March 13, 2024

Dear Dr. Lenton,

As York University students, we are very concerned about how the current CUPE3903 strike is impacting our education. Some of the students impacted are hoping to graduate this year. Some have summer jobs and are concerned about how this strike will impact their work. Some students already have plane tickets, bought at great expense, to travel to see their families this summer. This strike is affecting us all differently, and as students, we hope that this strike ends soon. A lot of us have spent a great deal of money on the courses which we are in and need the courses to help us graduate. There is a lot of concern about when this strike will end, and how the strike will impact us in our future. 

As students, we also want to state that we support CUPE3903. A lot of us have professors or TA’s who are impacted by what CUPE3903 is fighting for. As students, we understand what it is like to live on a low-income, but we don’t expect our professors to also be having to live on a low-income. We were under the impression that the money we spend on the courses would go directly to the school and also to our professors who are teaching us. We just found out that some members of CUPE3903 need to access the food-bank in order to eat, which is not acceptable. As job holders and professors or TA’s at such a respected university as York, income should meet living needs, and staff should be able to afford basic needs such as housing and food. 

According to CUPE3903, 

• "Workers [at York] are struggling to make ends meet as their wages lag behind inflation and the sky-high cost of living". (https://weareyork.ca/) 
  
  
• "Bill 124 has held these workers back further, capping wages at one percent for the past three years." (https://weareyork.ca/)
  
  
• "York University workers have been forced to take on second or third jobs, get into debt, or use food banks." (https://weareyork.ca/)
  
  
• "This state of low wages for workers is an equity issue that jeopardizes the accessibility of high-quality education for all." (https://weareyork.ca/)

These facts are not acceptable, and we as York students fully support CUPE3903.

As York University students, we’re requesting that the administration meet with CUPE3903 and listen to what the union is saying are the needs of York’s staff, and to make changes to meet those needs. York staff’s needs should be met and this strike needs to end. 

Thank you.

Students at York