I am writing this from York, an hour or so after having passed the picket line at York Boulevard. The line was quiet, consisting of about fifteen union members manning the line and marching in a circle. There were maybe about five cars waiting to enter the campus. I’ve heard people complain about how aggressive, even dangerous the protesters are. They weren’t bothering anyone when I got there. As I crossed the line, I was handed a flyer inviting me to attend a solidarity rally today at 1pm.

Keele campus is like a desert. As I predicted yesterday, there was no line as I got my second coffee of the day

But to return to the flyer:

When the strike started, the union had my full support. I still believe in CUPE 3903’s cause, but that support is growing thin. I, and probably thousands of other students feel completely left in the dark. We don’t know if and when negotiations will resume again. We don’t know if it’s the union that’s stalling, the university, or both. Is binding arbitration a fair answer? If York’s TAs, GAs and contract faculty are among the highest paid in the country, isn’t that a good thing? Does that comparison mean anything? Why exactly is the union striking, for increased wages and benefits or (as the theory goes) to gain a two-year contract that will allow them to go on strike again? Does CUPE 3903 care about undergraduate students?

The union needs a clear, accessible answer to these questions to win the support of the public and undergraduate students. As it stands, the media has latched onto the union’s demand of an 11% pay increase. There are only a few other scanty details about why the union is on strike, which makes it seem like the TAs, GAs and contract faculty are only out to fatten their wallets.

What I really want is to hear, articulately and in more than a soundbite, about the reasons leading up to the strike and the stalling of negotiations. I want to know what exactly was negotiated in those meetings in July, August, September, all the way up to November.

I want to hear a TA speak about his or her inability to make ends meet, a contract faculty professor who has no job security from year to year, a union member laid off without any severance pay. Most importantly, I want the union to acknowledge the inconvenience it’s caused students. I want the undergraduate voice to be supported by CUPE 3903, before I lend them my support by appearing in a rally.

Unless CUPE 3903 can somehow incorporate undergraduate students and bring them on their side, we have a situation that looks something like this:

Undergraduate student: You are so selfish. Why should I care about your wage demands when I’m paying $6000+ out of my own pocket to go to school?

CUPE 3903 member: It’s my right to strike for a wage that approaches the poverty line. I’m not allowed to work anywhere else - I get penalized financially if I get a job at Starbucks!

Undergraduate student: You only work ten hours a week. I wish I could get paid what you get for a ten hour shift.

CUPE 3903 member: Ten hours a week is misleading. It takes a lot more than ten hours to keep up with teaching classes, marking papers and meeting with students while not falling behind on our classes and academic research.

We stand nothing to gain by pitting ourselves against each other.

Here are a few voices of reason:

The first from a TA, who lists his top four reasons for walking the picket line: http://www.gavan.ca/ 

The second from an undergraduate student, who has been following the strike since the union’s strike vote last week: http://yorkstrike2008.wordpress.com/

The third from a York professor, the first person I’ve come across who has called for more mature and rational language when talking about the strike: http://www.yorku.ca/ddoorey/lawblog/?p=371

There is an anti-strike rally being held next week on campus, along with a probable counter-anti-strike, if that makes any sense. I’m still not sure which one I’ll go to.