1. Solidarity picket Monday, March 4, from 12-2pm Main Gate (Keele)
You are invited to join the picket line, at the main entrance off Keele Street, on Monday March 4th between 12.00 noon to 1.30 pm to show support for CUPE 3903.
Professor Patrick Phillips, YUFA Vice President External, will be attending the rally carrying the YUFA banner. He will serve as the rally point for YUFA colleagues.
2. Decanal approval on course suspension
As the CUPE 3903 strike extends past six days, Senate Executive will issue a new communication to indicate that a Long Disruption has occurred (Art. 3.3 of the Senate Policy on Academic Implications of Disruptions or Cessations of University Business Due to Labour Disputes or Other Causes).
If YUFA members assess that suspending courses beyond six days is necessary to protect academic integrity, YUFA’s formal position is that this information should be communicated to the Dean/Principal in accordance with Article 11 (“Professional Responsibilities”) of the Collective Agreement, but that there is no requirement for decanal approval.
We encourage YUFA members to follow Senate policy in that their only consideration should be their individual judgment on academic integrity of their classes. If you provided your Dean/Principal with a rationale based on academic integrity and pedagogical grounds but have been directed by your Dean/Principal to continue a course, YUFA advises these members to comply with management directives and to contact YUFA immediately to initiate the complaints procedure under Article 9 of the collective agreement. YUFA will vigorously defend any member who has been challenged or questioned by their Dean/Principal regarding their approach to the disruption brought about by the CUPE 3903 strike. To be clear, YUFA opposes the Employer’s bold managerial overreach in unilaterally rejecting a members’ academic and pedagogical rationale for course suspension without guidance from the Senate. A policy grievance was filed on Friday, March 1.
3. YUFA and other unions send proposal to President Lenton to resolve retroactive pay
From 2021 to the present, compensation increases for YUFA members were limited to 1% each year due to Bill 124. Now that the Bill has been found unconstitutional and has been repealed by the Ontario government, YUFA and other campus unions have proposed multi-party interest arbitration to the Employer to quickly and fairly settle matters related to retroactive pay.
The letter with the proposal that was forwarded to President Lenton can be found here.
YUFA will inform members of the response from the Employer.