The following open letter has been drafted by rank-and-file members of CUPE 3903 in response to York University’s ill-prepared return-to-campus plan in fall 2021. This letter is a set of demands that York must provide the necessary accommodations for all faculty and staff who want to work remotely, as well as provide fail-safe working conditions for those who opt to teach on campus. Given the highly contagious delta variant and inadequate protection at York, our working conditions must be taken seriously by the current York administration, whose overriding interest so far has been their “bottom line.” The extreme allure of funding by attaining the largest possible student enrollment, including that of foreign students, whose ultra-high fees now make up 40% of all tuition fees at Canadian universities, has overtaken all reason. New research on COVID-19 infections is now increasingly being linked to the long-term effects on the brain. York administrators need to start thinking seriously and stop playing with our lives.
To add your name to this growing list of York faculty and staff, please fill out this form.