Yesterday, Premiere Dalton McGuinty announced that he will be calling back the legislature in order to introduce legislation to force teaching assistants and contract faculty at York University, back-to-work. This new anti-union tactic comes swiftly on the heels of a compulsory ratification vote where the York administration forced CUPE 3903 to vote on an offer which the Union’s membership had rejected only two weeks prior. In the days following the defeat of the forced ratification vote, McGuinty ordered Reg Pearson to mediate the dispute. Meanwhile, York University Administration continued to delay and demonstrated a total unwillingness to bargain any further with CUPE 3903, despite the union putting forward 3 separate proposals which lowered demands quite significantly. Late Friday evening the union was given an ultimatum by the mediator that, if it did not accept York’s offer, then back-to-work legislation would be levelled against the union. However, the union bargaining team held fast and insisted that they would not give in to government bullying and threats.
In the wake of the past week of government mediation and intervention, one can only conclude that McGuinty had no intention of settling this dispute respectfully and for the common interest of both parties. He stated today that the two sides were in a deadlock; however, this is not the case. The Union has been willing to bargain with the employer from day one whereas the University is fundamentally opposed to it. Despite McGuinty’s posturing about allowing the two sides to work it out, with a little government direction, the legislature will reconvene Sunday to pass back-to-work legislation. Now the strike has ceased to be merely an economic struggle—it has become a political struggle. The passing of back-to-work legislation is a direct attack on workers’ right to collective bargaining! Furthermore, it sends a message to all employers throughout Canada that all you need to do during a labour dispute is wait out the workers and the government will step in on your side and force them back to work! It demonstrates that government is not a neutral arbiter; government is for the bosses. In this attack McGuinty maintains that the government is forced to act on the behalf of 50 000 students who may lose their academic year. And although it is the University who has stalled bargaining for the past 3 months it is the workers and their families who will pay the price.
Fightback supports CUPE 3903 and condemns back-to-work legislation as a ruthless attack on workers not only within the public sector, but throughout Canada. We condemn a government that in the name of “supporting students” sells out the educators. If CUPE 3903 is to effectively resist this legislation it must call upon all of its members and supporters throughout Canada to resist the legislation in the streets and not just in words. A rally against back-to-work legislation will be held at Queens Park on Sunday at 12pm. Come out and resist attacks on labour and human rights!
CUPE has put together a website where you can send a letter of protest to Dalton McGuinty: http://www.demandastance.com/cupe/
We also call on workers, students and trade unionists to support the strikers of CUPE 3903 by sending letters of support to the following address:
3903hq@gmail.com
Please copy your message to fightback@marxist.ca and mention that you heard of this struggle through Fightback, www.marxist.ca.
