Jodie Vanderslot | Health Editor || Dennis Bayazitov | Assistant News Editor
Featured image: Two incidents—denied urgent entrance, and physical detainment—stood out this first week at the picket lines. | Basma Elbahnasawy
The first week of picketing has marked two particular instances of increased conflict, but has not yet moved the two sides closer to reaching an agreement.
On Monday morning, York student Riley Mccaie was refused entry into the university at the Pond Road picket line, after being called in to see his girlfriend as her emergency contact. Despite notifying the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 3903 of the situation, they would still not let him through.
“My girlfriend could be dying right now,” Mccaie said in an interview with the Global News broadcast crew on-scene. “Just please let me in.” Only after Global News interviewed the man did the picket lines open up.
Furthermore, last Friday, one video posted to r/yorku shows one student being physically detained by a CUPE 3903 member at the Northwest entrance by Pioneer Village Station. The student is seen exiting his parked car and overturning the barricades, trying to clear a way into campus, before being restrained by a union member.
Nevertheless, Bargaining Table Spokesperson and Unit 2 Vice President Julian Arend reassures such incidents are not common. “We don’t see a lot of these issues, because our picket captains have been through de-escalation training and know how to respond and to prevent such things from happening,” he says.
“We are continuing to work on further training for picketers, so that the lines are safe for everyone.”
“All members of the community are asked to use common sense when crossing the picket line,” says York Media Relations Chief Spokesperson Barbara Joy.
“Please allow extra travel time, be patient, and refrain from insults and altercations. We urge all community members to show respect to others with differing perspectives.”
Presently, Arend says reaching a settlement is unlikely, at least within the week, “since only CUPE 3903 is sitting at the table waiting.” He notes should a tentative agreement be reached, it will need to be ratified by the membership as a whole in a secret-ballot vote. If the tallies reveal the vote has been ratified, the Union would return to work.
“The process of finalizing the agreement would also involve a so-called ‘back-to-work’ protocol, which would outline how the term would be finished, how much of the work would be done, how much would be cancelled, how exams would be organized after the delay, assignment submissions, grading deadlines, et cetera,” he adds.
Professors choosing to stand in solidarity with CUPE 3903 and refusing to respond to emails regarding course content, or revise schedules to fit all assignments and tests into a shorter period, has affected students. Many course requirements remain the same despite material not being taught or communicated in the proper way.
Students report feeling their learning experiences are being compromised, feeling lost and anxious about finishing, or passing, the term successfully.
“It’s been an emotional roller coaster for me as the strike has impacted me mentally,” says Adeela Asghar, a third-year Kinesiology and Health Science student.
“I am very anxious and concerned about what an accelerated semester will look like with a compressed exam period, and not to mention many professors are transferring midterm weight to finals, which is worth up to 70 per cent.”
“Asking for assignments immediately after the strike, or even asking for them by a certain date before we know what’s going on with the strike, isn’t a thing that should be asked of us,” says Kiran Farooqui, a fourth-year Children’s Studies and Sociology student. “I get that they are trying to inform us of what’s expected, but it just seems that they want everything done on the same dates, regardless of the disruption in course materials.”
“I’ve lost all motivation to do anything because of the anxiety and depression I’ve been feeling, due to the uncertainty of the situation. I can’t find the motivation to do anything, or do it the best of my ability, because I don’t know when things are due and it’s really inhibiting everything,” adds a fourth-year Sociology and Medical Anthropology student who wishes to remain anonymous.
“The idea that my grades might be severely affected by something I can’t control really makes me worried about my future, and I’ve been pretty suicidal this week. It’s been a rough time,” they add.
As of March 12, several TTC buses have been rerouted are not making their regularly scheduled routes to Pioneer Station, where a picket line exists. Bus routes such as the 35, 41, 60, 84, 106, 107, 108, and 195 will be operating on a detoured route from 7 a.m to 3:30 p.m daily, adding another stressor to the busy lives of those trying to reach campus.
