Report on Special General Membership Meeting 4 December 2008

Louise Ripley, YUFA Communications Officer

9 Dec 08 – At a well-attended YUFA Special General Meeting on Thursday 4 December 2008, the membership passed a motion urging YUFA Executive, after discussion with CUPE 3903, to propose to the Administration a type of programme similar to the Special Renewable Contract positions, which would take into consideration the role of hiring units in the process while also respecting Affirmative Action rules as they are stipulated in the YUFA Collective Agreement.

The membership rejected a motion that would have required YUFA to “adopt a stance of dignified neutrality during the remainder of the strike”. A number of people spoke to the fact that during a strike, for a labour union, there is no such thing as “neutrality”. One member asked where YUFA stood on the issue of students in this strike and there is a simple answer. It is the one that was repeated often during YUFA’s own strike of 1997: teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions. Many of CUPE’s demands, such as capping tutorials, will directly benefit students. YUFA urges both sides to work toward a fair and equitable settlement so that our students may return to classrooms that provide the best education possible.