How should we respond to an administration that does not want to respect a student strike?
As student strikes approach, many administrations have threatened to send security or call the police in the event of a picket. People who have exercised their right to strike on their campuses have shared experiences that facilitate the application of strike mandates.
The following are the responses received from people in the HUB community.
Prepare in advance
Have a strike protocol signed | “It all depends on the association's relationship with the administrator, but a strike protocol signed between the two parties is the best option because it gives the best possible relationship. But that requires an opening of the admin and the concessions of the associations." |
Prepare a strategy in case of hostilities | “Yes it has been seen by admins who have refused picketing, in this case you have to decide on the strategy in the association, how far you want to go, we can consider other forms of picketing aka not one hard picketing, but other forms of disruption (easier to enforce than hard picketing which could be broken by an injunction for example)." See examples below. |
Possible strategies in the event of hostilities
Negotiate a strike protocol |
By making significant concessions, such as excluding certain programs or activities from the strike mandate. |
Picketing anyways |
"If we have motivated people, we can still go there for picketing, but it's not the best option knowing that [people] expose themselves to consequences either from the admin or from the police." |
Contact journalists |
“Honestly, we had had a simple experience of censorship at [our institution in connection with our mobilization] and our best option was to contact the media to denounce the practices of the university." |
Waive lessons yourselves |
“For me the best option is to end classes first by encouraging staff and students to respect the strike mandate. Teachers sensitive to the cause will not have the right not to show up, but they will be able to rearrange their courses to avoid penalizing students who respect the strike mandate."
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Reaction of the administration to strike votes
You can anticipate (and inform the student community) that the administration will send a message following a strike vote.
Here is a model message as an example of what may be sent by university administration:
Faculty associations passed strike votes for [details].
In the event that members of student associations demonstrate or boycott classes, respect for the rights of other members of the community must be observed and any conflictual situation avoided, in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Responsibilities of Students of the [institution]. |
A few considerations:
- Management will probably say that everything will go according to plan, although a strike has been voted.
- Teaching staff will be required to report to their class. If students are present, “the normal teaching conditions are met”. However, if no one comes to class OR the class is closed, the normal teaching conditions are NOT met.
- Some people within the faculty will invite the student body to respect the strike mandate while others will scare them if they respect the strike mandate. This is why the lifting of the courses makes it possible to ensure the greatest respect of the mandate.
If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.
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