Tories and Grits wade into York strike

TORONTO (CUP) - Having long watched the York University strike from the sidelines, Ontario's provincial government is beginning to jump into the ring.The strike by CUPE 3903, which represents some 3,300 teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and contact faculty at the Toronto campus, officially became the longest in the school's history today at 77 days and counting.

Previously, Ontario's Liberal government has shown reluctance to intervene in the protracted job action, but recent events have put more pressure on everyone to find a resolution.

The past week has seen a forced ratification vote, supervised by the Ministry of Labour, and calls from Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader John Tory for the Liberals to legislate CUPE 3903 back to work.

Today, Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty promised to send in one of his best mediators to "bang a few heads together" in an 11th hour attempt to salvage the school year for York's students, reported the Canadian Press.

The forced ratification vote was called by York's administration on Jan. 7, and involved bypassing union execs with the university's latest offer of a 10.7 percent pay raise over three years. Conducted by secret ballot and presided over by the government, it let rank-and-file union members decide whether they wanted to accept the offer.

Last night, all three striking segments rejected the offer, with contract faculty the least opposed at 59 per cent, and graduate assistants the most at 70 per cent.

CUPE spokesman Tyler Shipley said today that the union was displeased the university forced a vote, when they already knew how the workers would react.

"We didn't like it, to put it lightly. There's a process for a reason . . . the university wasted all our time going through the vote anyway," said Shipley.

Shipley was more incensed by calls from the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party for McGuinty to legislate his union back to work, however.

In a recent press release, Tory said: "Enough is enough. It's time for the government to step in and get these students back in the classroom. We're now dangerously close to losing the entire school year, yet Ontario's self-proclaimed 'Education Premier' has done next to nothing to end this situation."

"We urge striking contract faculty to accept the latest offer," Tory continued. "If [the forced ratification vote] is not accepted, the McGuinty Government must finally do the right thing, recall the Legislature and save what is left of this school year."

Shipley dismissed this as politicians trying to "pander to their voters."

"If John Tory wants to play politics with the strike, that's his business," he said.

Shipley added that the government would not have the right to legislate CUPE back to work, because they are not an essential service. "No lives are at stake here," he said.

"Collective bargaining is a right workers have fought for, for ages. For the Tories to do away with it, that's quite an attack," he added.

York's administration did not immediately return calls, but appear to agree that legislation is not the way to end the strike.

The Excalibur, York's student newspaper, reported university president Mamdouh Shoukri as saying such a measure is not the school's "preferred option."

"We have briefed the government on the situation, but we have not asked for government intervention, nor has it been offered," said Shoukri.

Regardless, McGuinty is sending in his mediator to bring the warring sides back to the table once more. 50,000 out-of-school students can only hope those heads get "knocked" quickly, before the whole year is scuttled.