Bargaining Updates:
CUPE 503 Members in the City of Ottawa Inside/Outside Collective Agreement:
Your CUPE 503 City of Ottawa Inside/Outside Bargaining Team has received a response package from the Employer and is scheduled to meet on May 4th 2026 to review the package and develop a counter proposal. Both the Union and the Employer have holds for additional bargaining dates for June 8th, 9th and 10th to meet face to face. Your Bargaining Team is focused on negotiating the best possible deal that is achievable this round of negotiations. While this timeline is taking longer than expected the goal is to not leave anything on the table when it comes to gains for our members. Your Team knows what has been achieved when it comes to monetary gains in other Ontario CUPE Municipal Collective Agreements that have been freely negotiated across the province and so far the Employer’s offers are not reaching that bar. As was previously communicated, the Union did file a No Board with the Ministry of Labour in September 2025 to keep the process moving along and the Parties have agreed to an Arbitrator in the event we can not reach a tentative agreement for the members to vote on. The Arbitrator is well respected and experienced however, with that comes limited availability of dates and October 6th 2026 will be the Interest Arbitration date if a tentative agreement can not be reached at the table.
Sandfield Place Long Term Care:
A second bargaining date was held on December 12th 2025 between the Parties and additional dates are required to address the new long-term care facility being opened by the Employer. To keep the process moving forward the Union did file for a No Board and the parties have agreed to October 26th 2026 as an Interest Arbitration date and your Bargaining Team remains ready to return to the table to continue negotiations. The Union has also commenced the legal process with the Ministry of Labour regarding representation rights for the new Long Term Care facility the Employer is opening. We will be hosting a meeting for Sandfield Place members to discuss the next steps in this process on Tuesday, April 28th between 12 noon and 4pm at the CUPE Cornwall Office.
CUPE 503 Members at TD Place:
On April 15th 2026 the CUPE 503 Members at TD Place ratified the Tentative Agreement that was reached with the Employer. The Employer has also provided your Union notice that they too have ratified. Your Bargaining Team will now be working on finalizing the language for the new 3-year Collective Agreement.
Forest Hill Long Term Care:
The Interest Arbitration date was held March 25th, 2026 for a new Collective Agreement for Forest Hill members. We are now awaiting the Arbitrator to provide the Interest Arbitration Award; this process usually takes up to 3 months.
Embassy West Retirement Residence:
The Interest Arbitration Award was received from the Arbitrator for a 4-year Collective Agreement expiring August 8th 2026. The details of the Award have been communicated by email to all CUPE 503 Embassy West members that we have personal emails for.
Ottawa Humane Society:
Notice to Bargain has been received from the Employer for the Collective Agreement that expires March 31st 2026. The Bargaining Survey for members has wrapped up and your Bargaining Team has met to prepare the proposals package to head to the bargaining table. The Union has provided availability to bargain to the Employer for dates in June. These have not yet been confirmed. Once confirmed we will be reaching out to all CUPE 503 Ottawa Humane Society members that we have personal e-mail addresses for to promote the Review of Proposals Member Engagement Meeting.
Reminder To Take Action: CUPE Ontario OMERS Campaign – We Pay! We Want a Say!
For our CUPE 503 members in the OMERS Pension Plan:
CUPE Ontario has launched a campaign to show OMERS and the Government of Ontario that members demand accountability, transparency, and a strong voice at the table, to bargain how their pension is governed.
Your pension at risk: $142.4 billion money grab affecting almost 650,000 Workers
The Ford government has taken over OMERS by granting the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing direct control over your pension fund, contrary to recommendations made by their own experts in a recent review.
This has been tried before. It didn’t work then, and it won’t now.
No other jointly sponsored pension plan in Canada is subject to this level of political interference. OMERS manages over $142.4 billion in assets, and the province’s money grab will affect more than 650,000 Ontario workers.
This is a BIG deal, and we need your help to stop it. If you care about your retirement, please add your voice to this petition.
Visit https://cupe.on.ca/wepaywewantasay/ to sign the Petition and get more informed about the campaign.
Save the Date:
Our Next Hybrid General Membership Meeting is Tuesday, May 19th at 7pm.
The CUPE 503 Golf Tournament is scheduled for Thursday, August 13th with a shotgun start at 1pm at Manderley on the Green. Registration will open Monday, July 13th at 9am at the CUPE 503 Office.
Your CUPE 503 Executive