#cupe strike

Ontario students are aware of the CUPE strike, but do they understand it?

By Alexandrea Abungin

Photo via CBC News

Education workers rallying in CUPE strike

Just as schools were settling back into in-person learning, CUPE announced that they could potentially go back on strike starting November 21st. With school closures this past month, Ontario students have had to navigate a sea of headlines involving “notwithstanding clauses” and “back to work legislation.” But in simpler terms, the CUPE strike does not represent teachers; it represents education workers. This includes custodians, educational assistants, office workers and many more understated figures in a school community. As a collective, their labour union is demanding Ontario’s government for a wage increase of $3.25 per hour. On October 30th, CUPE announced that their workers would be going on strike starting November 4th. One day later, the provincial government passed Bill 28 which made it illegal for education workers to participate in the CUPE walkout. In an instant, CUPE’s walkout had escalated from a workers’ strike to a political protest.

According to Bill 28, education workers that do not show up to work can be fined up to $4000 and their union could be fined up to $500 000. Nevertheless, CUPE did not put an end to their political protest. With education workers participating in the protest, school buildings would be an unsafe environment for students, causing all school boards in Ontario to close on November 4th. On a school day without education workers, bathrooms would be unsanitary, special needs students would not receive their necessary support, and students who arrive late would not be able to check in at the office. The in-school routine of staff and students would be disrupted when education workers are not present. 

Photo via The Toronto Star

CUPE representative speaking on repealing Bill 28

Although Bill 28 was established in direct response to education workers, it still jeopardizes the labour rights of all Ontario workers. Many citizens are concerned with Doug Ford’s impulsive use of the “notwithstanding clause.” This is when a provincial government establishes a law that conflicts with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this case, Bill 28 conflicts with Section 2(d) of the charter which recognizes workers’ rights to strike and bargain. Nevertheless, invoking the notwithstanding clause is only meant to be used in exceptional circumstances and should be considered as a last possible resort. Using this clause in a non-emergency situation with the intent of silencing education workers can be perceived as an abuse of power. If Ontario is able to disregard the fundamental rights of workers without consequence, this could become a national practice. Matthew Green, an NDP MP, told reporters that "this particular case could present a precedent for provincial governments across the country that might seek to use this to further undermine the collective agreement rights of workers."

Ontario took this case up to the labour board and they proceeded to be in court for the entire weekend. Concurrently, the political protest continued into monday which pushed schools to pivot to online learning. On Monday, November 7th, Doug Ford offered to rescind Bill 28 if CUPE decided to call off the strike. Shortly after, Doug Ford released the following statement: “I’m glad CUPE has agreed to withdraw its strike action so kids can return to class. We’ll be back at the table to negotiate a fair deal — for students, parents, workers and taxpayers.” As of November 7th, Bill 28 has been repealed and CUPE returned to negotiating with the provincial government until further notice. As a result, Ontario school boards returned to in-person learning on Tuesday, November 8th. 

On Wednesday, November 16th, CUPE filed a five day notice that they would be going back on strike. This means that schools could have been closed as early as Monday, November 21st. Many parents were still hopeful that schools would stay open since filing a strike notice is a common bargaining tactic to put pressure on the provincial government. CUPE has said the two sides recently agreed on a 3.59 per cent wage increase, but the union is still fighting for higher staffing levels. As of Sunday, November 20th, the Ontario government and CUPE have reached a tentative agreement. CUPE has not yet released the details of this deal, but they have publicly stated they will not be going on strike on Monday, November 21st. 

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy, including 800 workers in Ontario’s public and catholic school boards. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

You're reinventing government.

. @HSCDSB : Letter to Parents Re:Potential @CUPEOntario Strike #NorthernOntario #WhiteRiverON @VisitChapleau @HSCDSB_Sdao @Wawa_Ontario @HornepayneC @OECTAProv @CatholicEdu @ONeducation

RE: Labour Relations in Ontario’s Education Sector

As you may know, on October 2, 2019, the Canadian Union of PuclPublic Employees (CUPE) provided five (5) days’ notice to begin a strike involving workers in Ontario’s education sector. This means that CUPE workers will be on strike beginning Monday, October 7, 2019, unless an agreement is reached at the provincial bargaining table…

There's a lot that really pisses me off about the rhetoric surrounding the strike and the issues that have led to it, but one particular underlying notion is, to me, the most offensive of all. This notion can be found within the subtext of the following comment excerpts from the widely-circulated Toronto Star article on the subject:

"Why would anyone expect a Graduate Student to be guaranteed a wage above the rather arbitrary poverty line? When you are a student, you cannot work full-time (generally) because you are in the process of upgrading your skills and abilities with the expectation of a future financial payoff..."

"...you are completing your graduate studies. You are not talking about open market labour. Yes, you do "work" at the university, but your "work"--marking student papers, doing research for a prof--is also part of your education. It prepares you for a professional career as a higher-education teacher. Let's have a conversation about TA pay, but to suggest that being a TA is like having a regular job is frankly disingenuous."

And, more nakedly:

"Crimea river kid. it was just as bad when were in university but then we didn't expect to live the high life, pay monthly cell charges, own ipads, drive a car, take vacations in cuba. we lived below the poverty line but we made ends meet because we weren't in grad school as a job but because we knew it would lead to a job. if you feel your grad career wont't take you to something better then try the private sector. its called postponing gratification, try it sometime"

"oh please ! there is a line up of people willing to be TA's! And this stupid suggestion that it is below the poverty level, come on !! it is not a full time job! You look for a full time jo when you graduate. Of course the budget is super tight, you are a student. If you don't like it go work at McDonalds, or Tim Hortons, or as a server like many students do. If you share an apt with a few people being a TA is a great way to get through school with your Iphone, mac Air, and Grande from Starbucks!!"

Now, there's certainly a lot in comments like those to make one seethe, but to me there is one deeply problematic idea underlying all of them (and no, surprisingly it's not "Capitalism, ho!"). That idea is this: as long as you are working within a university in an academic capacity as anything less than a full professor, you are not part of the Real World. You are sheltered within the ivory towers of Academia, a far-off place populated by people who are not Regular People doing Real Work.

These comments clearly display an all too familiar attitude of “talking down.” For the most part, it’s the same “Entitled Millennials” rhetoric that most of us probably encounter at least three times a week now. But this particular intersection of Academia-Is-Not-The-Real-World and This-Generation-Is-So-Entitled is especially galling to me. Anyone who is currently attending the U of T, grad or undergrad, will know already that claims of tropical vacations and cars (in Toronto???) are completely ludicrous. It’s the same sort of nonsense one encounters in the “Welfare Queen” mythology, or Daily Mail screeds against people who purchase iPhones with food stamps (which is impossible, actually). There’s little point in critiquing this obviously classist claptrap…

…but I’m going to do it anyways, because are you FUCKING kidding me?! Have any of these snotty armchair-critics ever actually TRIED to live in Toronto in 2015 under the poverty line? I think fucking not. It’s not a choice between a Grande at Starbucks (ooh, such wit! Such originality!) and a new Moleskine or whatever, it’s a choice between getting your broken computer fixed (without which you can’t work) and having enough money for this month’s rent. And that’s for someone as privileged as a university TA. The vast majority of poor people in Toronto are nowhere near that lucky, something these jackass commenters would know if they’d ever actually “had it much harder.”

But leaving all that aside, what I really need to call out here is the attitude of Academia-Is-Not-The-Real-World, because I really think it’s that above all else that a) is driving opposition to the strike, and b) is the reason the strike is necessary in the first place. The wild fictions that exist in the above comments can be believed by so many people because, as I’ve said, Academia is not the Real World. Academia, for those who are not in it, is a fantasy space upon which assumptions (born out of either ignorance or malice) can be projected. And therefore, the inhabitants of this fantasy space of Academia are not inhabitants of the Real World. They are “young” adults, who need not be granted the respect shown to “real” adults; their concerns are of less importance, and they lack the maturity to speak authoritatively on any meaningful subject.

And thus: if Academia is not the Real World, and academics like TAs are not Real Adults, then how can their labour possibly be Real Work?

Many people have attempted to defend academia and education by saying that the products of universities (AKA us) will be assets to society: we are being trained to become productive members of the Real World, to go out and join the workforce or become brilliant thinkers who will do great things for our country…which, when you think about it, sounds an awful lot like those comments above, doesn’t it? (Your work is part of your education, you are upgrading your skills with the aim of future payoff, it leads to a job…and failing all this, go join the private sector. Get a Real Job. Do some Real Work.)

Well personally, I am thoroughly sick of this constant need for academia to justify itself as a socially-profitable capitalist/nationalist institution. I am sick of this need to embrace capitalism/nationalism to be seen as legitimate. I am so damn sick of the constant need to pretend that the purpose of academia is something completely at odds with its TRUE purpose. Academia is NOT a factory that constructs profitable workers and elite citizens. It does not exist for the sake of either the economy or the nation of Canada. At its heart, true academia should always be about bringing people and ideas together, and allowing them to grow together. The point is not to churn out graduates and alumni who will bring profit and prestige to Canada. The point is to create an environment from which people will emerge, look at Canada, and say “Hm…this isn’t good enough. How can this be better?” People who will look at social conventions and mainstream ideologies and say “Why must it be this way? And how else might it be?” People who look at machines and computers and structures and say “How can you be better, faster, stronger? (sorry)” People who will look at the cutting edge of scientific (and human) understanding, and say “How can we go further?” The physical University of Toronto may exist within and be sustained by Canada, but its soul (at least, the soul and I believe in, and hopefully others believe in too) is not; that soul is of humanity. Or, at the very least, it ought to be.

This labour dispute is not about entitled Millennial shits angling for money. It’s about dignity. It’s about giving due respect to not only human beings in general (because NO ONE deserves poverty, and fuck you if you say otherwise), but to people who are doing GOOD, who go above and beyond for the students entrusted to them. People who, as far as my personal experiences are concerned, have helped me learn better, who have been accommodating of my personal and health issues even when I was a major inconvenience, and who once even offered to be an open ear and a shoulder to lean on in a time of need. And the work that TAs and other educators do is not for you, jackass commenters. It is not for the malcontents and grumpy Real Adults of March 2015. It is for a brighter and better future for the whole human race.