Contract workers at Canada’s two largest universities are on strike as of March 2, resulting in the cancellation of classes at York University.
University of Toronto’s (U of T) CUPE 3902 unit 1, representing mainly teaching assistants, and York’s CUPE 3903, which includes contract faculty and graduate assistants, walked off the job this week.
All classes have been cancelled at York, affecting about 40,000 students. Most of York’s facilities will remain open to students, according to a press release from the university.
CUPE 3903 wants better job equity and security, improved graduate funding, and lowering fees for international students, said James Clark, chief steward of unit 1 of CUPE 3903.
The union’s 3,700 members teach about 64 per cent of undergraduate classes, Clark said.
U of T and CUPE 3902 unit 1 reached a tentative agreement on Feb. 27, but about 90 per cent of its approximately 6,000 members voted to reject the deal. CUPE 3902 began picketing March 2.
The tentative agreement included a wage increase to $45.73 an hour, improved health plans, and an extra $2.2 million devoted annually to financial assistance.
Classes at U of T are not cancelled but labs and tutorials will be affected, according to a letter posted online for U of T students on Feb. 28 by Jill Matus, vice-provost at the university.
Both unions are still negotiating with its schools, according to statements.
Since contract instructors teach most undergraduate classes, York will cancel all classes in order to ensure students aren’t affected in an uneven way, according to the university’s website.
At York a strike in 2008-09 cancelled classes for three months, before workers were legislated back to work by the provincial government.
