The Bargaining process has begun for CUPE 917’s new Collective Agreement which will be effective from Apr 1, 2025 through March 31, 2029.
Bargaining is a complicated thing, which is why it takes several months to complete.
Please note that all discussions of the Steering and Bargaining committees are considered confidential for the meantime, until a proposal is prepared to be brought to our members.
The first step was to put together a Steering committee of 16 members + our President.
From these 16 people, comes the Bargaining committee of 4 members + our President, as voted by the Steering committee.
Click here to see who is representing us for the Steering and Bargaining committees.
News about Bargaining:
Mar 20,2026
Bargaining with the University has stalled for both CUPE 951 and CUPE 4163 Component 3. Bargaining for CUPE 917’s collective agreement is scheduled for April 1 and 9. Although we are not yet in the same position as the other locals, it is critical that all CUPE members at UVic have the same information about where things stand in negotiations.
The employer’s monetary offer does not meet the standard that has been set at other provincial public sector tables. Both 951 and 4163 bargaining tables met this week, and the locals continued to push for a fair negotiated settlement; despite this, the University’s position remains unchanged. At these tables, CUPE has been clear that we are not prepared to accept a deal that leaves our members behind.
CUPE 951 and 4163 are in a new phase of bargaining, moving toward increased mobilization, strike readiness, and coordination with campus unions.
With CUPE 917 scheduled to begin bargaining at the beginning of April, it is important that members have up to date information, show solidarity with the other CUPE locals, and understand what steps are coming next.
Bargaining Information Meeting – Thursday, April 2 12:00 – 1:00pm at Cinecenta / 5:00 – 6:00pm on zoom (link to follow)
– Detailed update on bargaining for CUPE 917, 951, and 4163 members
-What it means to reach impasse
-Possible next steps, including a strike vote
-Time for questions and discussion
This meeting will be an important opportunity to hear a direct update about what has happened in bargaining and ensure that all members have the same information as CUPE locals at UVic determine the next steps.
Please make every effort to attend.
Thank you for your continued engagement, solidarity, and support.
In solidarity, Shane Randall President, CUPE 917
The CUPE 917 Steering and Bargaining committees
Mar 18, 2026
Thank you to everybody who came out to our two information sessions.
Our National representative, Micha Pesta, explained the types of things that we are looking to gain with our new contract.
As well, he explained how the wage increases work including the monetary gains that we are working towards, sometimes called the ‘fuzzy money’, and what we can expect from our next contract in that right.
We will also be scheduling another information in the near future that will include both other CUPE locals on campus, 951 and 4163, so that we can all work together for the embetterment of all three locals.
The CUPE 917 Steering and Bargaining committees
Mar 10, 2026
Our Steering committee has completed it’s work and we are ready to bring that work to our members.
We will be holding two meetings to display this information.
Both meetings will be available in person as well as via Zoom.
Note: Both meetings will have the same information, so there is no need to attend both.
Meetings will be:
Tuesday, Mar 17 at 12:00 in DSB C118
Wednesday, Mar 18 at 4pm in ECS 123
Note: Check your email for Zoom links
The CUPE 917 Steering and Bargaining committees
Mar 3, 2026
A reminder to everybody that there is a Meet the Bargaining team event taking place tomorrow, Wednesday March 4 outside of the SUB from 11am to 1pm.
We will have a table set up to answer your questions about Bargaining and how the process is moving forward.
There will also be coffee and snacks available at our table.
So come on down and bring your questions for our Bargaining team!
The CUPE 917 Steering and Bargaining committees
Feb 12, 2026
Today, the Steering committee met for what should be the final time before the actual Bargaining begins with the university.
Thanks to the CUPE National representative that filled in for Micha today, we went through all of the prospective changes to the collective agreement that the Steering committee has suggested and we are confident that these changes will be beneficial for our members.
Sometime in the near future we will be scheduling a special meeting to present all of this information for our members, to help everybody understand how these changes will work.
After that meeting is done, the next steps for us will be for our Bargaining committee to sit down at the table with UVic.
In Solidarity,
The CUPE 917 Steering and Bargaining committees
Jan 19, 2026
Starting in the summer of 2025, the Steering committee has been meeting with our CUPE National representative, Micha Pesta, to go through every article of the previous Collective Agreement which expired March 31, 2025.
With this process, we have found several articles that we feel would benefit our members through editing the language, and in some cases adding entirely new language to protect the rights and privileges or our members.
As well, we discussed the survey that was previously sent to our members to see what can be improved in our Benefits package.
Our final meeting for the Steering committee is set for Feb 12, 2026, and soon after that the Bargaining committee will be able to start discussions with UVic management with the purpose of trying to obtain the changes to the Collective Agreement set down by the Steering committee.
In Solidarity,