“We don’t want to strike, but we will if we have to”

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902 has begun preparing for a potential strike.

The union represents some 7,000 teaching assistants (TAs), sessional instructors, and other staff at the University of Toronto.

In a frequently asked questions page on their website, CUPE 3902 say that they had been “stonewalled” in their attempts to bargain with university administration.

“Our message throughout has been: we don’t want to strike, but we will if we have to,” says Thomas Laughlin, a CUPE bargaining steward.

Such strike action could have dramatic effects. All TAs, course instructors, and even sessional instructors may walk out and join picket lines around campus. Classes could be cancelled and buildings could be closed.

In 2008, York University experienced a strike that lasted 11 weeks, effectively shutting down the school for half the year. Classes were instead extended into the summer months.

The union is encouraging students to speak to their TAs and ask questions.  “Certainly, students have a right to disagree with their TAs on any of these issues without being punished or penalized in any way, so I hope [undergraduate students] will not hesitate to talk to us about their questions and concerns,” says Mike Ruecker, also a bargaining steward.

FROZEN BELOW THE POVERTY LINE?

Due to the current funding package, many CUPE members are living below the poverty line, Laughlin says.

“The highest priorities for the members are financial, since our current funding levels are well below the poverty line,” Ruecker explains.

It is part of CUPE 3902’s mandate to seek financial improvements for its members, including increases in wages and benefits.

Laughlin claims that U of T is following an Ontario government policy of “net-zero compensation increase,” that wages have been frozen, and that the administration is refusing to consider any increase at all.

In the meantime, union members are standing strongly together on the matter. “There is currently a lot of solidarity around our financial proposal,” Laughlin says. “We have spent months surveying and meeting with members in different departments around the university and there is a shared sense that student-workers at Toronto need better support.”

“We haven’t been on strike since 2000. We are not a strike-happy union,” says Ryan Culpepper, vice-chair of CUPE Units 1 and 2. “It’s not a good thing for anyone, but we can’t go on with no contract or allow cuts to wages.”

According to Culpepper, there has been “no movement on major issues” from the university. In the next round of bargaining, the union wants to see that change.

THE BARGAINING PROCESS

Negotiations have been ongoing since April 2014, when the contract for CUPE 3902 expired. U of T administrators have been meeting with union officials on a monthly basis, but that has not provided enough time to settle any bargains, according to Culpepper.

CUPE 3902 is organized into five different units. Unit 1, which represents TAs and course instructors, held a vote in November where over 90 per cent of the union voted yes to granting union leadership a strike mandate.

On January 26, members of Unit 1 will meet and vote on a strike deadline.

Unit 3 represents sessional instructors and will hold its strike mandate vote from January 20 to 23.

Just before the winter break, Unit 5, representing post-doctoral fellows, reached a tentative settlement with the university.

After voting from January 8 to 12, 72 per cent of the union voted to ratify the agreement with U of T’s Governing Council.

Provincial Conciliation was filed for on December 12.

The conciliation process involves bringing in a conciliation officer appointed by the Ontario government.

While the conciliation officer’s decisions are not binding, such meetings are a legal requirement before either side can initiate labour action.

The first conciliation meeting is scheduled for January 27 with negotiations between the union and Governing Council expected to last for the next month. The university has scheduled dates to meet with both Units 1 and 3 and is remaining optimistic.

Althea Blackburn-Evans, U of T’s director of news and media relations, says that the university’s goal is to work towards renewal collective agreements that are mutually acceptable.

“The University continues to be engaged in CUPE 3902 Units 1 and 3 and dates are scheduled to meet with both bargaining units over the next several weeks,” she says.