannot work without members.

Unions are democratic; therefore, a democratic vote of the workers is necessary for a union to make important decisions. Furthermore, a union cannot exert its power on the bargaining table with the employer without members’ action and participation in union activities. See what you can do for your union.

How does a union work for its membership?

Unionizing is the very first step for advocating employees.

However, if members of the union do not participate in union activities, the union’s bargaining power becomes extremely limited.

The employer gauges what they can say yes or no to the union’s bargaining team not based on how loud, logical, or persisting the bargaining team is. Rather, the employer tries to predict any feasible consequences of saying yes or no to crucial demands.

Let’s say the employer expects their employees to not take other collective action such as demonstrating in the future, given that the employees’ participation rate in union activity is extremely low.

Would they feel compelled to say yes to a raise that goes along with the current inflation? For the employer, there is no harmful consequence of rejecting a reasonable demand.

Union Structure

CARE is a directly charted local of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). PSAC represents nearly 230,000 workers in every province and territory in Canada and in locations around the world. Formed in 1966, PSAC is one of Canada’s largest unions.