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About the Author
Marc Bousquet is an associate professor of cultural studies and writing with new media at Santa Clara University. His book How the University Works: Higher Education and the Low-Wage Nation has just been released by New York University Press with a foreword by Cary Nelson. He serves on the national council of the American Association of University Professors and was the founding editor of Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor.
About Brainstorm
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Marc Bousquet
Laurie Fendrich
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John L. Jackson Jr.
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Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
Bob Zemsky
Recent Posts
More Contingent Faculty Win Job Security | Comment [4]
The End of 'Minnesota Review'? | Comment [16]
Grad Student Union Launched at U. of Chicago | Comment
Administration's Culture War From Above | Comment [7]
McGill Joins the Bush League | Comment [82]
McGill Grad Employees Strike!
crossposted from howtheuniversityworks.com
So I’m French Canadian by extraction, not very recently, but I’m pretty much related to everyone with my last name in North America. We spend every summer in the Laurentian foothills, a couple of hours from Ottawa, three from Montreal. (I have the heritage, but my spouse has the language skills.)
It’s far from a perfect culture, wracked with its own issues of racism and xenophobia, but one of the things we really like about residing in Quebec is the profoundly pro-social commitments: day care, health care, women’s rights, and, especially, labor rights.
Even anglophone McGill benefits from the Quebec labor code. When the grads went on strike for smaller classes, office space, better teacher training and better pay yesterday, they’re protected by the toughest labor law in North America:
TAs have a legal right to strike and interfering with the impact of our work stoppage is a serious offense known as “scabbing.” It is prohibited by article 109.1 of the Quebec Labour Code. Regrettably, it seems that the university has instructed its professors and sessional instructors to ignore the law and perform the normal and usual tasks of the members of our bargaining unit. The university is not above the law: our rights are not diminished simply because we are hired as teaching assistants. The duties delegated to us remain our responsibilities, and they cannot be completed when a strike has been called.
AGSEM is collecting evidence of scabbing so that we may assert the rights of our members to the Minister of Labour. If you believe another university employee has been directed to or is currently completing work that is included under your contract, e-mail that evidence (syllabi, personal e-mails and correspondence, or completed workload forms) to myjobmywork [at] gmail.com.
Professors and sessionals should know that the university cannot require an employee to break the law. If you are being pressured to perform the work of your TAs or your pay has been threatened, please contact us. You should be aware that the Labour Code allows fines of up to $1,000 per day for both the employer AND the individual found to be scabbing for each day that the offense continues. Association of Graduate Employees Employed at McGill (AGSEM)
Now, that’s my people!
Posted at 12:03:39 AM on April 10, 2008 | All postings by Marc BousquetComments
Commenting is closed for this article.
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Right on, eh?
I share your heritage and your pride (though not your last name).
— Dan · Apr 10, 10:09 AM · #
It is refreshing to see anyone not rich promote ideas and practices in society. Sadly the further south one goes from Quebec, the more ideas and practices seem to be promoted only by, of, and for the rich. It must be something in the water. Wealthier Americans always defend thusly: “see how much wealth we create compared to French cultures”. It is always the rich Americans who are most convinced of this argument.
— Richard Tabor Greene · Apr 11, 06:39 AM · #
I don’t like the strike. I am currently a TA and I am losing money every week because of this. Furthermore I don’t agree with AGSEM’s demands. Yet, I have to join them in their stupid picket line to receive any compensation for my monetary losses. Too bad that apparently too few people attended the general assembly to prevent a strike…
— Eric · Apr 15, 06:23 PM · #
It is amazing to me that McGill has managed to maintain its typically Anglo posture in spite on being in the midst of Quebec. McGill’s approach to its TAs is at least, to ignore them, and at worst, to treat them like enemies. In a province where the government actually responds to its students, and listens to its people, McGill refuses to listen to either its grads or undergrads and acknowledge its TAs matter.
The Union, AGSEM, demand’s are somewhat innocuous in fact: cap sizes for conferences, office space, a written contract specifying duties (a ‘workload form’), paid training, and an increase in wages. This makes it all the more obnoxious that the university won’t budge. All of their demands would directly improve the undergrad education at McGill, so why doesn’t the university recognize that?
Fundamentally the Union is really asking for recognition from the university that TAs play an invaluable role in educating undergrads, and are the front line, and sometimes the only line, for undergrads at McGill. I graduated from a less reputable undergrad university in the states and spent the last 2 years of my degree in classes with under 20 people. Undergrads at Mcgill can graduate and never been in a class with under 60-100 students. This means there are always TAs grading their work. Shocking then, that the University administration does not think TAs should automatically be trained.
Whether you like unions or not isn’t the point, the point is that this is a University whose very goals are to foster a collegial atmosphere, educate, and train undergrads and grads to become smarter citizens who can productively contribute to society. What message does it send its students when universities, and McGill is far from being the only university in this category (NYU), refuse to treat its employees, of whatever kind, as valued and worthy of respect for the work they do. It sets an interesting dynamic that many will carry forth as they become ‘better citizens’.
— Amy · Apr 19, 10:05 AM · #
Despite being governed by the strongest labour laws in North America, McGill has recently embarked upon mass firings of sessional instructors, research assistants, and exam invigilators who are union members. In addition, full-time faculty have been directed by the administration to perform all of the grading tasks of their striking TAs, which not only contravenes the Quebec labour code but places an undue burden on professors who are themselves non-unionized. Plainly, the university would rather destroy the bonds that unite its scholarly community than work toward finding reasonable solutions that will benefit all of its members, which is a terrible shame.
Thanks, in any case, for your support.
— Lilian · Apr 21, 01:38 AM · #
Lilian and Amy, I just got back from a long trip with a monster head cold, but I’d like to follow up on the McGill situation. If you’d like to put me in touch with folks who can talk about what’s happening—even confidentially—please ask them to contact me on my main blog at howtheuniversityworks.com or by using this email pmbousquet (at) gmail (dot) com
Solidarity, M
— Marc Bousquet · Apr 22, 11:37 PM · #