When the Board of Governors meeting commenced earlier this week, no one was expecting disgruntled union members to show up, let alone disrupt the meeting with three hours of union-themed Christmas caroling.
BoG members met on December 8 for the second time this semester. Read the full agenda here.
BoG Secretary Maureen Armstrong and Vice-President Academic and Provost Rhonda Lenton attempted to deal with the disruption, frequently leaving the meeting in an attempt to negotiate with union members who continued with a barrage of carols such as “Tuition Hike Rock,” “I’m Dreaming of a Just Workplace,” and “Share the Dough.”
Lenton later explained to the BoG that they were having difficulty meeting an agreement with union members. She made three offers, all of which were rejected.
“As expressed by both Rhonda Lenton and [Armstrong],” says Joanne Rider, York media, an offer was extended to the group gathered in the hallway that a representative could address the Board at yesterday’s meeting after the completion of business on the Board agenda. As you know, the agenda had been set, circulated, and posted prior to the meeting.
Excalibur was on the scene and asked security how the individuals were able to penetrate their defenses and make it to the fifth floor of the Kaneff Tower.
Questions remain regarding the effectiveness of security protocol at BoG meetings. Some governors were visibly distracted by the disruption which got louder throughout the meeting.
“Security is reviewing the Board meeting and any issues that resulted,” says Aldo Altomare, director of Security Services.
CUPE 3903 members were caroling in references to grievances surrounding tuition indexation. The union will be having its first arbitration meeting regarding tuition indexation on December 17.
“You may recall tuition indexation as one of the main issues we were fighting for in the March 2015 strike,” says Maija Duncan, communications officer of CUPE 3903.
“We’re still fighting to defend tuition indexation because York has since decided that its ‘interpretation’ means they can effectively steal scholarships away from international students. We think it is essential that the Board of Governors, and the York community at large, understand this.”
CUPE understands that the message inside the BoG meeting was that they were given an opportunity to speak and the CUPE members rejected it.
“This is far from the truth,” says Duncan. “Rhonda Lenton, vice president academic and provost, came out and told us if we sat quietly for an hour and a half, we might get into the BOG meeting.”
CUPE members didn’t think the offer was acceptable and tried to negotiate, she adds.
“Could we have two minutes instead of five? Could we send one or two people instead of the whole group?”
Duncan says the group was refused at every turn and democratically decided the BoG might enjoy some more of their union-themed Christmas carols.
“We came to the BoG to give York a clear message: we care about the issue of tuition indexation for all, and neither it, nor we, are going away quietly. All things considered, we believe that message was delivered successfully.”
BoG student governor Shadiya Adid met with CUPE members briefly during the meeting so she could get a statement for the Board in case they wouldn’t be let inside.
“Where they stand is that as tuition rises in Ontario, the pay that graduate students receive should rise as well. That pay is currently below the poverty line.”
According to CUPE, York still owes that to 180 international students from last year on top of what’s owed to incoming students this year, she adds.
“Another issue is that this increase excludes folks who earn a scholarship, which is particularly detrimental for international students who pay five-figures in tuition,” says Adid.
“They urge the Board of Governors to support CUPE’s interpretation of tuition indexation.”
When Adid presented the information to the Board, Lenton promised to look into whether the student’s who were promised offsets received it, and why they haven’t if they were owed it.
Lenton then informed the Board that there is a meeting in place with CUPE and the administration in the next two weeks that will go over the confusion in interpretation.
York maintains that three offers were made to CUPE members in an attempt to accommodate them, stating the BoG presentations and agenda had already been scheduled for due process.
At one point, York media says, Armstrong offered to let one member speak to the BoG. However, it wasn’t specified if this offer was made for during or after the meeting.
Ryan Moore, News Editor
Featured image courtesy of Branden Bo Chen
