Since Thursday, November 6th, 2008, classes at York University have been suspended because of a labor dispute between Canadian Union of Public Employees 3903 and the university. CUPE 3903 members consist of teaching assistants, graduate assistants, research assistants, and contract faculty… so anyone who teaches, but isn’t a tenured professor; they cover over fifty percent of the teaching at the university. The union is asking for, not only increases in wages, but better job security for the contract profs, two-year contracts, and some other things that I that I’m not entirely clear on.
So, for 17 days, there have been no classes, labs, tutorials, studies, or other academic activities lead by TA’s (student-run groups that don’t count for credit, however, are still fair game). During this time, approximately 50,000 undergraduates who attend school here have basically been held hostage, especially those in residence (…i.e. me). On top of that, in my case, I’m in a joint program with another college, Sheridan College, so I (and my fellow design majors) had to schlep out to Oakville once a week and attend classes there while none of our other classes were going on. Pretty much all of the kids who were living in res, the ones that could go home and be back at York in a reasonable amount of time should the strike end unexpectedly, left. Those of us who still had classes in the GTA, or who were from really far away (say… Hong Kong, or even places like P.E.I. that required a flight to and from), had to stick around and wait. In light of the fact that my classes will be over Wednesday, I am going home for American Thanksgiving (something hadn’t previously been possible because I had a midterm and concert scheduled that day).
However, there is a constant threat that I’ll have to book last minute tickets and book it up to the GTA if the strike ends. Apparently, the union is meeting with a third party arbitrator sometime soon and adjusting their demands, which could lead to a meeting with both sides soon (I’ve heard from various sources that the last meeting lasted either two hours or fifteen minutes… either way, no agreement was reached).
Though I’m worried about cutting my breaks and subsequent time at home short, I’ve decided to remain fairly neutral about this; I have taken the stance that… there isn’t much I can do, other than start picketing with one of the sides, which isn’t really appealing to me for many reasons (including the fact that the temperature hovers around the freezing mark every day). Not surprisingly, OTHER undergrads have A LOT to say about it. For example, the main student-focused protest group, the York University Anti-Strike group (facebook), is taking the stance that CUPE 3903 is asking for too much and not considering the undergraduates' positions at all. The York Federation of Students, our student union, is siding WITH the union, I believe based on the idea that better working conditions for them will produce better education for the undergraduates here.
That’s all I really have to say about this topic. For those curious for more information about the strike, and strike updates, here are some links:
For ridiculously biased updates from the university, see:
http://www.yorku.ca/web/index.htm
http://webapps.yorku.ca/negotiationsupdates/Updates.aspx?a=CUPE3903
For slightly less biased updates from CUPE 3903, see:
http://www.cupe3903.tao.ca/
For bitter, possibly accurate updates from York Not Hostage, see:
http://www.yorknothostage.com/
For outside, not-necessarily-thorough updates, I check The Star:
http://www.thestar.com/search?t=&q=York%20University%20strike&r=&ll=&type=&dp=&PageNumber=&OrderBy=
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Change (and I'm not talking Loonies and Toonies)
Two weeks ago today, history was made in the United States.
Now, I don’t really want to discuss politics too heavily in this blog, since… well it’s more of a travel/experiential blog, really, and politics are best left to be discussed bitterly in political blogs, but the whole experience of this election from the perspective of another country was something worth noting.
I’m still surprised by the number of people I meet here (young people, especially) who are interested in, possibly almost obsessed with, American politics. I visited my roommate’s hometown last weekend, and while we were at dinner with a bunch of her friends, one of them got all excited when she found out I was from the States (she even whipped out her copy of “The Audacity of Hope” to share with me). I’d like to think that we’re all ambassadors; obviously you can’t judge a whole country based on one person, or on media coverage – you need to meet individuals from countries and hear what they have to say. So in a way, I’d like to think that I’m an ambassador for Americans, especially in time where our country’s political decisions haven’t exactly been stellar, diplomatic, or world-forward. I listen to what Canadians have to say: I explain what I think about American politics and how it works, and I hope that we’re both learning and maybe changing our opinions about one another.
And when they ask me if I voted, I tell them that I did; I voted for Obama and I voted absentee in the comfort of my residence room. I had my friend sign as my witness and then I mailed it home. I’d like to think that my vote was counted and there wasn’t any funny business at the polls, and since Virginia somehow magically became a blue state for the first time in 40-ish years, I’m pretty sure it was.
In the last few weeks prior to election night, there was at least one article in The Star each day about something dumb Sarah Palin had done or said (one of my friends jokingly speculated that this is because Canadians secretly like to think that Americans are dumb, and when someone actually proves it, it makes them happy) and at least one or two about other aspects of the election.
And when it came down to election day, I was pleasantly surprised by a lot of things. I knew that the election coverage was going to be playing on the common room TV, but I was surprised when I came home from class Tuesday night to see a huge crowd gathered around the widescreen in the common room, their gazes fixed on CCN, watching as results came in. Unfortunately, I had to work on a typography project, so I didn’t join them, but I reloaded NBC4’s website over and over again until, suddenly, Barack Obama had 273 electoral votes. I ran and hijacked my roommate’s TV, and ended up getting to hear a bit of McCain’s defeat speech (I ended up watching Obama’s victory speech the next day, and it was awesome). After that, every so often, I could hear people freaking out all over the dorm. I live on the seventh floor, directly above the front entrance, and I could hear people outside by the front door shouting to others, “OBAMA WON!!!” It was madness, but it felt nice to know that people here, though they had no say in the election, were so excited for what had been accomplished at home.
So, yes we did, America. We did something that has given our image a huge boost around the globe. One of my roommate’s friends commented, “I feel like I can actually like the United States again, now that there’s a president I support,” and as an obligatory afterthought, because I must have been giving him a look, “…sorry.”
And I’d like to add a warning to those conservatives out there who are disappointed by the results: I kept seeing posts and opinions all over the internet whining that if Obama won, they would be moving to Canada. Think again – I heard on CP24 that 85% of Canadians polled would’ve voted for Obama if they could have. And you’re complaining because Obama is too “socialist”? Remember – in Canada, they have socialized health care, and many, many, many OTHER government-funded social programs. I guess what I want to say here is, Republicans, or those who did not support Obama, be thankful for what you’ve got. And, don’t get me wrong here, Canada is an awesome place; I don’t mean to imply that there’s something wrong with politics here, but if that’s the reason you want to leave, just think twice before packing your bags. :)
Now, I don’t really want to discuss politics too heavily in this blog, since… well it’s more of a travel/experiential blog, really, and politics are best left to be discussed bitterly in political blogs, but the whole experience of this election from the perspective of another country was something worth noting.
I’m still surprised by the number of people I meet here (young people, especially) who are interested in, possibly almost obsessed with, American politics. I visited my roommate’s hometown last weekend, and while we were at dinner with a bunch of her friends, one of them got all excited when she found out I was from the States (she even whipped out her copy of “The Audacity of Hope” to share with me). I’d like to think that we’re all ambassadors; obviously you can’t judge a whole country based on one person, or on media coverage – you need to meet individuals from countries and hear what they have to say. So in a way, I’d like to think that I’m an ambassador for Americans, especially in time where our country’s political decisions haven’t exactly been stellar, diplomatic, or world-forward. I listen to what Canadians have to say: I explain what I think about American politics and how it works, and I hope that we’re both learning and maybe changing our opinions about one another.
And when they ask me if I voted, I tell them that I did; I voted for Obama and I voted absentee in the comfort of my residence room. I had my friend sign as my witness and then I mailed it home. I’d like to think that my vote was counted and there wasn’t any funny business at the polls, and since Virginia somehow magically became a blue state for the first time in 40-ish years, I’m pretty sure it was.
In the last few weeks prior to election night, there was at least one article in The Star each day about something dumb Sarah Palin had done or said (one of my friends jokingly speculated that this is because Canadians secretly like to think that Americans are dumb, and when someone actually proves it, it makes them happy) and at least one or two about other aspects of the election.
And when it came down to election day, I was pleasantly surprised by a lot of things. I knew that the election coverage was going to be playing on the common room TV, but I was surprised when I came home from class Tuesday night to see a huge crowd gathered around the widescreen in the common room, their gazes fixed on CCN, watching as results came in. Unfortunately, I had to work on a typography project, so I didn’t join them, but I reloaded NBC4’s website over and over again until, suddenly, Barack Obama had 273 electoral votes. I ran and hijacked my roommate’s TV, and ended up getting to hear a bit of McCain’s defeat speech (I ended up watching Obama’s victory speech the next day, and it was awesome). After that, every so often, I could hear people freaking out all over the dorm. I live on the seventh floor, directly above the front entrance, and I could hear people outside by the front door shouting to others, “OBAMA WON!!!” It was madness, but it felt nice to know that people here, though they had no say in the election, were so excited for what had been accomplished at home.
So, yes we did, America. We did something that has given our image a huge boost around the globe. One of my roommate’s friends commented, “I feel like I can actually like the United States again, now that there’s a president I support,” and as an obligatory afterthought, because I must have been giving him a look, “…sorry.”
And I’d like to add a warning to those conservatives out there who are disappointed by the results: I kept seeing posts and opinions all over the internet whining that if Obama won, they would be moving to Canada. Think again – I heard on CP24 that 85% of Canadians polled would’ve voted for Obama if they could have. And you’re complaining because Obama is too “socialist”? Remember – in Canada, they have socialized health care, and many, many, many OTHER government-funded social programs. I guess what I want to say here is, Republicans, or those who did not support Obama, be thankful for what you’ve got. And, don’t get me wrong here, Canada is an awesome place; I don’t mean to imply that there’s something wrong with politics here, but if that’s the reason you want to leave, just think twice before packing your bags. :)
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