From:
YUFA in solidarity with CUPE 3903 [YUFA-CUPE@YorkU.CA] on behalf
of
Walter Whiteley [whiteley@PASCAL.MATH.YORKU.CA]
Sent:
November 7, 2000 10:08 PM
To:
YUFA-CUPE@YORKU.CA
Subject:
Solidarity - picketing issues (fwd)
From:
Walter Whiteley <whiteley>
Subject:
Solidarity - picketing issues
To:
everyone@pascal.math.yorku.ca
Date:
Tue, 7 Nov 2000 22:00:36 -0500 (EST)
Reply-To:
whiteley@mathstat.yorku.ca
Tomorrow
morning may be an important time in the CUPE strike.
Sadly,
I think that 'business as usual' is read by the administration
as
support for their positions and actions.
The
Admin has torn up the picketing protocal.
They
have asserted repeated violations of the protocol.
When
I was asked by a YUFA member, leaving campus,
what
those were, I could only cite two types:
(a)
a couple of picket lines were at different locations.
The
one I am familiar with is the Chimney Stack Line.
It
was moved to be safer and to be MORE convenient for
all
the residents of the Housing Co-op.
This shift
was
among the proposals that CUPE made, as it made
arrangments
for the convocation. It now appears
this
was
not accepted - but nobody seems to know a good reason
why
this shift was a problem.
(b)
The speed at which cars passed the picket lines.
I actually do now know the details of this
- what
a 'block of cars' was defined to be - or
the waiting times.
Certainly, this morning things were a bit
faster at
the line - but it appears that had nothing
to do
with the decision to say that CUPE was
trespassing
if they picketed on University
Property. Presumably
that decision had already been made.
The
choices of what next will, of course, be made by
CUPE,
through their meetings. Today they said
that they
WOULD
move lines to places that Toronto Police came and
took
them to as the new legal places. This
had not
happened
when I left. Tomorrow morning will be
be an important
time.
This
will probably be dispute about some of this - people
are
even today unsure which streets inside Keele and Steeles
are
already city (and public) and which are private property.
[E.g.
some fire hydrants are not longer serviced by
York
Employees because they are said to be on city streets!
Planning
students reported that the City of Toronto
Planning
department gave one set of information and York
gave
another.]
However,
there is clearly an increased possibility of
conflict
and it would be helpful to have a maximum
number
of people around tomorrow morning for moral support
and
as witnesses. I encourage people to come a bit
early
tomorrow and spend some time meeting and talking
with
people around the lines.
I
cannot dismiss the idea that what is happening now
is,
in part, a message about a shift in how things
are
done at York - and a message to all unions
and
all future negotiations. I read it all
with the
knowledge
that two other unions on campus do NOT have contracts:
the
operating engineers - a small group who run the
heating
and other high pressure systems on campus,
and
the CUPE local representing parking and security.
YUFA
also enters negotiations soon (with a contract
that
expires at the end of April, 2001).
A
specific part of the new structure at York is that
ALL
such negotiations are coming under the same structure,
headed
by the man who issued the memo to CUPE about picketing
today. I presume they have some common overall
plans
(besides
just that no union will receive more that 2% raises).
It appears to me that the
critical
issue, over which the negotiations will fail
or
succeed, is the PRINCIPLE that TA support is indexed
to
tuition. It is NOT, at this point, an
issue of
major
differences in money ON THIS ISSUE.
However, in the entire
approach
of CUPE as a national union and a local,
this
principle is very important. Something
which
is
in the current contract should not be shed.
I cannot grasp why that principle is
so critical to the admin.
I
suppose it is because the expect to continue to increase
grad
tuition, or do not wish to extend such protection to
other
students (e.g. the new Unit III GA group).
If
there is other information on this issue I would
be
interested in knowing.
I understand that the reason the two
parties did NOT
negotiate
on the weekend OR this afternoon was that the
outside
lawyer heading thier team was not available.
[CUPE
asked for negotiations to resume this afternoon - once they
had
completed their meeting with members.]
Something to keep in mind when you
hear about
'negotiations
were broken off'.
Walter
Whiteley