This toolkit is a daily compendium of news and links relating to the strike by Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3903, which represents teaching assistants, contract faculty and graduate assistants at 91راة«. The strike began on Nov. 6. For immediate information or to report picket line issues, call the Strike Hotline at 416-650-8420.
Senate update: The Executive Committee of the Senate of 91راة« has updated its statement on the suspension of academic activities. Titled , it includes reference to undergraduate exchange students at the Schulich School of Business and Schulich students who will be studying abroad on exchange programs in the winter term. They are eligible for early remediation which will permit them to complete their fall term studies (no other students are eligible for this option).
The statement is posted with other Senate bulletins at the 91راة« Secretariat's page.
General information
Academic activities, including classes and exams, have been suspended for the duration of the strike, with some exceptions. For full details, students and others should go to the 91راة« Secretariat page.
The University is open and employees not represented by CUPE Local 3903 are required to come to work.
Public transit services are still available. However, bus stops are at designated areas outside picket lines. For more information and a map of bus stops, see the Web site. The continues to operate.
Information and regular updates will be posted on the 91راة« , , page and page, and in , and the student portal. A series of FAQ and information pages is listed at the bottom of this page.
Previous bulletins
Fourteen-day notice on courses: On Nov. 19, the Executive Committee of Senate issued a bulletin of . The notice advises that Wednesday, Nov. 19, was the 14th day of the strike. Senate policy deems that a disruption of 14 days means all suspended full year courses will require some remediation – adjustments and/or modifications of terms and regulations – as will fall term half-courses and courses running on more compressed schedules. The exact nature of the changes will depend on the length of the disruption.
The notice is posted with other Senate information relating to the strike at the 91راة« Secretariat's page.
Mail service delayed: Mail will likely reach 91راة« recipients one day later than usual, due to a strike at Canada Post by administrative and technical staff. Canada Post is still making deliveries, but trucks are affected by picketing delays. The national strike began Nov. 17.
FAQs: A full set of , mirroring the list at the bottom of this page, has been posted on various 91راة« pages, including the internal and external home pages. The set of FAQs is best bookmarked rather than saved as a file, as it will continue to be updated.
Curtis and Stedman lecture halls closed: Effective immediately, all class and special function bookings for the Curtis and Stedman lecture halls have been cancelled or moved to Nov. 30. The lecture halls and classrooms have been closed and locked. There are some offices in these two buildings which will be kept open.
If for some reason a room is required for a function, community members are asked to follow the normal protocol for room allocations and call the Work Control Centre at ext. 22401 during regular office hours or Security Services at ext. 58000 during off hours for access.
Should a settlement be reached and the resumption of classes announced, use of these rooms and lecture halls for academic classes will resume immediately. If a settlement is not reached by Nov. 30, any ad hoc bookings will be reviewed.
For more information, contact Steve Sicluna, manager, maintenance, CSBO, at ext. 55939 or ssicluna@yorku.ca.
Delivery of sensitive materials for researchers: In its latest , Procurement Services says it has made alternative on-campus delivery arrangements for sensitive materials for researchers.
Seven-day notice on courses: On Nov. 12, the Executive Committee of Senate issued a . The notice advises that Wednesday, Nov. 12, was the seventh day of the strike. Senate policy deems that a disruption of seven days means that all suspended fall term half-courses and courses running on more compressed schedules will require some remediation. The exact nature of the remediation for these courses will depend on the length of the disruption.
The notice, Bulletin No. 4, is posted with other Senate information relating to the strike at the 91راة« Secretariat's page.
goSAFE to the buses: The goSAFE evening safety shuttle service will now begin at 5pm and will include the transit companies' designated bus stops outside picket lines. Vans will provide limited service on both the North Route and the South Route from Monday to Friday. For more information or to request special accommodation, call goSAFE at 416-736-5454 or ext. 55454. Online, see the and the site.
Evening buses: During the day, transit companies continue to use designated bus stops outside picket lines. However, all transit buses will return to pick up and drop off at their regular campus bus stops after 7pm and on weekends providing there are no picket lines. For specific route information and customer bulletins, see the Web links at the Web site.
Who will use the evening buses? Among others, Seneca@91راة« students, whose classes continue.
Mail: If you’re wondering what to do about sending mail, fear not. Nothing much has changed. Outgoing mail should still be placed in the usual collection place in your unit, where Mailing Services will continue to pick it up.
Incoming mail will continue to be delivered as usual.
Mail, courier and other inbound deliveries are being coordinated through an off-campus warehouse and transferred to and from the Keele campus.
Couriers: The three principal courier companies – Federal Express, Purolator and DHL – have been informed that any deliveries destined for the Keele campus (regardless of location) should be redirected to an off-campus warehouse. Community members not using these courier companies will be responsible for directly informing other courier companies of the new delivery location and referring them to either Procurement Services (ext. 55143) or Mailing Services (ext. 77598) to obtain the warehouse location.
For courier pickup, people can make their own arrangements or contact Mailing Services (ext. 77598) for more options. Normally, people will be asked to put the package with a completed waybill into their mail collection, and the package will go out the next day.
Deliveries: For full details about deliveries, see the Inbound Deliveries bulletin on the page.
Event cancellations: A wide variety of events have been cancelled or postponed due to the strike. Before planning to attend any campus events, please recheck the listings at the page or YFile's listings (both display the same events). Items for which organizers have contacted 91راة« Events (events@yorku.ca) have been updated to show their status.
Picketing
It is important to remember that the picketers are members of the 91راة« community. They are engaged in a lawful labour dispute with the University. This is a legal strike and it will result in delays and inconvenience.
In a strike, picketers are legally permitted to:
- carry signs stating the nature of the dispute;
- speak to you about their concerns;
- ask you to join the picket line.
Picketers are not legally permitted to:
- blockade entrances to the University;
- use force, threats or threatening gestures;
- construct physical barriers to block access to the University;
- engage in unlawful behaviour.
Points to remember when approaching the picket line:
- Safety is important. Approach the picket line slowly. If you are driving, plan your approach to the University so that you can make a right turn onto the campus. This will prevent you from being caught in the middle of an intersection in case of delays.
- Whether driving, walking or biking onto campus, be prepared to stop and wait until you can cross through the picket line.
- Be prepared for delays and remember to keep your calm. It is important to operate your vehicle in a safe and lawful fashion.
- You should not engage in any confrontation with picketers. If you are not allowed through the picket line, or if you feel threatened, do not attempt to force your way in, immediately withdraw. Do not become involved in any arguments or any type of altercation.
In the event that despite your best efforts you are unable to proceed to your place of work because of the picketing activity, you must immediately contact your manager and contact the Strike Hotline at 416-650-8420.
If you are intimidated, harassed or otherwise mistreated, inform your manager immediately of the time, place and people involved, and steps will be taken to communicate directly to the union and its members that such activity is not lawful or appropriate. If you are concerned for your health and safety, please contact your manager immediately. You may also provide details to the Strike Hotline at 416-650-8420.
Should you have any other concerns or should any issues arise during the work disruption, immediately contact your manager.
Where to find it
This list is updated regularly
- For information on the status of classes, exams and other academic activities, please go to the 91راة« Secretariat's Web page.
- For updates on negotiations, please visit the page.
- Students and prospective students seeking more information about the strike should visit the page.
- Undergraduate students living in residence should see the Frequently Asked Questions and Absence Form posted at the page.
- Graduate students and others living in the 91راة« Apartments should see the Frequently Asked Questions posted at the page.
- Faculty and librarians should go to the presented in FAQ format by the Vice-President Academic & Provost.
- Non-academic staff should visit the page.
- Employees represented by CUPE Local 3903 can see these .
- Research employees can see these .
- Transit information is available at the page.
- Hours of operation for food services are posted at the page.
- Information about library services is available at the page.
- Information about inbound deliveries, including couriers, is available at the page.