From: Caroline New <c.new-AT-bathspa.ac.uk>
Subject: BHA: Re: TOTAL VICTORY
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 09:52:31 -0000


This is wonderful news, Ruth!  You are a great model to all us academics to
remain aware that we are workers and use collective action instead of
individual whingeing or crawling... at our place, and in the 'new
university' sector in Britain generally, we are currently involved in
'action short of a strike' (boycotting formal assessment procedures) to try
to stop our salaries falling in real terms as they do every year, and to
retain national bargaining on pay and conditions of work, instead of
becoming a fragmented and stratified HE system as in the USA.  Alas, we are
already divided from the Assoc. of Univ. Teachers who are the union for the
'old' universities, because they have different contracts which don't
mention 'conditions of service' (those are covered instead by a sort of
professional 'gentleman's agreement') so they are not taking action.
I sometimes get frustrated at CR conferences when people use a lot of left
wing rhetoric but don't seem to use their analysis to reflect on their own
position and what is happening in our sector, as if CR theory could replace
activism as a source of  change... At our place a lecturer has just been
sacked, despite great struggles by us in the union, because of an anonymous
letter by a student accusing him of bullying.  The evidence was scanty and
the procedures were all flouted, but he had no employment rights because he
was new.  We are workers, it's a useful reminder.
Congratulations again and thanks for telling us, Caroline


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ruth Groff" <rgroff-AT-yorku.ca>
To: <bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 4:50 PM
Subject: BHA: TOTAL VICTORY


> Hi guys,
>
> I just wanted to send an update to let you know that after 11 weeks and
> every single strike breaking tactic our university could dream up
(including
> a forced ratification vote on their supposed final offer), we WON our
strike!
>
> We won every single thing that we wanted, beyond our wildest dreams.  Once
> their forced vote failed, they found themselves in danger of losing the
> school year (as a result of having refused to bargain for almost three
> months).  It took them 4 more days, but they caved.
>
> The key political issue was around tuition (which in Canada is not covered
> for grad students as part of an over-all financial package, as is common
in
> the US).  We won a dollar for dollar increase in wages to match any
tuition
> increase during the life of the contract.  This is unprecedented contract
> language in our sector.
>
> In the end we had the active support of the major industrial unions (the
> auto workers and steel workers, among others, were out on our lines in
force
> the day after we defeated the forced vote) and were even huge, front page
> news three or four days running.  And we won.
>
> Relieved and proud in Toronto,
> r.
>
>
>
>
>
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>



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