The following motion was passed by a majority of members at the February 4 general membership meeting:
Be it Resolved,
that the general membership recommends that the two CUPE senators submit the following motion in writing in time for consideration by the Senate executive meeting on February 10th, and if such a motion is accepted, that they move and second this motion at the Senate meeting on February 26:
Be it Resolved,
In light of President Shoukri’s failure to recognize that the educational issues that led to the longest strike in English-Canadian university history are issues that CUPE Local 3903 has communicated to the York community since November 6th, 2008, the first day of the 85-day strike, and his failure to lead a much-needed open public dialogue on these system-wide issues and to direct the York bargaining team to return to the bargaining table to reach a negotiated settlement in good faith, as is their duty under Ontario Labour Relations Law – even after 63% of CUPE members voted “No” in a forced ratification vote to the Employer’s last offer and after premier McGuinty asked him to return to the bargaining table – this Senate has lost confidence in this president and is of the opinion that he failed to protect the democratic right to collective bargaining, abandoned principles of academic integrity and fairness, and betrayed the community’s core values of quality, accessible higher education and social justice.
Note: According to the Senate Handbook, this is a hortative motion that expresses Senate opinion on matters lying outside its jurisdiction. The Chair, with the advice of the executive, is responsible for determining if the motion is in order. A ruling that that this motion is out of order will be reported to Senate along with a rationale for the ruling. But any such ruling is subject to challenge.
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International Call of the Week: French Universities are on a Permanent Strike.
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Commentary of the Past Three Months: The Segmentation of Academic Labour: A Canadian Example.