Emilie Miranda | Executive Editor, Online
Featured image | Rowan Campbell
They say you never forget your first strike. Going into this week, I had no idea what to expect—rumours were flying thick and fast about whether classes would still run (one of my professors said: “They’ll probably cancel classes like last time”), how crossing picket lines would work (third-hand information from a friend: “It takes two hours to get through!”), and how transit would be affected—could the subway be blocked off? Where would buses be rerouted to?
Over the weekend, some answers came in. York maintained that things would remain “business as usual,” with all classes continuing that are able to continue, despite announcements from several departments within Liberal Arts & Professional Studies—including the departments of Sociology and Politics, and the School of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies—stating their classes would not run.
The GO Transit and YRT/VIVA Twitter accounts directed students to information about where buses would be rerouted, and the TTC account has been providing live updates about how routes have been affected by picketing.
That being said, not everything has been going smoothly. The website students were directed to on Sunday afternoon to check the status of their classes first crashed, and then provided inaccurate information, stating classes that professors had specifically announced would not run were actually running.
It also appears that negotiations have simply stalled. Though the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) local 3903 members voted for their bargaining team to continue negotiating over the weekend, it was announced that the York administration would not be coming to the table.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, York explained this as CUPE 3903 “did not provide York with a counter offer that would have provided the opportunity to reach a settlement.”
Also on Tuesday, it was announced that York would not negotiate on a counter offer provided by CUPE 3903 the day before, this time citing that “the demands remain significantly outside the reach of York.” However, York continues to say that they’re willing to go to third-party binding arbitration at any time.
Students are being exposed to conflicting messages, with both sides stating they’d like the strike to be over as quickly as possible, but with seemingly little movement happening in the negotiation process.
It’s not right that CUPE 3903 members are working under precarious labour conditions, and that striking is their best leverage for moving negotiations forward.
It’s not right that York has the reputation as being “the striking university,” because it’s so much more than that. And it’s not right that students are the ones caught in the middle.
