Prior to the certification by the Ontario Labour Relations Board in 1974, graduate employees in Canada had no representation in negotiating the terms and conditions of work.
[citation needed] However, the National Union had entered a financial and leadership crisis which resulted in merger discussions with CUPE.
[citation needed] Starting in 1997, the Union began to work with non-student instructional staff to join CUPE 3902.
After two applications, and an extended process in front of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, sessionals finally certified in the summer of 2004.
The Union worked with contract instructional staff at Victoria University, successfully certifying in the summer of 2004.
[1][4][5][6] As a union benefit, guaranteed gross annual salaries are $15,000 for research stream PhD students[1] and $34,000 for postdoctoral fellows in 2018.
For context, the estimated cost of living in Toronto is about $42,584 or about $55,500 before income taxes for renters who take public transit.