On Oct. 23, a rally and barbeque in solidarity with CUPE 4207 took place at Glenridge A as the labour union continues engaging in collective bargaining with Brock University.
CUPE 4207 is the largest labour union at Brock, representing around 1,500 members across various job classifications, including teaching assistants, course coordinators and lab demonstrators.
The union is divided into several units, two of which are currently participating in collective bargaining with the university over acceptable wage increases.
Phil Wachel, the president of CUPE 4207, explained to The Brock Press that Unit 1, representing teaching assistants, sessional instructors, course coordinators and lab demonstrators; along with Unit 5, which represents the faculty of education instructors; have similar bargaining demands.
“CUPE is demanding an acceptable wage increase, improvements to benefits and reasonable class sizes […] Brock’s total compensation when we look at wages and benefits for instructors and teaching assistants is well below the provincial average when compared to other Ontario universities.”
Teaching assistants at Brock University are paid a rate of $34.73 per hour. Additionally, the union has negotiated a supplement for teaching assistants who are also full-time graduate students, making for an hourly wage of $36.86.
“This might sound generous, but it’s not when we go down the street to McMaster,” said Wachel. “A McMaster University teaching assistant makes $50.52 an hour, so there is a significant difference in compensation.”
Collective agreements detailing CUPE compensation levels for teaching assistants amongst other professions are public information. As detailed on page 48 of the CUPE 3906 collective agreement with McMaster University, a Teaching Assistant who holds an undergraduate degree is compensated with a wage of $50.52 for the 2025 year.
In his comparison, Wachel discussed the University of Guelph and CUPE 3913. The Brock Press reached out to CUPE 3913 President Jeff Cornelissen for clarification and confirmed that “the Graduate TA rate at the University of Guelph is $37.57 (wage component) plus $11.86 (fellowship component) for a total compensation of $49.43 per hour.”
Acceptable wage increases are considered alongside members’ benefits. Wachel explained that members in Unit 1 receive “a benefits fund, but it’s not enough to sustain the benefits we provide, so we are looking for substantial increase.”
Unit 1 is “able to provide comprehensive benefits for the member only, not for their family, and for people who work a good deal of hours. So, to continue those quality benefits, we need to bargain for more money,” said Wachel.
In addition to acceptable wage increases, class sizes are another part of CUPE 4207’s bargaining demands. As Wachel said, “Brock was built on the seminar system. […] Brock has held to the standard of 20 students to a seminar, but what we’re seeing is erosion of this with a few in-person and online courses where seminars are not 20 [students], they are 30.”
For Wachel, this is problematic, so the union is “seeking to improve upon its soft cap.” Class sizes are not only a Unit 1 issue, but also affect Unit 5.
Wachel says that several class sizes are growing, citing Teacher Education classes with 28 students in the previous school year now having as many as 40. He further explained that Unit 5 is fighting for class sizes in which students can learn appropriately.
Currently, as Wachel outlined, Brock and Unit 1’s bargaining “has reached an impasse; Brock feels the need that a third party should come in to help bring about a deal in a process called conciliation.”
In conciliation, a third party comes to meet with both parties in the hopes of making a deal — a relatively normal part of bargaining.
“Ideally we would hope to be done and bring a deal back to the members to vote on, but this is clearly not going to happen because the compensation proposals are so far apart,” said Wachel.
He noted that a monetary proposal was provided by the employer on Oct. 22, though the union did not accept it. Bargaining continued until Nov. 5, when the employer expressed that an impasse was reached, and the two parties needed assistance in bargaining.
“Likely in early January the parties will meet with the government-appointed conciliator to hopefully hammer out a deal. Should that not be successful, the conciliator releases a no-board report where the conciliator simply states that consolation was unsuccessful,” said Wachel.
From there, Wachel says that the two parties would enter a “cooling-off period,” taking 17 days before the parties decide on their next steps. When addressing provincial funding, Wachel explained that “there’s no doubt that there’s not enough money going to universities in Ontario,” but noted that the wage disparities across universities are significant.
“Why are Brock University teaching assistants making $38 an hour when 40 minutes away, McMaster teaching assistants are making $50 an hour?” said Wachel. “I feel the money is there at Brock.”
The Brock Press reached out to Danielle McCrindle, Acting Executive Director for People Partnerships and Employment Relations and lead negotiator for Unit 1 and Unit 5 bargaining; Anne McCourt, The Chair of Brock University Board of Trustees; and Amanda Villella, Acting Associate AVP for People and Culture for a comment on CUPE 4207.
Villella did not respond to the request for comment, McCourt declined to comment and Maryanne St. Denis responded for McCrindle with the following statement from Brock University:
“Brock University is currently engaged in collective bargaining with CUPE 4207-1. We are committed to reaching a fair collective agreement that reflects the important contributions of members of the bargaining unit, while being financially responsible and sustainable. The University remains committed to negotiating at the bargaining table rather than in public or via the media.”
As negotiations continue, Wachel has invited Brock students to attend a solidarity breakfast happening at the International Centre on Nov. 21 in support of Unit 5’s current negotiations. This is the unit’s first collective agreement since unionizing in 2024.
The union encourages students seeking to support their efforts to reach out by email at info@cupe4207.org.