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November 22, 2024

YUFA’s Fall General Membership Meeting (GMM)

YUFA’s Fall General Membership Meeting (GMM) took place on November 19.  More than 210 members attended.

The meeting included a discussion of YUFA’s financial situation in light of actions by the Employer – including refusals to discuss simple complaints in dispute resolution committees – that have increased the association’s costs related to arbitration and legal fees. Members noted the importance of YUFA’s having a sound financial footing and the budget steps YUFA is taking.  

The membership approved a motion on scholasticide. The motion calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Lebanon, and an end to the ongoing scholasticide in Gaza. The motion also calls for a YUFA as well as York University-wide audit of financial holdings and investments followed by a divestment campaign from all companies and financial institutions contributing to the occupation of Palestinian territory and the war there. The full text of the motion is as follows:

In light of the ongoing escalation of violence in Gaza, and more recently Lebanon and the West Bank, and in response to the Unified Call for Justice and Freedom issued by Palestinian higher education institutions in November 2023, and the open letter [see letter below] by Gaza academics and university administrators to the world – urging global solidarity – YUFA members recognize their responsibility to act. Since October 2023, Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza has resulted in more than 42,000 Palestinians dead, including at least 411 teachers, 95 university professors, and three university presidents, and over 100, 000 thousand wounded or missing. This has been described as “scholasticide,” the systematic destruction of Palestinian education by the Israeli state. While global calls for an enduring ceasefire have grown over the last year, Israel has continued its military assault, now expanding its war to Lebanon, the West Bank, Syria and beyond.

Today, every university in Gaza has been destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, leaving a devastating impact on students, faculty, and staff members. Approximately 85% of schools have been damaged. Furthermore, much of Gaza’s cultural and heritage institutions and civil infrastructure have been decimated. This targeted Israeli campaign against Gazan academic institutions is part of a larger war, which the International Court of Justice has found presents a real and imminent risk of genocide in Gaza; many leading Holocaust and genocide scholars agree. The severity of destruction to human life as well as to cultural and educational institutions necessitates a resolute response from academics and academic institutions worldwide.

The York University Faculty Association thus:

    • Calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Lebanon, and an end to the ongoing scholasticide;
    • Calls for a York University-wide audit of financial holdings and investments followed by a divestment campaign from all companies and financial institutions contributing to the occupation of Palestinian territory and war;
    • Calls on York University, as well as individual academic units, departments, and faculties, to establish academic partnerships with Palestinian universities and scholars, to enable and support educational opportunities in a region besieged by scholasticide;
    • Calls on York University to strengthen and expand initiatives to host and fund Palestinian students and scholars through the Scholars at Risk Program and similar programs;
    • Calls for York University to end all cooperation with Israeli academic and cultural institutions contributing to the ongoing war and occupation.

The York University Faculty Association instructs the YUFA executive to:

    • Begin an immediate, full and transparent audit of YUFA’s investments and financial ties to all institutions and corporations contributing to occupation and war;
    • Based on the audit’s findings, begin a process of divestment from any investments and other financial holdings from all companies contributing to Israeli military industries, as well as the on-going occupation;
    • Support the rights of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students, faculty, and staff engaged in peaceful protests against the ongoing Israeli assault on the Palestinian territory and Lebanon.

Professor Kym Bird provided an update on the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) Defence Fund. The Fund provides financial assistance to Canadian academic member staff unions dealing with strikes or lockouts. YUFA is a member of the Fund and appoints three of its Directors.

Professor Joel Ong, co-chair of the YUFA Community Projects Committee (YUFA-CP), provided an update on its activities. The mandate of YUFA-CP is to facilitate YUFA’s work with community groups to promote engaged citizenship through access and equity programs, and to undertake community-based research. Members approved a motion advising the YUFA Trust and YUFA Foundation to continue funding for YUFA-CP for the next three years (at $130,000 per year).

After the YUFA GMM,  the YUFA Trust  held a meeting. The YUFA Trust Fund was formed in 1982 to receive the YUFA bargaining unit portion of the Employment Insurance rebates granted to York University because YUFA’s long-term disability plan duplicates some aspects of the government’s Employment Insurance plan. This original investment means that the Trust now has assets of $1.25 million and its earnings help to support the YUFA Community Projects Committee (YUFA-CP).