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Most of our readers would be aware of the ongoing strike at York University led by CUPE 3903. York administrators have also indicated serious financial difficulties.
What people may not have realized is that the strike also affects law students at Osgoode Hall.
A second-year Osgoode student, Thomas Wisdom, shares the challenges some of his peers are facing,
First- and second-year students with summer jobs: A lot of people are ecstatic about the fact that they will be gainfully employed at law firms in the summer months… [but] they face the frustration of renegotiation start dates with their employers.
Daniel Simard, also in his second year, points out how graduating students are also impacted,
…third year students could potentially be detrimentally impacted if they have to complete their studies well into the month of May; the period perennially allotted for the fulfillment and preparation of licensing requirements mandated by the Law Society of Upper Canada, including Bar Admissions.
Parents and students have also expressed that the reputation of York University, and by extension, Osgoode Hall, may be affected.
But do all these concerns give a right to sue? The Globe & Mail mentioned yesterday that some of the families are considering a class-action lawsuit against both York University and the union.
See the rest of the post at Slaw; Simon Fodden points out that classes have resumed at Osgoode, but could a cause of action be made in the future, depending on the fallout from these students’ legal careers?
UWO Strike Averted
A strike at the University of Western Ontario has been averted after the school reached an agreement with the union.
The bizarre union – International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 772 – is comprised of only 10 members. These 10 employees run the obsolete steam plant which heats both Western and University Hospital. They also keep the tunnels beneath the school nice and toasty warm.
An email was sent to Western students earlier this week to warn of a possible strike and to set out steps to help students avoid disruption of classes and transportation networks. Local 772 would have been in a legal position to strike as of midnight tonight.
Fortunately, Western News reports that a tentative collective bargaining agreement has now been reached, subject to ratification by the Board of Governors.
No word yet on York’s ongoing battle with its TA/Grad Student/Contract Faculty union. It’s an issue we’ve been following for some time now.
See e.g.:
- “We Object!” – The Impossibility of Satisfying Everybody – Dec. 1, 2008
- Classes Resume at Osgoode Hall – Nov. 26, 2008
- CUPE 3903 Strike Update from Osgoode – Nov. 20, 2008
- The Privileged and the Impoverished: Now One and the Same? – Nov. 10, 2008
- Strike Confirmed at York – Nov. 6, 2008
- Yet Another Strike at York University (and Osgoode Hall)? – Nov. 2, 2008
Strike Three – Now It’s Western U at the Bat
Usually one two universities on strike is enough for a semester. We thought we made it through this one with just York and Windsor, but looks like UWO might be joining the picket lines too.
Ongoing negotiations with International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 772 over the collective agreement since the summer for employees in the steam plant means that they will be in a position to strike by Dec. 16.
Most law students will be done by then for the term. Maybe they could send us in to arbitrate as a teaching exercise.
Classes Resume at Osgoode Hall
Today York University’s Executive Committee of Senate approved the Remediation Plan put forth by Dean Monahan which will permit Osgoode Hall to resume classes on December 1 for all LL.B courses not instructed by members of CUPE 3903.
In making its decision the Executive Committee took into consideration various factors including Law Society requirements for certification and the impact of a continued strike on the ability to access the licensing process in Ontario and elsewhere.
Additionally, Osgoode Hall oversees many clinical programs which provide services to low income communities and families which would also be detrimentally impacted if classes did not resume shortly.
All students who do not wish to participate in classes during the continuation of the strike will be fully accommodated and receive the protections set out in the Senate policy.
The Privileged and the Impoverished: Now One and the Same?
The Problem with a Striking Union Claiming Poverty
The first full week of the York University lockout has begun and York Administration and CUPE 3903 appear to be miles apart. Among its demands, CUPE 3903 is asking for a marked increase in wages (an 11% increase over two years). Lofty ambitions indeed.
To preface this discussion, consider the following facts. The average wage increase for public employees was 2.6% in 2006. Currently the York administration is offering 3903 a wage increase in line with this average.
3903 is comprised of three units, and in its strike demand asserts that the units comprised of teaching and graduate assistants should receive wages (including grant-in aid and minimum summer guarantee) above the poverty line. 3903 uses the LICO measure as a poverty line indictor ($22, 653).
Let me be clear in stating that this assertion is not only incredibly insensitive but also misleading.
To clarify, 3903 expects a high-quality graduate education, to obtain a graduate degree (at no net cost to them) and to be paid $22,653 for their part-time work in the process.
Discussion of this topic could take many different paths. I could perhaps discuss the problems with using LICO as an indictor for poverty, or discuss the various problems and barriers when negotiating with a Union (which also includes contract faculty) which represents many varied interests. While tempted, my main assertion is that one must not confuse or conflate the respective purposes of education and employment.
Pursuing a graduate degree requires both academic excellence and some financial liquidity. While there is room for flexibility on both, graduate students are well aware that in order to study further, one must forego the prospect of full-time employment in most cases.
Graduate students receive income which not only covers the expense for their education but also leaves a lot of money left over for personal living expenses. Additionally, they receive a comprehensive benefits plan and frozen tuition that reflects fees from approximately ten years ago (after tuition rebate). How many other students can say they receive benefits remotely close to these?
Factors Indicative of Poverty
3903 claims they are living below the poverty line. The Ontario government and other anti-poverty agencies confirm that low wages is a key factor to families living in deepening poverty. To remedy this, Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy is to increase over time the minimum wage to $10.25 and to provide health and dental benefits to low wage workers. In contrast, 3903 members make well over $23.00 an hour and receive a benefits package that is unparalleled by many sectors.
According to the 2007 Report Card on poverty in Ontario, another key factor is the increased use of food banks by those under the poverty line. Have any members of 3903 begun to frequent these establishments?
This report also discusses the use of social assistance by many families who are under-employed or don’t have a job at all. Have 3903 members considered applying to receive Ontario Works? Since the Union asserts that their income is ‘below the poverty line’ meeting the financial criteria will be a cinch (sarcasm intended). They will have to establish, however, that they need money for food and shelter immediately, oh, and will also have to be willing to take part in activities to help them find a job.
N.B. You are ineligible to apply for Ontario Works if you are a single student receiving a student loan. The rationale behind this is probably that education is considered a critical pathway out of poverty that increases skill levels and access to better paying jobs. See A Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario for more.
The Union argues that the University provides funding and dissuades students from procuring external employment as is reflected in their contract. Taking that point to be true, it is virtually impossible to enforce and is a minor deterrent at best (for those in need of extra funds). Further, during the summer term they can very manageably work 20 hours/week, if not full-time, while completing their research, thereby significantly supplementing their income
My application of poverty indicators to 3903 may seem too extreme to address this Union’s demands. I must stress, however, that this is the reality of poverty in Ontario.
I invite those who read this post to weigh in on what they believe poverty to be. It is clear, that a review of the employment conditions of 3903 does NOT reflect true poverty. Graduate students are supposedly among the best and brightest in Ontario and will most likely receive higher than average incomes. By claiming poverty, they are distorting what society perceives poverty to be. In turn, this may lead to a desensitized view of the real and pressing issues of poverty in Ontario. Dissatisfaction with wages does not amount to poverty, and as such this line of argument should be rescinded from the message of CUPE 3903 immediately.
Sunira Chaudhri Second Year Law Student at Osgoode Hall
Yet Another Strike at York University (and Osgoode Hall)?
On November 6 at 12:01am, the York University community could experience its third strike (pun intended) in just over a decade. All three Unit Members represented by CUPE 3903, which include approximately 950 contract faculty, 1850 teaching assistants and 550 graduate members will be legally allowed to picket around the campus first thing Thursday morning.
The Union remains steadfast in its unrealistic demand of 30% wage increases and full tuition fee waiver (for a complete description of the terms see here). These outlandish demands couldn’t come at a more inopportune time.
The University’s Board of Governors just this past June called for a 2% budget cut in each year of the three year plan. Coupled with widespread effects of the global financial crisis, the financial situation of the university is less than prosperous.
So how does this impact Osgoode Hall Law School?
Unfortunately, like nearly every other program and faculty at York (with the exception of Schulich School of Business’s MBA program), Osgoode Hall will have to suspend classes.
Administration, faculty and student government are hurriedly brainstorming contingency plans in light of a protracted halt to law school classes. Although no line has been drawn, in the event of a lengthy strike, third year students could potentially be detrimentally impacted if they have to complete their studies well into the month of May; the period perennially allotted for the fulfillment and preparation of licensing requirements mandated by the Law Society of Upper Canada, including Bar Admissions.
Unlike the majority of my peers, I am in the unique position which allows me to be a member of CUPE 3903 as a teaching or graduate assistant. I enjoy full-time graduate status as a student of the joint LL.B and Masters of Environmental Studies program. And although I am currently unemployed, I have been a member of the Union.
Through my previous experience I have this to say
During my first full year as a graduate student, if you tally my entrance scholarship, GA position and external funding, I made well over $15,000 as a student of higher education (after paying for 3 semesters of tuition). I had great flexibility with my working hours and a health care plan that rivaled government employees. An additionally perk was that my position fostered networking and socializing with faculty and professors and looked purddy (sic) on my resume.
It had to be my most comfortable employment position and if you reduced it to an hourly wage my most financially friendly. I was more than grateful for the work, yet I accepted it for what it was, a source of internal funding.
Now for what really irks me
I am a supporter of unions (in most instances) and freedom of association, but in this instance 45,000 students are being used as a bargaining chip in the bad faith negotiation strategy of CUPE 3903. I make this claim with insider information coupled with the Union’s persistent refusal to enter into binding arbitration.
The support staff of York University is already the highest paid in the province yet they still feel it appropriate to use their Charter right of association to press for increased wages. Unions weren’t established to be used as a sword of these sorts; they were formulated to shield workers from managerial and corporate exploitation. Alternatively, they should not be allowed to ransack the careers of 45,000 students for their avaricious desires.
On a serendipitous conversation with a fellow graduate student and member of the Union, I asked: How come the other graduate students aren’t concerned about the interests of the majority of students? The response: they simply don’t care. Interesting that the very employees that are paid to teach have no consideration for their pupils and fellow peers.
They counter that they have broad support for student groups and organizations, yet I was never asked for my thoughts. Moreover, much of their student support is merely an instinctual and thoughtless show of student solidarity. When subjected to make up classes, the proposition of being held back a year, and inconvenience of rearranging substantial plans, many will likely cross the aisle after an intelligent and rational assessment of the Union’s demands.
Unlike the normal undergraduate student who anxiously entertains the idea of time off without any serious repercussions, law students are required to look beyond the school year and foresee the potential adverse effects to their legal careers as a result of the actions of this ‘militant union’.
Classes Resume at the University of Windsor
A tentative agreement has been reached by the University of Windsor Faculty Association (WUFA) and the University of Windsor. The agreement must still be ratified by members of WUFA and approved by the Board of Governors. However, regular classes will resume on Monday.
At a meeting of the Academic Advisory Council, which includes the Faculty deans, it was decided that:
- Classes will take place on October 14 to 17 (following the Thanksgiving holiday on Monday, October 13th).
- The Fall semester will be extended by one week with classes ending on Friday, December 12th.
- No mid-term examinations are to be scheduled during the first two weeks of classes following the resumption of classes in accordance with Senate Bylaw 3, section 1.7.
- Law, Education and Nursing students will be provided with Faculty-specific information.
University of Windsor Faculty: What Are They Striking About?
The Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA) has been on strike since Wednesday, 17 September. WUFA consists of all faculty, sessional instructors, librarians, and other academic staff. As a result, there are no classes.
As someone who pays around $270 a week for my education here, I went down to the picket line to find out what the hell is going on. Fortunately, WUFA has a pamphlet titled “What the hell is going on?,” which I will share with you verbatim. Remember, this is one side of the story…
What are they striking about?
1. Poor treatment of sessional professors. Sessionals at the UofW are the lowest-paid sessionals in the country, with no job security, no benefit plan, no assistance from a GA/TA. Sessionals typically get last-minute notice about the courses they’ll be teaching… or whether they’ll be teaching at all.
2. Unqualified professors. The UofW administration wants to bring in a new wave of profs–ones that only have a Masters degree and don’t do any research. These profs will teach up to ten classes a year even though they don’t have the educational requirements that we deserve to have in our professors.
3. Gender inequity. The administration wants to reduce what is called an “anomalies fund,” which is established to fix inequalities in payroll that still exist across Canada according to things like gender, race, etc. The previous faculty contract has an anomalies fund of $100,000, which still wasn’t enough to make up for every instance on inequity. The UofW administration wants to reduce this number to $20,000.
4. Exponentially growing administration. In the last ten years, the administration at the UofW has nearly doubled in size. These salaries are paid for by student tuition. More administration also means fewer professors, which also means fewer available courses.
5. Horrible financial decisions. VP Finance, Stephen Willetts, was hired at the UofW to create long-term financial planning. So he hired an outside consultant team to come in and do hid job for him. Ross Paul was paid $615,000 for leaving the school (hard work, we know). The new logo cost $1.5 million dollars. And we wonder where our tuition fees go?
6. No contract. WUFA has been working without a contract since June 30, 2008. They aren’t being unreasonable; faculty at this university is asking to be paid wages that are standard throughout Ontario universities. The administration is offering the faculty members wages that are below the provincial standard, as well as below the cost of living in Windsor.
Why should I care?
So WUFA has good reasons–how does this affect students?
You’re paying to be here. This is your education. Is there anything more important?
Canadian students pay between $230 and $277 a week to be here. The administration doesn’t care if we miss a week or two of school, and no, there will be absolutely no financial compensation to the students for classes missed.
By the way, if you’re an international student, you pay about three times that much.
A university without professors or students is just another corporation.
TTC Strike In Toronto
An interesting commentary:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IXpibN7Hug[/youtube]
