CUPE FAQ: Why Should Undergrads Support CUPE 3903?

Frequently Asked Questions regarding the CUPE 3903 strike against York University.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• CUPE
• 3903
• strike
• York
• University

[RecycledCinema]

Honestly, you've become incoherent in your arguments. No one wanted a two month strike. The University's refusal to negotiate has created this mess. TAs aren't asking for anything except a living wage. You proclaim we are selfish and yet all you care about is going back to school, no matter what the conditions are when you return. Don't you understand that labor will never be rewarded for their work unless they strike?

[aspiring6artist]

THE UNDERGRADS DO NOT SUPPORT THE STRIKE. Should a child support a pedophile who rapes them? No! Why? Because he's fucking them. Why would undergrads support a union who is fucking us? There is nothing in the contract negotiation that will benefit undergrads. Not one item on the list will benefit me in anyway. NO UNDERGRADS SUPPORT THE STRIKE, NOR SHOULD ANY UNDERGRAD SUPPORT THE STRIKE AND YOU KNOW IT!

[RecycledCinema]

CUPE 3903 didn't shut the school down. Your anger is displaced. York shut the school down and they're making a fortune by doing it. Also, I personally know many undergrads who support the strike.

[iamayorkTA]

Seriously, you are an idiot. Do you actually believe the shit you are saying? You actually think that it is York's fault for canceling classes? That proves how much of an idiot you really are! What, all of a sudden your wages are crappy but when you got the job they were ok? Job security, who is going to hire you after this? You are all gutless and hiding behind a worthless cause that is protected by a union that should, in reality, abandon all of you.

Bunch of gutless idiots, just shut up

[RecycledCinema]

Man, you need to re-evaluate this situation. CUPE 3903 TAs would only have prohibited tutorials from going on. The university preemptively stopped classes. You may think all students should live in poverty, but I've been fighting for undergrad tuition decreases for the last two years. We shouldn't be fighting--you need to understand who your real enemy is. You are misguided and sadly accepting of a position that has been fed to you by the mainstream media. Learn to think for yourself.

[aspiring6artist]

Obviously students SHOULD be below the poverty line... what does that mean? If the poverty line is 25 000 a year. And your tuition is 10 000 a year, should you *really* be making 35 000 a year for a part time job that you do for 1 hour every week? Why should you make 35 000 a year for 1 hour a week of work, when the clerk at the grocery store makes 24 000 a year for 40 hours a week of work?

[RecycledCinema]

1) TAs don't work for 1 hr per week--they are supposed to work for at least 10 hrs per week but in actuality it's usually more. (See the CUPE FAQ on why TAs are asking for higher wages).

2) TAs are asking for a living wage which increases with inflation and allows them to live in the comfort they need to do research and teach classes. No one is asking for a penthouse in downtown or a sports car. We want and deserve a wage which we can live and eat on. We aren't getting that.

[CanadaDan7]

I'm a student and I do NOT support CUPE on this. We pay a hell of a tuition, and its still a surprise that the union is wasting my money and my time. Grow up strikers, go find a real job you babies. Get out of school, grow some balls and get into the real world that your hard-earned education was designed to help you to.

[maximumcorruption]

If students loose their year. York will have parents to answer to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stilllola]

these TA's need to earn their stripes just like all the teachers before them had to do. I don't believe this bullshit about undergrads supporting them. i can't even believe their timing when the economy is going in the gutter they are asking for so much more money.

If we lose our year there will be a lot of angry students.

[slippkapone]

Hi,

Im interested in becoming a York TA. I would like the luxury of being a full-time student and be paid as much as a full-time employee at the same time. Therefore, I can pursue my full-time education while earning a full-time salary. I would like to have my cake and eat it too!

I want to be a TA specifically at york though, because I heard they get paid more than at any university and still can complain for more.

[ladi07ab]

Has undergraduate support dwindled since this video was posted back in early November? The strike was a nice little vacation then. Now it's an obstacle from which some of us might never fully recover.

[lakerShow]

I'm a student and I do support CUPE on this. We pay a hell of a tution, and its still a surprise that such a big part of the University is underpaid.

[mdiswatchin]

I am glad that these students will receive bonus marks for their blind support of CUPE 3903. My question is why did they take their picket inside, crossing the union line?

[aspiring6artist]

No undergraduate student will support the strike. Let me tell you why...

Is is costing us thousands of dollars, and our academic year is in jeopardy.

There is NOTHING in the union demands that will help undergraduate students. Not one thing.

So, undergrads, what to lose from the strike. Money, time, your academic year.

What to win, absolutely nothing!

[polishtown]

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

You are paying for your education. They are paying you for your TA'ing.

You work 10 hours a week for $650. Sometimes that stretches to 20-30 hours. So you are getting 22k/year for a part time job, not bad.

You are also getting an education which you are paying for.

Do you think TA work should pay your way through school?