York U Students Fret About Possibility Of Class-Cancelling Strike
Posted November 4, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
York University classes could be cancelled come Thursday if teaching assistants and other temporary staffers opt to go on strike.
Last month more than 3,200 workers at the school voted 86 percent in favour of a walkout if no deal is reached by November 2. That was extended to 12:01am Thursday (November 6) but according to reports not much progress has been made between the two sides. The main issues according to the union are job security, wages and benefits.
The school’s Dean of Arts Robert Drummond argued the union’s demand for a more than 30 per cent wage increase over two years is ‘unrealistic’ given the current state of the economy. (The union has since negotiated down to a 7 percent increase in the first year and 4 percent for cost of living.)
Drummond admits if a strike happens classes would be cancelled for the school’s 50,000 pupils. He adds though that the term would be made up at a later date.
The chief negotiator for CUPE Local 3903, Graham Potts, says the union is trying to bring back special renewable contracts, taken away in 2000. Drummond maintains the school can’t afford the contracts.
Unionized employees went on strike for 78 days in 2000, costing the university $5 million and angering students who were then forced to make up the lost time.
File photo
