[Fdu] York University Faculty Association: Chaos, confusion, crisis: Admin’s response to the strike has made things worse

[Cynthia Wright]

*Chaos, confusion, crisis: Admin’s response to the strike has made 
things worse*

The York University senior administration's actions in the last two 
weeks have done little to help end the CUPE 3903 strike. Indeed, this 
response has made the situation worse. Now in its third week, the strike 
appears at an impasse: until its statement 
<http://labour.yorku.ca/2018/03/18/university-requesting-resumption/> on 
late Sunday afternoon, the administration has seemed intent on 
bargaining—and forcing concessions—through a public relations campaign 
in the media.

YUFA welcomes the decision by the administration to take steps to return 
to the bargaining table with CUPE 3903, but remains deeply concerned by 
the University's approach to labour relations since the strike 
began. The impact of this approach is increasingly obvious:
*
*
*Chaos:* In the absence of a clear decision about whether to suspend 
classes across the University, chaos has ensued among students, faculty, 
and staff. Students are showing up for classes that the University 
claims to be continuing, only to discover that most have been cancelled 
(see here 
<https://www.yufa.ca/employer-data-on-course-cancellations-during-the-cupe-3903-strike/>); 
faculty have been inundated with countless requests to justify their 
professional and academic judgment to cancel classes; and staff have 
been informed they must work extra hours if picket lines delay their 
arrival at work.

*Confusion:* Without any clarity about what is happening on campus in 
the short term, there is widespread confusion about what will happen in 
the weeks ahead, especially when the strike is over. The conflicting and 
contradictory messaging from the administration has raised questions 
about how remediation will happen, how exams will be conducted, how 
students will receive a final grade, and how the campus will return to 
any semblance of normalcy once CUPE members return to work.

*Crisis: *In the midst of the chaos and confusion, the administration's 
response has exacerbated a long simmering crisis of governance at the 
University, in which senior administrators are attempting to shift 
decision-making power away from existing and established collegial 
bodies to unaccountable and undemocratic management structures. The 
attempt to strip Senate of its authority to make an academic decision 
about whether classes will continue across the University is just one 
example of this crisis.

YUFA has responded to the crisis with a number of goals in mind:
*
*
*To protect all rights and entitlements of YUFA members throughout the 
strike:* The chaos and confusion caused by the administration's response 
to the strike so far are likely to continue long after the strike ends. 
In an effort to minimize their effects, YUFA has already communicated to 
the Employer that members have long-planned research and professional 
commitments in the next semester, which must be accounted for in any 
remediation plans. YUFA is also concerned about workload issues, 
especially if members are asked to extend their classes and/or re-teach 
aspects of them. In such a scenario, YUFA and the Employer have agreed 
that appropriate compensation must be provided to members for any 
additional work they may be asked to do.
*
*
*To preserve the collegial bodies and processes that allow faculty 
participation in University governance:* YUFA strongly objects to the 
administration's trampling on existing and established practices of 
collegial governance in the lead-up to and during the strike. If we 
don't defend governance during the strike, it will be significantly 
eroded afterwards. For this reason, YUFA supports colleagues' 
initiatives to discuss these questions at faculty councils and share 
their outcomes with Senate. YUFA also encourages other forms of 
engagement, such as this statement 
<https://www.yufa.ca/statement-to-senate-signed-by-28-senators/> signed 
by 28 Senators and this motion 
<https://www.yufa.ca/senate-motion-on-senate-authority/> that asserts 
Senate's authority to determine whether classes be suspended on the 
basis of academic integrity.
*
*
*To minimize the disruption to students' education and their plans for 
next semester:* The administration's claim that "classes that can 
continue, will continue" has contributed to the chaos and confusion 
across campus. The reality is that teaching has come to a complete halt 
in many faculties, even according to the Employer's incomplete data (see 
here 
<https://www.yufa.ca/employer-data-on-course-cancellations-during-the-cupe-3903-strike/>), 
yet the administration continues to peddle the fiction that it's 
"business as usual." In the absence of a clear and consistent approach 
to classes across campus, students and parents will continue to receive 
conflicting and inaccurate information, and face the prospect of a long 
and complicated remediation period that will disrupt their work, study, 
and travel plans next semester.
*
*
*To help create the conditions for the parties to return to the 
bargaining table and negotiate a settlement:* A negotiated settlement is 
the best way to end the strike, and YUFA members have every interest in 
seeing CUPE 3903 achieve a fair and equitable contract (see this FAQ 
<https://www.yufa.ca/faq-regarding-yufa-and-the-cupe-3903-strike/>). 
YUFA signalled its own intent to bargain on February 2, and will soon 
meet the Employer to begin re-negotiating our own Collective Agreement. 
If the Employer succeeds in forcing concessions from CUPE 3903, it will 
have more confidence—and the momentum—to try forcing concessions from 
YUFA, too. Therefore, we urge the Employer to make every possible effort 
to reach a negotiated settlement at the bargaining table with CUPE 3903 
this week. A fair deal could end the strike.

These goals will continue to guide and motivate YUFA's actions as the 
CUPE 3903 strike continues. We invite all members to do what they can to 
support these goals; in addition to helping bring the parties together 
to achieve a negotiated settlement, they have the potential to build 
unity among the YUFA membership and strengthen the Association as we 
engage the Employer in our own round of bargaining.

For the latest YUFA updates about the strike, please click here 
<https://www.yufa.ca/cupe-3903-strike-info/>.

Read this post online 
<https://www.yufa.ca/chaos-confusion-crisis-admins-response-to-the-strike-has-made-things-worse/>.

-- 
*York University Faculty Association*
YUFA is the professional association and certified bargaining agent for 
approximately 1,500 faculty, librarians and archivists, and 
post-doctoral visitors at York University.

t. 416-736-5236 <tel:416-736-5236>  | Email <mailto:yufa at yorku.ca>  | 
Website <http://www.yufa.ca/>  | Facebook 
<https://www.facebook.com/yufayorku>  | Twitter 
<https://twitter.com/YUFAyorku> | YouTube 
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_9LftP2oHhil5p7cDoPUMg/>


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