The labour union CUPE 3903, which represents all teaching assistants and contract faculty, has been on strike for more than three weeks with no signs of reaching an agreement with administrators at Canada’s third-largest university.
All classes at York have been canceled due to the strike, with hundreds of York students turning out to protest. Other undergraduates have turned out to walk the picket lines in support of CUPE. Both UTSU and the Ryerson Students’ Union have bussed supporters to York for CUPE rallies. The Canadian Federation of Students, of which UTSU and RSU are members, traditionally supports CUPE in labour disputes.
The Ministry of Labour has tasked a mediator with helping the two sides settle their differences, but no announcements have been made regarding a return to negotiations or provincial back-to-work legislation.
“We’re hoping to get back to the bargaining table,” said Ministry spokesperson Rob Ashley, who added that mediation is continuing, “with a view to getting [both parties] back to the bargaining table when circumstances warrant.”
Ashley could not speculate as to when this will happen, as that is matter is still up to CUPE and York, and a provincial mediator will not normally make any announcements about ongoing disputes.
Administrators at York have maintained that binding arbitration by a third party is the only way to settle disagreements over the three collective bargaining agreements under renegotiation. CUPE leadership said binding arbitration would serve only the administration’s agenda, and continue to urge the university to return to the bargaining table without an arbitrator.
“There is no way our membership will accept binding arbitration. The only way this will be resolved is through negotiations,” said Rafeef Ziadah, a PhD student and teaching assistant at York.
The York administration has opposed binding arbitration in the past. During a strike by the York University Faculty Association in 1997, the university issued a statement that third-party arbitrators have no reason to bring about a fair settlement, since they “do not have to find the money to meet the costs of their judgments, nor must they live with the impact of their decisions.”
So far, neither side has budged, with CUPE’s demands remaining unchanged and the university unwilling to return to talks without binding assurances. The union is demanding increased job security, improved working conditions including smaller class sizes, and cost-of-living pay adjustments.
Timing is a critical issue in this negotiation. CUPE is pushing for a contract that would expire in 2010, which would allow them to coordinate their next renegotiation with unions at many other universities across Ontario. University administrators throughout the province have been resistant to such a strategy, which is also of great importance at U of T, where TAs make less than those at York. CUPE local 3902 is aiming to reach a new labor agreement this December.
