Union busting in the academy - urgent! (fwd)

[Michael Hoover]

> Dear progressives,
> 
> Included in this email is some information on a labour dispute at the 
> University of Toronto. The part-time bookstore workers, who recently 
> unionized, are fighting for a fair first contract. The University of Toronto 
> Press, which is owned wholly by U of T, has responded by firing and 
> harrassing union activists and forcing these mostly female workers out on 
> strike. It is now abundantly clear that are out to bust this union. I am 
> going to be blunt - we need your support! Please sign this petition and 
> forward it to all your colleagues. If your are in a union, association, or 
> community group please get your group to support us. Lastly, please pass 
> this on to as many people as possible.
> 
> In solidarity
> 
> Paul Lykotrafitis
> Canadian Union of Public Employees local 3261
> picket captain
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dear colleague,
> 
> This is a petition sent out to all post-secondary teaching staff
> outside of the UofT community. Part-time workers, mainly university
> students, are on their fourth week of a first contract strike. They
> are fighting for decent wages and job security. They currently
> occupy the doubly privileged position of being the lowest paid workers on 
> the UofT campus as well as the lowest paid post-secondary bookstore
> workers in all of Canada. Negotiations have broken off for the third time
> since they began. Please add your support to the petition below and
> pass it along to your colleagues. (Send your reply to
> service.workers at utoronto.ca and address it to me.)
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> In solidarity & struggle,
> 
> Mehdi Kouhestaninehad,
> President, CUPE Local 3261
> 
> Dear Dr. Birgeneau & Mr. G. Meadows,
> 
> As post-secondary faculty and teaching staff, we are appalled and
> horrified at the treatment with which the UT Press is meting out to
> its part-time workers. The University of Toronto is well known
> internationally for its excellence in the scholarly field. Its
> Press reflects and in fact, contributes significantly to this
> prestige.It is disturbing, therefore, to learn that this sterling reputation 
> is being gained off the backs of those who benefit the University so much. 
> The fact that these workers are also largely university students adds to the 
> shame of this situation. We are aware that the costs of post-secondary 
> education have risen phenomenally over the past decade.
> 
> That the University of Toronto, through its ancillary operation,
> the UT Press, is forcing its students to live below the poverty line
> while annually requiring them to pay more in tuition is shocking. The
> University of Toronto makes much of its alumni—and with good cause.
> However, every alumnus was once an undergraduate student paying
> his/her way through education. We hope that the University of
> Toronto does not make a policy of only respecting its students when they are 
> able to make financial contributions to the university coffers.
> 
> Until the University of Toronto, and the UT Press, begins to
> treat their student workers with the respect and dignity suited to
> an institution devoted to higher education, we must regretfully
> refrain from any business with the UT Press and its operations. In
> addition, we feel obligated to warn our colleagues and friends about
> the conduct of the University of Toronto and its Press. We hope to be
> able once again to resume a professional and collegial relationship with the 
> University of Toronto and the UT Press but are unable to until we
> are certain that we can do so in good faith.
> 
>   Yours Sincerely,
> 
> [add your Name, Faculty, Institution, Phone/Fax and/or Email
> Address]