A photo of the glass façade of Kaneff Tower, with the name of the building visibly displayed (credit: The Excalibur)
The York Cross-Campus Alliance (CCA) is worried by the University's recent open letter to members of CUPE 3903 at the start of the local's strike mandate vote.
On January 19, 2018, the University issued an "open letter" signed by the interim Vice-President Academic & Provost that was directed at members of CUPE 3903, an attempt to intervene in the union's internal democratic processes. Littered with inaccuracies, the letter fails to acknowledge the concessions that the administration is seeking from CUPE 3903 and ignores the issues of precarious labour and union-busting that CUPE 3903 has been trying to address. (Read CUPE 3903's response here.)
The CCA worries that interventions such as these erode trust between the parties and undermine the conditions required to achieve a fair settlement. As other employee groups on campus prepare to enter into bargaining with the University, we wonder if this is a sign of what to expect in the year ahead.
There have already been two strikes at York in the last 12 months—by food service workers and Ontario college faculty—and three more bargaining units will see their contracts expire in the first half of 2018.
We remain committed to the principles of fair collective bargaining, and to our shared goal of improving the learning and work environments at York University. We believe that York must play its part in cultivating positive labour relations on campus, and take seriously the concerns of those whose work allows the University to function and succeed.
We call on the University to spend more time on focusing its attention at the bargaining table, and less on trying to sway the outcome of the union's democratic strike vote.
The York Cross-Campus Alliance represents tens of thousands of students, staff, and faculty at York University. The Cross-Campus Alliance includes:
- CUPE 1356
- CUPE 3903
- OPSEU 578
- York Federation of Students
- York University Faculty Association
- York University Graduate Students' Association
- York University Staff Association
For more information, please email [email protected].