U of T strike averted

CUPE 3902 and U of T have a tentative agreement

November 8, 2009

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For those who have been following the possible strike situation at U of T, it seems that late last night (or very early this morning) the two sides came to some understanding. Like any such agreement it still needs to be ratified by the union membership. But in any typical bargaining situation once an agreement has the support of the bargaining team it’s pretty much a done deal. There’s no reason to imagine this situation is exceptional.

So CUPE 3902 maintains its very admirable record of avoiding strikes even when there is a mandate to have one. U of T surely deserves some credit here as well. As a rule, I’d suggest, it takes two reasonable bargaining efforts to avert a strike and only one unreasonable bargaining position to create one, so kudos to both sides. And I’ll admit I was wrong. Despite my gutcheck sense that this one might go all the way they pulled it out of the fire.

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Questions are welcome at jeff.rybak@utoronto.ca. Even the ones I don’t post will still receive answers, and where I do use them here I’ll remove identifying information.

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Jeff Rybak

Jeff is the author of "What’s Wrong With University: And How to Make It Work For You Anyway," from ECW Press (April, 2007). He writes and speaks on the subject of post-secondary education in Canada. A proud alumnus of the University of Toronto Scarborough, Jeff is just wrapping up his law degree at the University of Toronto, with a combined MA in English. He has an extensive background in student representation and advocacy and a continuing interest in not-for-profit governance. He also instructs as a sessional lecturer at UTSC, teaching The Legal Environment of Business.