Statement from GFWS CUPE 3903 Stewards
As of Feb 23rd, members of CUPE 3903 Units 1, 2, and 3 have voted to strike effective Monday Feb 26th. This is in response to the failure of the University to address the affordability crisis and basic needs of the 3000 contract lecturers, TAs, and GAs that are part of the Local. An opening rally for the strike will begin Monday Feb 26th at 11am outside the York University subway station, any who wish to support CUPE 3903 and stand in solidarity are welcome to attend. TBLGAY's drop-in space has also been closed in solidarity with the strike. Links for members about strike pay and alternative duties (if requiring accommodations for engaging in picket duties) are listed below under 'resources'.
The current crisis of affordability, quoting CUPE 3903's Communications Officer Erin McIntosh in our media release, "[is] also affecting the quality of education, as academic workers forced to take additional jobs or live farther from campus to meet basic needs are less able to support students' needs," (full media release can be found here). The current situation is a byproduct of the calamitous, and unconstitutional, Bill124 passed by the Ford government to break the strike of 2018. The CUPE 3903 bargaining team has proposed salary increases (supported by precedents with other unions in the sector such as those at UofT) and backpay for workers to address the effects of the unconstitutional Bill124 and respond at least partially to the crisis of inflation which has increased cost of living expenses for members by 15%. The University has rejected this, despite pushing forward massive increases to the size of the senior administrative team by 37% and increase to senior admin pay by an overall 47% as noted in the Auditor-General's report (quoted in the Toronto Star here). The University has also refused to meaningfully address proposals by the bargaining team to protect workers rights from harassment, discrimination, and censor.
The University's behaviour is a gesture of contempt for CUPE 3903 employees, who are struggling to financially survive, AND York University students who rely on CUPE 3903 workers to provide them with meaningful and transformative educational experiences that will impact their careers and personal development. From our perspective as members of GFWS, these responses to issues of pay and worker protections are especially egregious as they are also going to disproportionately affect those who are most vulnerable due to intersecting positions of class, Canadian citizenship status, sexuality, gender, racial/ethnic/religious identity,and (dis)ability. CUPE 3903's labour struggle is an inseparable component of feminist praxis and GFWS's goal; "to provide rigorous interdisciplinary training that provides students with the tools to enact social transformation in theory and praxis and enables students to conduct research and analysis both within and outside academia".
The CUPE 3903 Stewards for GFWS are Johnathan Clancy and Steff Mendolia. If GFWS members have any questions or concerns about the strike, how it may affect you, or what you can do to support the strike, please feel free to contact either of us. We will either be able to answer your questions or direct you to someone who can.
In solidarity,
Johnathan Clancy (he/him)
GFWS Steward, Strike Coordinator, Disputes Sub-Committee Member
jdclancy221@gmail.com
Steff Mendolia (they/them)
Steff.Juniper@gmail.com
CUPE 3903 GFWSSA Steward Unit 1
Resources
Alternate Duties Application form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdb5NRhCOYfiw5Rq7BBMruS5B_kImKHRvwppSUxli0BDbhvrA/viewform
Strike Pay Application form:
https://form.jotform.com/240384775060053
Strike FAQ General:
https://3903.cupe.ca/2024/02/14/strike-faq-2024/
Strike FAQ International Students:
https://3903.cupe.ca/2024/02/19/strike-faq-for-international-students/
CUPE 3903 Bargaining team info and Proposals: