#StrikeTown: Why Are Toronto University Workers On Strike?
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- Published on Thursday, 19 March 2015 00:15
- Written by editor
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1091 .... March 19, 2015
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#StrikeTown:
Why Are Toronto University Workers On Strike?
CUPE 3903 represents contract faculty, teaching assistants (TA) and graduate assistants at York University in Toronto, Canada. In August 2014, their collective agreement expired. Since then, teaching assistants and graduate assistants went out on legal strike, which is in its third week as of March 16, 2015. There are three core issues they are striking for: 1) protecting tuition indexation, which means if the school raises tuition, it must, as an employer, raises wages in step; (2) better funding for Master's students, many of whom earn $0 dollar paycheques each month; and (3) LGBTQ employment equity.
CUPE local 3903 joined U of T's educational workers (CUPE 3902) in a strike that now affect two of Canada's largest... universities and involves nearly 10,000 student-workers. This is purely a student strike and reflects a brewing student movement in Toronto. Undergraduate support has been staunch, with hundreds occupying the York's senate chambers and thousands signing petition pledging support for their striking TAs. Calls for abolishing tuition are more audible by the day. Indeed, other locals across North America are voicing support and an anti-tuition rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 21st at 1pm at Dundas Square, which thousands plan on attending.
The below content comes from The Penguin, a strike newspaper created by a collective of CUPE 3903, with help from local 3902. Its purpose was to break down the walls between the campus and society and impress on Torontonians the fact that cuts to all social services are suffocating families like garrote wire around a throat. Transit service is deteriorating, the cost of living is becoming morally odious, education is becoming inaccessible from kindergarten to high school (with mounting school closures) and education is becoming exclusive for the rich and highly-indebted. In these article below, we highlight the common problems students and society face but stress that through broad-based social movements a better city is possible and a better Canada is on the horizon.
