[Fdu] YUFA: Is York University really running as usual?
Cynthia Wright
cynthia.wright at utoronto.ca
Tue Mar 27 19:13:42 EDT 2018
[statement from York University Faculty Association]
*Is York University really running as usual?*
We're in Week 4 of the strike by CUPE 3903 <https://3903.cupe.ca>, the
union representing contract faculty and graduate student employees at
York University. YUFA members are concerned that this will be an even
longer strike, especially in the wake of public statements by the
University administration that they do not intend to be flexible at the
table. The administration insists that 55% of classes are running, but
there are strong indications that a majority of classes has been
suspended and that others are continuing without the participation of
Teaching Assistants or graders (see here
<https://www.yufa.ca/employer-data-on-course-cancellations-during-the-cupe-3903-strike/>).
The administration has engaged in particularly aggressive public
relations to polish its public image during this difficult time. In
addition to misleading the public, the administration, for the first
time in any labour disruption at York, has tried to usurp the power of
Senate and pre-emptively announced there will be no general suspension
of classes, as was the case in some previous labour disputes. In two
striking new developments, the administration has requested a forced
ratification vote from the Ministry of Labour, and the Canadian Civil
Liberties Association (CCLA) has issued a letter of concern
<https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2018-03-27-Letter-to-President-R-Lenton-York-U.pdf> to
President Rhonda Lenton and a questionnaire
<https://ccla.org/yorku-protesters-survey/> for students, picketers, and
other members of the York community regarding surveillance by a private
security firm.
*
*
*Misleading communications*
A recent open letter from the Ontario Confederation of Faculty
Associations
<https://ocufa.on.ca/blog-posts/an-open-letter-to-york-university/> (OCUFA)
notes that York's administration has engaged in misleading
communications during the strike. The administration maintains
(incorrectly) that they are not seeking concessions from CUPE 3903. They
have alleged that 55% of classes are running normally, when less than
half of the courses are continuing. The Keele campus is largely empty
and Glendon College is even more so. They have also alleged
(incorrectly) that CUPE refused to drop any of its major demands during
negotiations, and refused to seriously bargain. They have charged
(incorrectly) that the Administration cannot afford to make serious
offers in regards to CUPE's demands for conversions for contract faculty
and summer funding for graduate students, while evidence shows ample
funds in its budget surplus and contingency funds, and aggrieved
students have begun to circulate exposés of extravagant personal
spending being charged to university budgets. The administration has
also misled the community by providing incorrect analysis of Senate's
power during an academic disruption, and it has failed to provide
accurate, timely information to students about which courses are open
and which suspended.
YUFA is very concerned with this hard-line approach to contract
negotiations and to communication in general. We are now entering
bargaining <https://www.yufa.ca/yufa-serves-notice-to-bargain-2/> to
renegotiate our own collective agreement, and the tactics used against
CUPE 3903, including delayed bargaining, intense public relations, a
forced ratification vote, and heightened, possibly illegal security
measures, may well be employed against other campus unions such as YUFA
and the York University Staff Association <https://yusapuy.ca> (YUSA).
In addition, the constant dissemination of aggressive administration
messaging, combined with the chaos surrounding the academic term and its
remediation, has become extremely stressful and divisive for members of
the university community and particularly injurious to our students,
according to their reports.
*
*
*Closed Senate meetings, tight security, and unnecessary force*
On March 22, faculty, CUPE 3903, and student Senate representatives were
blocked from entering the Senate Chamber to participate in a scheduled
meeting of Senate, creating a tense situation. These events were
captured on video (see here
<https://www.facebook.com/yufayorku/posts/1828300060548316>), showing a
member of the senior administration holding the door against people
attempting to enter the Senate chamber. One graduate student Senator was
held in a choke-hold by a security officer when he tried to enter Chamber.
According to Senate rules, meetings are open to members of the
community. Despite the intense interest in the Senate meetings on March
8 and 22, non-Senators were asked to congregate in an overflow room, and
on March 22, some of the people temporarily blocked from entry were
members of Senate. It is worth noting that Senate meetings during some
earlier strikes were moved to larger venues as Senate leadership
acknowledged that many members of the community who were not Senators
might wish to attend when issues related to the strike were being
discussed. In those cases, there were no scuffles with security or
violent incidents as a result of excluding people from the Chamber.
These events were followed by an occupation of the Senate Chamber by
undergraduate students, hoping to persuade administration to bargain
fairly and end the strike. The group is also circulating a petition
<https://www.change.org/p/students-for-cupe-3903-tuition-refund-for-york-students> that
demands a tuition refund, stating that "We don't believe that
universities should be run as a business. But if they are going to run
it as a business, we are going to demand a refund." The administration
has contracted a private security firm whose guards have surrounded
Senate and is closely monitoring students and visitors coming and going.
These security guards are also watching and filming CUPE members on the
picket line. Staff in Kaneff Tower are subject to a daily lockdown of
the building and are monitored by the private security force. The
Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has issued an open letter
<https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2018-03-27-Letter-to-President-R-Lenton-York-U.pdf> to
President Rhonda Lenton expressing its concern about these developments
and is asking for input in a questionnaire
<https://ccla.org/yorku-protesters-survey/> from all members of the York
community. The occupation of the Senate Chamber by "Students for CUPE
3903" continues, although media have been banned from entering the 9th
floor of the Ross Building.
*
*
*Governance crisis: Senate's authority threatened*
As reported last week, a motion submitted to Senate at the start of the
strike to suspend all classes was blocked by Senate Executive on
procedural grounds. A challenge to this ruling was closely defeated in
Senate during the March 8 meeting in a controversial vote conducted
without due regard for rules of order. In the agenda package and during
the meeting, Senate Executive stated that "Decisions regarding the
business and affairs of the University are vested in the Board [of
Governors] even where they may have an impact on academic policy."
Furthermore, they added, Senate "policy does not give express authority
to Senate or Senate Executive to take the action of cancelling all
classes at the commencement of a disruption." However, this was Senate's
undisputed role in past strikes, and the statement about jurisdiction
combined with the blocking of a vote in Senate raised alarms among many
Senators. In denying the Senate's power to decide on course
cancellations on the basis of academic integrity during labour
disruptions, the administration described labour disruptions as
equivalent to weather disruptions, which like other "business matters"
are under the purview of the Board of Governors.
In the following Senate meeting, on March 22, a motion
<https://www.yufa.ca/senate-motion-on-senate-authority/> was presented
that proposed that Senate, the body at the University with governance
authority over academic matters, affirm its authority to suspend classes
on academic grounds during a labour dispute. This motion passed by a 65%
margin, following a debate that featured strong support from faculty and
students. Senior administrators presented arguments about the limits of
Senate's authority. The Chair of Senate mentioned a letter from the
Chair of the Board of Governors to the Senate Executive that laid out a
case for imposing new limits on Senate's authority. The Chair of Senate
has not made the letter available to Senators, and requests have been
sent to the Senate Executive and University Counsel to disclose its
contents to members of Senate. This is necessary if all members of
Senate are to be given the opportunity to participate in any debate
about university governance. It is also necessary if the administration
is to be in compliance with the YUFA Collective Agreement
<https://www.yufa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YUFA-Collective-Agreement-2015-18.pdf> (including
Article 17.02) that protects members' participation rights within the
university's governance process.
There appears to be a shifting definition of the powers of a
representative academic Senate and a self-appointed Board of Governors,
with the Board moving to limit the powers given to Senate under the
/York University Act/
<http://secretariat.info.yorku.ca/governance-documents/york-university-act-1965/>
of 1965. This governance crisis is occurring in the wake of members'
approval of YUFA's bargaining positions in its February membership
meeting, which aim to reform the operation of the Board of Governors and
to restore a more democratic and socially diverse Board composition.
*
*
*Individual decisions by faculty members about courses*
In the absence of course suspensions declared by Senate, Senate
reiterated the policy that any suspension of classes should be
determined by individual faculty members using their own professional
judgments guided by considerations of academic integrity. This policy of
assigning academic responsibility to individual faculty has,
unfortunately, in a number of cases, been contradicted by the
University's ensuing actions. YUFA has been made aware of cases in which
the Deans/Principal required teaching status forms from individual
faculty members and then proceeded to reject or challenge the
submissions. Departments and faculties that resolved to suspend classes
have been ignored. YUFA has already issued advice on this matter in
previous advisories (see here
<https://www.yufa.ca/faq-regarding-a-possible-labour-disruption-by-cupe-3903/>,
here
<https://www.yufa.ca/yufa-response-to-deans-letters-about-suspending-classes/>,
here
<https://www.yufa.ca/yufa-responds-to-senate-exec-decision-not-to-suspend-classes/>,
and here <https://www.yufa.ca/yufa-memo-on-cupe-3903-strike-day-2/>). A
future discussion of this application of the concept of academic
integrity may be warranted, for a majority of York students have
evidently determined to suspend their own attendance as they wait for
this impasse to be resolved.
Read this post online
<https://www.yufa.ca/is-york-university-really-running-as-usual/>.
A shortened version of this post appeared as a media release on Canada
News Wire. Read the releasehere
<https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/is-york-university-really-running-as-usual-678104003.html>.
--
*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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