BHA: re: we're workers too

[Ruth Groff <rgroff@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi Caroline,

Just a quick response to your nice note.  Thanks so much.  I agree that it's
hard for people to think of academics as workers.  In our strike - and even
more so when the tenured faculty were out 3 years ago - there was the
constant refrain in the background of "But what about your obligation to
your students?!" My response was always that I am *extremely* committed to
my students, but that, professionally at least, the commitment takes place
in the context of there being a collective agreement between my union and my
employer.

But no matter!  We won.

Warmly,
Ruth




At 09:52 AM 1/17/01 -0000, you wrote:
>This is wonderful news, Ruth!  You are a great model to all us academics to
>remain aware that we are workers and use collective action instead of
>individual whingeing or crawling... at our place, and in the 'new
>university' sector in Britain generally, we are currently involved in
>'action short of a strike' (boycotting formal assessment procedures) to try
>to stop our salaries falling in real terms as they do every year, and to
>retain national bargaining on pay and conditions of work, instead of
>becoming a fragmented and stratified HE system as in the USA.  Alas, we are
>already divided from the Assoc. of Univ. Teachers who are the union for the
>'old' universities, because they have different contracts which don't
>mention 'conditions of service' (those are covered instead by a sort of
>professional 'gentleman's agreement') so they are not taking action.
>I sometimes get frustrated at CR conferences when people use a lot of left
>wing rhetoric but don't seem to use their analysis to reflect on their own
>position and what is happening in our sector, as if CR theory could replace
>activism as a source of  change... At our place a lecturer has just been
>sacked, despite great struggles by us in the union, because of an anonymous
>letter by a student accusing him of bullying.  The evidence was scanty and
>the procedures were all flouted, but he had no employment rights because he
>was new.  We are workers, it's a useful reminder.
>Congratulations again and thanks for telling us, Caroline
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Ruth Groff" <rgroff@xxxxxxxx>
>To: <bhaskar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 4:50 PM
>Subject: BHA: TOTAL VICTORY
>
>
>> Hi guys,
>>
>> I just wanted to send an update to let you know that after 11 weeks and
>> every single strike breaking tactic our university could dream up
>(including
>> a forced ratification vote on their supposed final offer), we WON our
>strike!
>>
>> We won every single thing that we wanted, beyond our wildest dreams.  Once
>> their forced vote failed, they found themselves in danger of losing the
>> school year (as a result of having refused to bargain for almost three
>> months).  It took them 4 more days, but they caved.
>>
>> The key political issue was around tuition (which in Canada is not covered
>> for grad students as part of an over-all financial package, as is common
>in
>> the US).  We won a dollar for dollar increase in wages to match any
>tuition
>> increase during the life of the contract.  This is unprecedented contract
>> language in our sector.
>>
>> In the end we had the active support of the major industrial unions (the
>> auto workers and steel workers, among others, were out on our lines in
>force
>> the day after we defeated the forced vote) and were even huge, front page
>> news three or four days running.  And we won.
>>
>> Relieved and proud in Toronto,
>> r.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>
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>



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