Canadian Labour Reporter

"We now have a situation at York University where contract faculty were able to ratify a very strong agreement, something that gave them a lot of hope and encouragement and… you have teaching assistants and gradu- ate assistants who are still out. I think what that speaks to is a real frustration on the part of master's and PhD students who are sort of on a track… where they are very uncomfortable or they're wary about what their prospects are going to be after they leave school." Teaching assistants were en- couraged by the agreement's in- clusion of a tuition freeze for all graduate students, Ahmed said, and the union saw the freeze as something to build on for years to come. But the tuition freeze ulti- mately became problematic be- cause it was granted based on a previous hike in fees for interna- tional students. This led the unit to reject the university's offer in an effort to push for a strengthen- ing of language in the agreement that would protect future tuition hikes. The unit representing gradu- ate assistants voted down the deal in a demand for an increase in funding. "Their funding levels are so much lower than the teaching assistant funding levels," Ahmed said. "And they really see the col- lective agreement as a way to get to that." Contract faculty, however, approved the deal after the em- ployer pledged to increase the number of conversions to tenure- track professor positions from nine to 24. Additionally, the number of long-service teaching appoint- ments was upped from 18 to 21 and improvements were made to the university's Continuing Ses- sional Standing program, provid- ing further stability. A provincially appointed me- diator was involved in the bar- gaining that led to the tentative agreement. Both the union and university said they were in communica- tions with the mediator to estab- lish what parameters might be used to bring the parties back to the bargaining table. "York highly values the signifi- cant contributions its teaching assistants and graduate assistants make to the university," said the university's provost Rhonda Len- ton. "We are committed to reach- ing a fair and competitive settle- ment that will continue to po- sition them as among the best compensated in Canada and we remain in contact with the pro- vincially appointed mediator." Bargaining will become more complicated: Lawyer Howard Levitt, senior partner at Levitt & Grosman in Toronto, however, said bargaining will only become more complicated following the contract faculty's ratification vote. While it is not uncommon for bargaining units to reject a tenta- tive agreement endorsed by the union, he said the fact that one of the bargaining units involved did make the deal puts both the union and university in a difficult position when dealing with the units still on strike. "It puts the union and the uni- versity in a very bad position. They've now settled with one group. They can't afford to give the others any more," Levitt said. "Because if they give the others any more, at least without mak- ing them pay substantially for it, then the faculty group that set- tled will feel aggrieved." Additional concessions for the teaching assistants and graduate assistants could lead to contract faculty feeling as if they got the short end of the stick, he said. If the unit representing con- tract faculty does not feel CUPE 3903 represented it to the best of the union's abilities during bargaining, a rift could begin to form. Should the university make an improved offer to teaching and graduate assistants, the union could find itself in an "untenable" position as a bargaining agent. From the university's perspec- tive, Levitt said, caving to the remaining members' demands would destroy its credibility and weaken its position in future bar- gaining. "No one will take them seri- ously in the future when they make a final offer," he said. "They'll assume there's more to be had every time and you'll nev- er get a deal." Ultimately, Levitt said, neither the university nor the union can afford to offer employees more. "The union has to pretend to support the people who've reject- ed the recommendation but in real life they won't because it puts them in a terrible position." According to Levitt, the best case scenario might actually be a protracted strike action. The uni- versity might be more inclined to sweeten the deal — and both parties more likely to save face — if the next offer comes after employees have gone for months without pay while on strike. "Maybe then they can offer more money," Levitt said, "be- cause (the employees) are never going to make up for what they've lost. In that case, they might do it. Otherwise, they'd better hold tight." 7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER news < from pg. 1 Split vote puts union, university in difficult position Teaching assistants and graduate assistants at York University continued to strike after rejecting the employer's final offer, pushing for stronger language in the collective agreement and improved funding. Photo: Mark Blinch (Reuters)

• Cover