U of T’s sessional instructors have given their union, CUPE 3902, the option of calling a strike if negotiations with the university are not successful. Last week, members voted in favour of a strike mandate by 70 per cent. While the approved strike mandate is a bargaining chip for the union, it does not necessarily mean a strike will be called.
Unit 3 of CUPE 3902 represents sessional lecturers, sessional instructional assistants, and writing and music instructors, who make up around 30 per cent of U of T instructors. The union and the university began negotiations in August.
Job security and wages are the main bargaining points: CUPE 3902 wants a “rolling commitment,” where a course contract would lead to three more equivalent contracts in the following three years. The union is asking for an eight per cent raise per year for the next two years. Bargaining spokesperson Leslie Jermyn said a 3.5 per cent raise accounts for a basic increase, and the remaining 4.5 per cent is for a “market increase,” based on what workers at other universities are paid. “Most of our workers would still make less than those at York, but we’d get closer,” Jermyn said. U of T has yet to provide a counteroffer.
The union also wants U of T to set aside funds for research grants for sessionals, and allow them to apply for internal funding.
“A strike is that last resort and not what we want for our members or the university community,” said Jermyn. U of T spokesperson Laurie Stephens expressed the same sentiment. “The university remains committed to reaching a responsive but responsible agreement with our CUPE colleagues,” she said.
Last year, a three-month strike at York shut down the university. The strike halted classes for 50,000 students when around 3,000 teaching assistants, contract faculty, and researchers walked off the job. The strike ended in January when the provincial government issued back-to work legislation.
According to Stephens, the conditions of the York University strike last year are vastly different from U of T’s situation. The York strike involved a larger group of sessional workers as well as teaching assistants, while U of T is dealing mainly with sessional instructors and contract workers.
Negotiations are ongoing, and a third-party conciliator will keep working with both parties to reach an agreement. The next bargaining date is Friday, Oct. 16.
