Unit 3

Unit 3 Fund – Expense Categories

I. CONFERENCE EXPENSES

Travel and associated expenses related to the attendance at conferences, seminars & training courses that relate to work responsibilities or are intended to upgrade skills.

Eligible expenses:

  • Registration fees (cannot be submitted in advance of attendance

  • Vehicle rental

  • Private automobile use

  • Flight cancellation insurance

  • Transit between residence and hotel/airport/train station

  • Hotel costs/accommodation

Ineligible expenses:

  • Conference activities that are considered optional

  • Payment of registration fees for other individuals

  • Travel costs of another individual

  • Meals or in room mini bar and movies

  • Personal phone calls

II. PROFESSIONAL EXPENSES
A) RELATED TO MEMBER'S DISCIPLINE

Membership Fees

Membership fees for professional and/or learned societies related to member’s discipline required to be able to teach a specific course.

Eligible expenses:

  • Membership fees and processing fees – (e.g., CPA, CASLT, Public health, Architects’ membership fees)

  • Dues

Ineligible expenses:

  • Faculty Club Memberships

  • Recreational Facilities

  • Club Memberships

  • Patent Fees

  • Airport Lounge memberships

Professional journals

Cost of written material related to professional, teaching, research responsibilities. Receipts or invoices for expenditures of publications must include title of the publication.

Eligible expenses:

  • Subscriptions to professional and/or learned journals, professional magazines (including electronic versions).

Ineligible expenses:

  • Leisure, entertainment magazines

  • Travel magazines

Professional development

Fees incurred for professional development in a field related to the members current or future responsibility with the university.

Eligible expenses:

  • Tuition fees for courses and certification programs required/related to Unit 3 responsibilities (i.e., industry/skill competency, courses to maintain professional license, etc.

Ineligible expenses:

  • General interest courses

  • Courses non-professional in nature

  • Health/recreation facilities

II. PROFESSIONAL EXPENSES
B) TEACHING RELATED

Equipment and Software

Equipment purchase, rental, or repairs directly associated with teaching activity.

Eligible expenses:

  • Computer (e.g., desktop, laptop)

  • Peripheral device (e.g., printer, scanner, keyboard, mouse, CD/DVD external drive)

  • Mobile device (e.g., cellphone, iPhone, iPad, smart tablet)

  • Portable storage (e.g., External storage, USB drive)

  • Purchase or rental of equipment (e.g., speakers)

  • Other technical devices (e.g., pointers/clickers, headphones, drawing/apple pen, power bar)

  • Repairs of computer, tablet and smart phone including replacement parts, power card, replacement batteries

  • Software license such as Adobe, MS Office, special software required/related to course (e.g., 3D modelling software, screenwriting software).

Ineligible expenses:

  • Items which will normally be provided by the University

III. MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES

This broad category covers items such as office supplies, materials, teaching commute, books and materials related to professional and teaching activities.

Eligible expenses:

  • Payment of services or honorarium fees for speakers and professional services such as repair of musical instrument.

  • Office Supplies to facilitate regular functioning of home office, including printer toner/ink, notebook and pens, printing paper, and paper shredder.

  • Teaching Commute includes parking fees, fuel costs, bus and subway fares (maximum $10.00 each way)

  • Books, materials related to teaching and not supplied by the University (e.g., musical scores)

  • Photocopying charges if not covered by the University

Ineligible expenses:

  • Furnishings (e.g., standing desks, computer chairs, lamps, frames, fans, whiteboards)

  • Briefcases, portfolio

  • Business cards, letter head printing

  • Home internet

  • Cell phone charges

  • Vehicle maintenance and spares

Unit 3 Fund

  • For the academic year round of the Unit 3 Fund, any Unit 3 member who is employed between September 1 and August 31 and meets the following criteria is eligible to apply:

    (a) you are a Union member in good standing; 

    (b) you have secured either 34 hours of work (if paid on an hourly basis) or at least 0.17 FCE (if employed as a Sessional Lecturer) in the bargaining unit; and 

    (c) you have incurred expenses related to academic or pedagogical conference attendance and/or expenses related to teaching.

  • (1) For a conference expense to be eligible, the conference must take place during the eligible claim period (September 1 to August 31). Eligible expenses include: registration fees (even if paid prior to the eligible claim period); travel costs (airfare, train, or car; if travelling by car, cost will be calculated at the CUPE 3902 reimbursement rate of 57₵/kilometer to a maximum of 500km); flight cancellation insurance; transit between residence and hotel/airport/train station; and standard hotel costs (basic accommodation). 

    PLEASE NOTE: meals are not an eligible expense.

    (2) For a professional expense to be eligible, the related professional activity must take place during the eligible claim period (September 1 to August 31). 

    Eligible expenses include: 

    (a) membership fees for professional and/or learned societies related to the member’s discipline (even if paid prior to the eligible claim period); 

    (b) subscriptions to professional and/or learned journals (even if paid prior to the eligible claim period); 

    (c) books, materials, equipment and services directly related to research or teaching; 

    (d) computer hardware, tablets, smartphones, and software and supplies used in performance of academic duties that are not considered ‘required’ to do the job and thus the responsibility of the Employer; expenses incurred in the preparation and completion of scholarly manuscripts (self-publication efforts are excluded) and page or reprint charges; 

    (e) office supplies related to the performance of teaching and research duties that are not covered by the Collective Agreement (CA) and thus the responsibility of the Employer; and

    (f) fees incurred for professional development; 

    (g)expenses related to teaching commute (transit/parking). 

    PLEASE NOTE the following are not eligible expenses: decorative items for home office, internet, and data charges.

  • The Unit 3 Fund has been allocated $180,000 per year. Individual disbursements will depend on the number of applicants and the overall need.

  • Applications for this fund will be open between September 1 to September 30. Applications will be processed and disbursed, according to the following schedule. The opening of the fund will be announced in the CUPE 3902 e-newsletter.

    Funds will only be disbursed once a year by the end of November. A single, annual disbursement:

    1. Ensures access to all applicants.

    2. Ensures fairness of disbursements

    3. Ensures that disbursement of fund amounts follow the Collective Agreement and pre-empts overspending that could result in some members not receiving the full eligibility amount, depending on when they apply.

    4. Ensures the fund can cover all applicants, which can only happen at the point of the Local receiving all applications at the same time (i.e., at the end of the academic year).

     

  • The application form will be available online and accessible through the Member Portal only between September 1 and September 30. 
    To find the form, log into the Member Portal. 

    A complete application for the Unit 3 Fund will include: (a) the Unit 3 Fund Application Form, and (b) supporting documentation—this documentation should include receipts/invoices for the expense.

    You will receive an immediate confirmation email for the application you submit.

    PLEASE NOTE: if you do not receive a confirmation email, you did not successfully submit the application.

    If you do not have (a) a membership card (i.e., you do not have a CUPE number, found on the left-hand side of the Portal home page), fill out a Membership Application Form (found on the ‘Forms’ tab). 

    PLEASE NOTE: processing membership applications can take up to one hour. Failure to fill out a membership application in a timely way is not grounds for submitting a late application. If you experience any issues during the application process, please see the for answers to commonly asked questions.

    The application will be available between September 1 and September 30.

Unit 3 Employee and Dependent Hardship Fund (EDHF)

This fund that Unit 3 members won in bargaining has the purpose of addressing urgent special circumstances resulting in financial hardship facing Unit 3 bargaining unit employees and their dependents.

The funding is administered by the Union under two categories. Each year, it is allocated $50,000 in total. To be eligible, a member must have worked at least 34 hours since September 1 of the same academic year, or at least 0.17 FCE (if employed as a Sessional Lecturer) in the bargaining unit, and must have signed their membership card. The EDHF form is accessible to members through the Member Portal (under the Forms dropdown). 

If you have any questions not addressed on this page, or queries about your specific application, contact your Secretary-Treasurer at st@cupe3902.org. 

Urgent Medical Needs

The EDHF does not cover routine medical expenses (e.g., dental cleanings or eye exams), but will assist with urgent and unanticipated medical expenses. 

Applicants must demonstrate that the expense has already been submitted to any other plan (self or spouse/dependent) to which the employee has access, including the employee’s Health Care Spending Account (HCSA), and that the amount being submitted was not covered. Exceptions to this can be made in circumstances where submitting to the HCSA beforehand is prohibitive, provided that the applicant attests that they will not later submit the expense to the HCSA if it is covered by the EDHF.  

Urgent Non-Medical Needs

The EDHF will also cover members with urgent non-medical needs (e.g., emergency child-care, urgent housing issues, homelessness following eviction, etc.).

Examples of ineligible expenses

The EDHF EXCLUDES support of the following payments (not exhaustive):  

  1. Tuition, professional development and other educational expenses

  2. The purchase of computer equipment, electronic devices, appliances, vehicles, and other similar items

  3. The repair of computer equipment, electronic devices, appliances, vehicles, and other similar items

  4. Routine health expenses (e.g., dental cleanings or eye exams)

  5. Regular living expenses

  6. Utility bill payments

  7. Ongoing childcare

  8. Contract expiry or costs related to seasonal or reduced employment

  9. Vacation related expenses 

  10. Credit card payments or other forms of debt servicing

  11. Pet related expenses, except for those related to service animals  

Disbursement amount

The EDHF disburses up to $2000 per member per fund year (September 1 to August 31 of the following year) to reimburse eligible expenses. Multiple applications can be made in one year as long as the $2000 cap has not yet been met. 

Review process

The EDHF review committee (consisting of the Secretary-Treasurer, the President, and the Second Vice President, and up to four member representatives) meets on an as-needed basis to determine whether to approve each claim based on the application criteria. 

Approved amounts will be disbursed via a cheque, which can either be mailed to an address or picked up from the office (depending on officer/staff availability). 

At the end each plan year (September 1 to August 31), monies not spent will be carried forward to the Fund for the following year.

To apply for the EDHF, please log in at the Member Portal, and choose the ‘Unit 3 EDHF Application’ under the ‘Forms’ tab. If you experience any issues during the application process, please see the Fund Application FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.