Results tagged “cupe3903”

After eighty-five bitter days, government back-to-work legislation has brought the CUPE 3903 strike at York University to its ignominious end.

York University administration had hoped that a supervised vote of CUPE 3903 members yesterday and today would result in an acceptance of the school's settlement to end the months-long strike. But results from the vote just came down the wire from CUPE, and all three voting units have declined the offer, with 61.7% of the first unit, 59.3% of the second unit, and 70% of the third unit voting "No." The university quickly responded, quoting York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, who said that “The clock has run out on CUPE...I will be working with the deans and Senate Executive to prepare plans to further extend the academic calendar to ensure that students complete their fall and winter terms. This will mean reducing or, if need be, cancelling the summer term.” Tick tock.

As has been widely reported, York University has presented CUPE local 3903 with a new settlement offer, and asked the union to put the deal to its membership for a vote as soon as possible. Unfortunately, any hopes that this may signal the beginning of the end are misplaced. In an interview with Torontoist this evening, a representative of CUPE 3903 said that "bargaining is ongoing" and that any talk of a deal is premature. The union has a regularly scheduled membership meeting tomorrow at which the latest developments will be discussed, but there are no plans to put the administration's proposal up for ratification at this time. While some progress has been made in this most recent round of talks, union leaders feel that not all issues have been fully addressed—prime among these the need to provide job security for contract faculty. The union representative described the administration's decision to publicize the offer as "disappointing," and an unfortunate media ploy. CUPE 3903 plans to present York with a counteroffer later this week.

Hunger—which we caught at TIFF and again at the European Film Festival—is perhaps the most tactile movie we have ever seen. The impressionistic docudrama chronicling the prison hunger strike by IRA soldier Bobby Sands and the conditions leading up to his decision to take such extreme action, is all about the body and the things that go into, come out of, and are done to it. The film, the feature debut by British artist Steve McQueen (not that one), thoroughly deglamourizes the notion of deliberately starving oneself, by forcing you to confront the physical consequences of the act; it does for this method of suicide what 2:37 did for wrist cutting.

                    

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2008--the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months, with one hero and one villain selected by each participating staff member. On Christmas Day: the heroes. On Boxing Day: the villains. And next week, cast your vote to determine the Superhero and Supervillain of the year.

There it was. Tipped over on its side, door slightly ajar, turning heads on Sentinel Road. The blue Port-o-Potty that once stood in solidarity with York University's TAs, GAs and contract faculty, has fallen. Toppled by a regime that some have called "Angry Undergrads With Something to Say," or "Bored Undergrads Who Get Drunk and Break/Tip Shit," it's clear that the message is... unclear.