Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 17:53:20 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: email protest info in support of U of T grad strike


Dear Sister Kelley -

On behalf of the Strike Committee of the Canadian
Union of Public Employees Local 3902 University of
Toronto I'd like to thank you and the Method & Theory
listserv community for your help during our recent
struggle. (And Ken's freezing ass probably appreciates
it too!! He is my colleague at the Centre for the
Study of Religion, UofT.)

As you are probably by now aware, after our call for
assistance went out the province called both parties
back to the bargaining table and as a result of
negotiations, a tentative agreement was ratified by
our membership on Wednesday last (62.4% in favour;
37.6% against; 1233 voting out of approx 2300). The
turnout for this ratification was the largest in our
Local's 25 year history.

While the agreement does address some of our Local's
concerns, the main issues of wage parity with other
area universities as well as tuition relief were not
adequately addressed. The university admin here has
appointed a task force on graduate funding, so we will
see, I suppose. Nonetheless, many of our members,
myself included, are distrustful of both the
administration and their task forces (there have been
about 3 this decade, with no implementation of
findings). Myself and others on the Strike Committee
also feel that a fundamental issue of the strike was
not addressed, namely, that UofT insists on treating
TA appointments as a supplement to funding rather than
as work.

A letter of support sent to the administration,
perhaps censuring them for their recent behaviour
(lock-out; "restructuring"/firing our members;
threatened expulsions for an occupation) as well as
calling upon them to deal fairly with grad students
during the Orchard Task Force period, would be greatly
appreciated:

President Robert Prichard
Simcoe Hall
27 King's College Circle
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON, Canada M4W 2A8

email: president-AT-utoronto.ca
phone: 416.978.4865

Copies of correspondence can be sent to:

info-AT-cupe3902.org

or:

Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 3902
229 College St., Suite 304
Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 1R4

Many of our members are now feeling demoralized; your
support in this matter helps. The strike has been a
bitter one, and support like yours prevented a hostile
administration from breaking our Local. On behalf of
the Strike Committee, we thank you.

Yours in solidarity,

Stephan Dobson
Strike Co-ordinator
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Local 3902, University of Toronto

"Universities work because we do."

--- kelley <oudies-AT-flash.net> wrote:
> 
> m & t listers,
> 
> your esteemed list owner, ken mackendrick, is
> freezing his behind off in
> toronto lately because he's involved in a strike. 
> what followers is
> information about the strike for those who might be
> interested in helping
> out in ways other than engaging in the email protest
> directed at U of T
> president Prichard and HR VP, Finlayson who had the
> audacity to wear a
> cowboy hat to a meeting with the grad students who'd
> shut down a building
> where he proceeded to order them arrested. 
> fortunately, the union's legal
> eagles got them out of that nightmare.  at any rate,
> please do what you can
> and forward this info along to your departments, to
> you university grad
> student orgs and unions, and any other lists that
> you think might have
> subscribers who would be interested.
> 
> also, if you are a harvard alum or know harvard alum
> or even boston area
> university alums it can't hurt to email them this
> information as well.  U
> of T's president, Pritchard, is leaving his post to
> take one at Harvard.
> It certainly can't hurt to make folks in the Boston
> area aware of this so
> they, if they're inclined, might put pressure on
> Harvard.  these grads are
> going to get fired monday unless they sign, so at
> this point i don't think
> anything can really make matters worse!
> 
> further below you will find an update from Robin
> Griller on things you can
> do to help support the strikers as well as an update
> on what's been happening.
> 
> if you send a mail to the prichard and finlayson
> then please also cc it to
> CUPE, address below
> thanks,
> 
> kelley 
> p u l p  c u l t u r e
> a list for the discussion of 
> media, culture and politics
> http://www.flash.net/~oudies/pulp_culture.htm
> 
> President Robert Pritchard
> <president-AT-utoronto.ca>
> 
> Michael Finlayson, VP Administration, Human
> Resources
> <michael.finlayson-AT-utoronto.ca>
> Adel Sedra, Vp and Provost
> <adel.sedra-AT-utoronto.ca>
> 416-978-2122
> 
> Bob Rae, Governor
> <raeb-AT-tor.gpv.org>
> 
> Please send copies of e-mail to <info-AT-cupe3902.org>
> 
> 
> You can
> visit the TA's web site <www.cupe3902.org> for
> information and sample
> letters.
> 
> ----fwd----
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> As you may have heard we the teaching assistants at
> University of
> Toronto have been on strike for over two weeks now.
> The central issue is
> tuition waivers. Given that the average ta earns
> $4,100, it becomes very
> difficult to pay the $5200 tuition. Unlike big
> american universities, U
> of T teaching assistants must pay full tuition. The
> administration is
> fighting a nasty fight. First they cancelled courses
> taught by graduate
> students, then they tried to get the faculty to
> restructure their
> courses to eliminate our work. When faculty
> resisted, they decided to
> hire scabs and eliminate us. At the most recent
> negotiating session,
> they kept our bargaining team there for 12 hours
> before they announced
> their new offer, which was worse than the offer we
> rejected before the
> strike. As part of this offer, they informed us that
> if we do not accept
> the offer by February 1st, they will fire all of us.
> 
> The university of Toronto senior administration
> thinks that it is
> perfectly acceptable for it to treat its staff like
> dog shit on their
> shoes and we could use help in our dispute. There
> are a number of ways
> that people can help:
> 
> (1) Phone the President, Robert Prichard,
> (416)978-2121 and Provost,
> Adel Sedra, (416) 978-2122 to let them know that you
> are disgusted with
> the university's behaviour. Let them know that if
> students get degrees
> without their teaching assistants (we do 40% of the
> teaching at U of T)
> they will not be getting a proper education (the
> University is
> pressuring faculty to make their courses all
> multiple choice) and that,
> as a result, U of T degrees will have to be looked
> at with scepticism
> should the strike not be settled;
> 
> (2) Also let them know that you may have to consider
> advising students
> who are considering attending U of T as graduate
> students that they may
> well be better off accepting offers from other
> universities. It is quite
> possible that this dispute will be an extended one
> and that incoming
> students next fall could be walking into the
> dispute; this would not be
> a good way to start a graduate program.
> 
> (3) Please ask your academic associations, graduate
> student
> associations, faculty associations/unions,
> departments, etc. to
> officially censure the University of Toronto for its
> behaviour. Follow
> this up with official open letters to the university
> administration.
> 
> (4) If you are scheduled to speak at the University
> of Toronto this
> term, please inform them that you will not speak on
> campus for the
> duration of the strike.
> 
> (5) If you are a University of Toronto alumnus,
> please inform the
> university that this dispute may lead you to have to
> reconsider future
> donations to the university. This is very important;
> the administration
> here cares about only one thing, other than their
> own paycheques, and
> that is the size of their endowment fund. Hit them
> where it hurts.
> 
> I am not an official of the union (our local is the
> Canadian Union of
> Public Employees local 3902), just a teaching
> assistant at university of
> toronto who is sick of being treated like dirt. 
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Robin Griller
> 
> 
> kelley
> p u l p  c u l t u r e
> http://www.flash.net/~oudies/pulp_culture.htm
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

====Stephan Dobson
Strike Co-ordinator
CUPE Local 3902, University of Toronto
info-AT-cupe3902.org
sdobson-AT-chass.utoronto.ca
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