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, 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.
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 EDH Fund EXCLUDES support of the following payments (not exhaustive):
- Tuition, professional development and other educational expenses
- The purchase of computer equipment, electronic devices, appliances, vehicles, and other similar items
- The repair of computer equipment, electronic devices, appliances, vehicles, and other similar items
- Routine health expenses (e.g., dental cleanings or eye exams)
- Regular living expenses
- Utility bill payments
- Ongoing childcare
- Contract expiry or costs related to seasonal or reduced employment
- Vacation related expenses
- Credit card payments or other forms of debt servicing
- 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.