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The Toronto Star
Wed 05 Nov 2008
Byline: Louise Brown
Source: Toronto Star
Just weeks away from its 50th anniversary, York University faces a strike by part-time workers tomorrow that would cancel all classes for undergraduates.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees will decide late tonight whether to walk off the job at midnight in rejection of the university’s latest offer of a 9.25 per cent increase over three years for the 3,350 contract faculty, teaching assistants and graduate researchers.
“It’s regrettable and disturbing to have a strike disrupt classes,” said dean of arts Robert Drummond last night, noting the stoppage still could be avoided if union members agree today to seek binding arbitration to settle unresolved issues.
“But if the strike goes ahead, our only hope is to make it as short as possible,” he said, adding the university will attempt to make up any time lost, possibly by stretching the term into December vacation.
York, Canada’s third-largest university with 50,000 students, has said it will cancel classes for all undergraduates rather than face the confusion it went through seven years ago during an 11-week strike by the same union, when some classes were on and some were not. That strike caused York to cancel winter
“Reading Week” to allow students to make up classes.
CUPE 3903 has been seeking a two-year contract, with a wage hike of 7 per cent in the first year and 4 per cent in the second year to help raise pay scales to the poverty line, said negotiator Graham Potts. Graduate student teaching assistants earn less than $1,000 a month and work about 10 hours a week, he said, while all members have seen their benefits shrink from being split among a growing number of workers.
Sid Ryan, president of CUPE Ontario, said yesterday he would like to see the province take over much of the bargaining for all universities, the way it has with the province’s school boards. Ryan said that would be more efficient, considering the province provides the bulk of funding for universities.
“No question it would increase our bargaining strength, but it also would provide universities with economies of scale to be able to use one carrier for insurance and health benefits for all universities in Ontario,” said Ryan yesterday. He said CUPE Ontario will be making a formal proposal soon to Queen’s Park for such province-wide bargaining.
Hamid Osman, president of York’s student union, said he supports CUPE‘s demands, because “even though a strike will hurt 50,000 students, they deserve a wage that’s at least at the poverty line. After all, undergraduates like us will be the teaching assistants of the future.”
But Drummond said the university has “made what we consider a reasonable offer; comparable with settlements ratified by other unions at York.”
The union that represents York’s maintenance workers reached a tentative three-year deal last Friday that provides a 9.25 per cent raise over three years.
York students are urged to check the website (yorku.ca) for updates on the strike tonight and tomorrow.
