CUPE 3902 Support Letter
Undergraduate students support their TAs and the members of CUPE 3902 because they understand that fulfilling 3902′s bargaining demands will improve the quality of education at U of T. If you are an undergraduate, please sign this letter to Provost Misak and Dr. Hildyard (and be sure to cc us).
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Dear Provost Misak and Dr. Hildyard,
As an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, I am writing to you
to indicate my support for the Teaching Assistants, Course Instructors,
Laboratory Assistants, Exam Invigilators, and other contract educations
workers who do much to ensure the quality of my learning environment.
The problems at the centre of CUPE 3902’s bargaining proposals—growing
tutorial and laboratory sizes, the increasing costs of graduate
education, and the waning commitment to graduate-student research—are of
concern to me. These problems affect my TAs’ and instructors’ abilities
to teach to their potential. A great deal of my learning experience is
shaped by education workers, and I recognize that improving their
working conditions can only improve my experience at the U of T.
to indicate my support for the Teaching Assistants, Course Instructors,
Laboratory Assistants, Exam Invigilators, and other contract educations
workers who do much to ensure the quality of my learning environment.
The problems at the centre of CUPE 3902’s bargaining proposals—growing
tutorial and laboratory sizes, the increasing costs of graduate
education, and the waning commitment to graduate-student research—are of
concern to me. These problems affect my TAs’ and instructors’ abilities
to teach to their potential. A great deal of my learning experience is
shaped by education workers, and I recognize that improving their
working conditions can only improve my experience at the U of T.
I find CUPE’s demands reasonable and modest. Limiting tutorial and lab sizes,
ensuring adequate support for upper-year graduate students, and enabling
graduate students to finish their degrees without taking on further
debt are all changes that would improve the graduate experience at the U
of T, and thus my undergraduate learning experience. As an
undergraduate, I am an important stakeholder in this university and I
hope that you will consider the possibility that improving working
conditions for CUPE 3902 Unit-1 members at the U of T is also in my best
interest.
ensuring adequate support for upper-year graduate students, and enabling
graduate students to finish their degrees without taking on further
debt are all changes that would improve the graduate experience at the U
of T, and thus my undergraduate learning experience. As an
undergraduate, I am an important stakeholder in this university and I
hope that you will consider the possibility that improving working
conditions for CUPE 3902 Unit-1 members at the U of T is also in my best
interest.
Many students agree with me. I encourage you to allow a timely resolution for the bargaining process. Undergraduate students are counting on the administration’s bargaining team to work
with the conciliator and CUPE 3902’s bargaining team to find a solution
amenable to both sides. We do not feel that these negotiations are a
zero-sum game, in which gains made by CUPE can only be made at the
expense of others. Instead, we know that enabling CUPE 3902 Unit-1
members to do their jobs well will in turn create a better learning
environment for all of us.
with the conciliator and CUPE 3902’s bargaining team to find a solution
amenable to both sides. We do not feel that these negotiations are a
zero-sum game, in which gains made by CUPE can only be made at the
expense of others. Instead, we know that enabling CUPE 3902 Unit-1
members to do their jobs well will in turn create a better learning
environment for all of us.
Sincerely,
<student name>
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