Strike at York University, Toronto Canada

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Report here:

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2008/11/striking-against-neoliberalism-in.html

Video diaries here:

http://cupestrikevideo.wordpress.com/

[bretty]

I'm a student at York University.

[JorgeLobo]

Children at play.

[bretty]

Children at play.

What do you mean by that?

[JorgeLobo]

Exactly what I said. Immature folks at a paternalistic institute holding their breath until daddy placates. Low to no risk and they can feel so noble.

[#FF0000]

Exactly what I said. Immature folks at a paternalistic institute holding their breath until daddy placates. Low to no risk and they can feel so noble.

Huh. I'm sure that's not a totally baseless statement. I mean it's not like students can be expelled or anything like that.

Do you feel the same way about workers striking?

[bretty]

it's all the teachers assistants and the contract professors etc. that are fighting for better wages.. currently they get paid 30% below poverty level. The TA's actually have really low job security.

[JorgeLobo]

I do have sympathy for real workers - those in industries where they and their families are at risk and face peril when they strike.

"Fighting" for better wages - love that oh-so-noble characterization of whining. Whereas those mentioned above have to show up and work and produce every day and for the proscribed hours, academia is a casual endeavor, esp. in context of TA's. The only thing they're long on is polemics- certainly not real world risk.

[bretty]

I do have sympathy for real workers - those in industries where they and their families are at risk and face peril when they strike.

"Fighting" for better wages - love that oh-so-noble characterization of whining. Whereas those mentioned above have to show up and work and produce every day and for the proscribed hours, academia is a casual endeavor, esp. in context of TA's. The only thing they're long on is polemics- certainly not real world risk.

Buddy your concept of what a TA does is wack. They are paid 30% below poverty. in 2001 the school took away their right to keep their job for 5 years and now they have to reapply annually. They lost benefits as well. And the amount of work they do is ridiculous. Suggesting that it is a casual endeavour is absurd. I can understand why you've been restricted.. a few other comments like the one above would certainly do it.

[genstrike]

You know, I have a feeling that due to tensions created by neoliberalism, we might see universities across Canada explode within the next few years. I mean, at my university students are losing the tuition freeze, and workers had just gone through a tough strike last year.

The big question is whether we can have the student-labour solidarity to make something big happen (of course, that also depends on the class of the students themselves), or if the forces of capital are successful in preventing and breaking that solidarity by playing students and workers off each other. Also, I think we would need to see some real solid organizing on campus with regards to student unions and student federations such as the CFS. Don't get me wrong, I like my student union, but sometimes they are too focused on things other than political organizing, and what organizing they do do is usually rather tame (although I have to admit it has gotten a lot better in the last few months, since "the betrayal" of the provincial NDP). Of course, I live in a province where the NDP is in power and the CFS is a bit of an NDP farm team.

[Lenin's Law]

I couldn't agree more with the comment by Genstrike - the current situation for many TAs is one of scandalous exploitation where more and more of the hard-work of teaching, grading and even research in some cases is being put on the shoulders of temporary TA and GA with no job security and no benefits. Students (as well as would-be students) are also hurting from the spikes in tuition making university education more and more out of reach for working people. The situation is indeed becoming ripe for a mass workers-students movement as already starting to develop in many countries: Spain, Italy, Germany, etc.

The comments by Jorge Lobo in contrast are pretty disgusting and anti-worker: Yes educating the future generation is a "casual" and "non-serious endeavor", spoken like a true right-wing demagogue.

If anyone is interested you can show your support for the union by writing to this address below:



*Solidarity Campaign – York University Strikers Must
> Win!*
> http://www.marxist.ca/content/view/394/1/ (http://www.marxist.ca/content/view/394/1/)
>
> Teaching assistants, graduate assistants and research
> assistants at York University in Toronto have been on strike
> since November 6th. The political impact of this strike is
> in many ways far more important than the actual bargaining
> issues. York University workers, represented by the Canadian
> Union of Public Employees local 3903, have traditionally
> been amongst the most militant in Canada. The York contract
> is a model for all university workers. Many of these workers
> are also students and therefore the victory of this strike
> is a victory in the fight for free accessible education for
> working class students. Thousands of students recently
> demonstrated for lower fees in numbers not seen in a decade
> and many other campus workers are heading into possible
> strikes. Therefore this strike has the potential of becoming
> the spark that ignites a generalized movement.
>
> The York University administration recognizes the
> significance of this strike and is backed up by every other
> university president and the corporate media to make an
> example of the York workers. They are calling on the
> government to legislate the workers back to work and impose
> binding arbitration – much like that which was imposed on
> University of British Columbia TAs back in 2003. As well as
> being a fight for decent wages and conditions, the right to
> free collective bargaining is on the line.
>
> Fightback is distributing the below statement to build
> support for the strike. We call on workers, students and
> trade unionists to support the strikers of CUPE 3903 by
> sending letters of support to the following address:
>
> [email protected] (http://us.mc576.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected])
>
> Please copy your message to [email protected] (http://us.mc576.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]) and
> mention that you heard of this struggle through Fightback,
> www.marxist.ca (http://www.marxist.ca/).

[The Intransigent Faction]

Buddy your concept of what a TA does is wack. They are paid 30% below poverty. in 2001 the school took away their right to keep their job for 5 years and now they have to reapply annually. They lost benefits as well. And the amount of work they do is ridiculous. Suggesting that it is a casual endeavour is absurd. I can understand why you've been restricted.. a few other comments like the one above would certainly do it.

I don't know where everyone from high school went, but I may know a few people who went to York University. I had no idea that teaching assistants were paid that poorly! That's outrageous.

I'll be heading off, pending acceptance, to the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus next fall. I'll certainly throw my support behind such a similar move by unions there.
Not to mention the tuition fees.
Considering the necessity for university degrees in terms of reaching a fairly decent standard of living, I find it surprising that they haven't already been nationalized under pressure here in Canada like the public/Catholic system here.
I know a few students at the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus, and will urge them to do the same.


They are paid 30% below poverty.

I don't doubt the truth of this statement, but could you provide a source, please? That might help me if it comes up in a discussion.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how many university students here will sympathize. With tuition fees high as they are, I've heard more comments from students focused on their own feeling that they've been cheated out of an expensive education.