Zach Morgenstern
From February 27 to March 26 of 2015 UofT’s
CUPE 3902 Unit 1, a union which represents UofT student-course-instructors
(most prominently teaching assistants (TAs)) went on strike. The Union, which
bargained with a strike-vote mandate it had held since November, ultimately
settled for arbitration. Arbitrator William Kaplan has since ruled in UofT’s
favor, allowing for a deal the union had previously voted down, which does not
guarantee funding increases for individual graduate students, to be
implemented. Despite this being a far
from perfect result for the month long campaign, it has to be said that CUPE
3902’s approach to the strike was commendable, at least when it came to
student-TA relations.
On January 28, representatives from 3902 units 1 and 2 (contract faculty) held a townhall for students explaining the potential ramifications of a strike. Simply holding the meeting meant a lot, as the units were able to argue that in doing so they had already provided students more information than administration. Indeed, while the union sent students FAQs about their struggle and about the strike through the University of Toronto Students’ Union on January 26, a similar communication was not sent out by UofT until February 23-shortly before the strike began.
Having already presented themselves as the
more reasonable side in negotiations, the union were able to build on that
narrative in explaining their grievances to students. These grievances include
the fact that TA funding packages leave them below the poverty line, that TAs
are not compensated for work they do outside of their TAing hours, and that TAs
have to pay tuition even after they have stopped taking courses - essentially
they get an $8000 library card and gym membership. Unit 2 (who did not
ultimately vote to go on strike), noted that they lack job security and
adequate healthcare benefits, and despite doing 35% of UofT’s teaching are
compensated with just 2% of the teaching budget.
Perhaps most important to the TAs
narrative, however, was UofT’s administration’s refusal to bargain with them.
As of that townhall less than a month before the strike, UofT had only agreed
to two bargaining meetings before the strike deadline for them and CUPE 3902 to
settle their vast differences. After the strike started the University
administration continued not to bargain. This allowed the union and its
supporters to continue to push the true narrative that the university was not
acting in good faith. Another point that drew anger from workers and students
was the high salaries of UofT administrators, most notably asset manager
William Moriarty who’s salary was raised to $937 000 just as the strike ended.
Throughout the strike 3902 maintained
support from the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) and Arts and
Science Student Union as well as various academic (not necessarily political)
unions including the Classics, Peace, Conflict & Justice, and Women &
Gender Studies student unions. The fact that UofT refused to bargain made it an
easy issue for UTSU to get involved in.
By (rightly) arguing that UofT
administration was responsible for the strike the UTSU could argue they were
justified in holding townhalls with and attending rallies with the TAs. In many
ways 2014-15 was not an easy year for the UTSU executive, which saw quite a few
of its meetings descend into polarizing arguments, often over procedural
issues. Despite this, the UTSU executive were able to present their position on
the TA strike to the union’s politically divided board of directors without
receiving any public complaints.
Fairly early in the strike the UTSU
organized a student rally to end the strike (with the implication being that
ending the strike would mean UofT giving in to the TA demands). The rally drew
an impressive crowd and some impressive speakers though it perhaps suffered
from the flaw that there was no way for observers to be sure it was indeed
undergraduate students and not strikers who made up the rally.
Later in the strike, an open group called
“Students First” was formed. Students First organized general assemblies
outside of UofT’s main Arts and Science building, that sought to unite the
cause of undergraduates and the striking union. Students First organized a
“walkout to end the strike,” which led many students to rally in front of the
University’s administration building. While the walkout drew a large crowd of
undergraduates, and proved a great opportunity for many to learn alternate
words to the union music classic “Solidarity Forever” it was not without its
disappointments.
In order to walk out to support the strike,
I and quite a number of others who did not have class, joined a giant lecture
and walked out when a UTSU executive making a class announcement declared it
was time. I was disappointed to see most of the room did not (immediately at
least) rise to the call, and couldn’t help but wonder if most students who
walked out were actually, like me, not actual students in the lecture. More
concerning, however, was by this point the UTSU and ASSU began to receive
political flack for their position with an increasing number of internet users
arguing that in calling for students to walk out of class, and support the
strikers in general the UTSU were “playing politics” and not representing the
interests of their constituents.
The situation got worse as the UTSU
released a survey asking students to report experiences they’d had with
scabbing staff. Numerous critics of the survey reportedly used it as
opportunities to make aggressive, sexist comments targeted at a particular UTSU
executive. The lesson of this, it seemed, was that while the TAs had grievances
that were too obviously true for moderate-right-wing students to side against
them publically, the semi-anonymity of the internet allowed vitriolic,
reactionary opinions to thrive. Indeed some of the most vitriolic anti-TA
positions were found on the facebook page “UofT Confessions”, which allows
students to post anonymously. Here anonymous “students” repeatedly railed about
the TAs relatively high hourly wage, ignoring the fact that since the beginning
of the strike, the union and its supporters had made it clear that that the
hourly wage was insignificant given the limited amount of hours TAs get
compensated before.
The UTSU were able to justify their support
for the strike thanks in part to the University’s refusal to bargain with TAs.
Unfortunately, the University’s obvious weakness may have in fact been a slyly
played strength. The longer the strike went on, and the more mediocre offers
the unions had the chance to reject, the greater the chance there was for
students to grow impatient with their TAs. Similarly, the longer the TAs
striked, the more their financial resources shrank, making it harder for them
to dispense strike pay. This forced the most in-need TAs to consider breaking
the strike, and gave TAs who had union cynical-politics to begin with reason to
feel justified in scabbing.
There’s what is perhaps a myth on the left
that the failure of movements is always the fault, in some way, of their
organizers. It has to be acknowledged that in the case of the CUPE 3902 strike
that may not (at least to a reasonable degree) be the case. CUPE 3902 reps made
a strong effort to spread the message to students that together they, and not
administration, were UofT. Unfortunately, there are plenty of
liberal-conservative voices at UofT that were going to reject this logic no
matter what. Therefore, there is no easy prescription that Students First could
have taken to propel the strikers to victory. The positive lessons of this strike,
ie the importance of swift and repeated communication and engagement, should be
remembered and built upon in future course instructor strikes and other
relevant social movements.
Students First continues to operate. Their
most recent event was an equity training workshop aimed at student activists,
and the group’s short term plans include organizing events that discuss
neoliberalism and the university. The group unfortunately lacks the visibility
it had during the strike, but if it can recover some semblance of its base at
its peak it has the potential to become one of the most prominent and radical
student organizations UofT has seen in quite a while.
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This article is printed in Issue 19 of Rebel Youth which is now available! The issue deals has a focus on student struggles across Canada. Find out more and subscribe today!
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