CUPE 5524 represents Sessional Faculty, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and Graduate Research Assistants at the University of Waterloo. Some of our members are participating in the student encampment that is calling for disclosure, divestment, and boycott of institutions contributing to the ongoing violence in Israel-Palestine.
On Monday, May 20th, the University administration gave formal notice to the student encampment requiring that it be removed immediately. This notice cited six University policies as the grounds for removal (Policies 2, 15, 22, 33, 34, and 71). However, the justifications provided for each policy would equally apply if our Local were to engage in legal job action. For this reason, CUPE 5524 condemns the University administration for applying these policies to quash a peaceful demonstration. In particular, we believe that Policy 33 has been grossly misapplied in a manner that could likewise be applied to a strike. A complete writeup on the misapplication of these six policies, and why we reject them as a union, can be found here.
We also condemn the University’s invocation of the Trespass to Property Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.T.21. If police force is used for the removal of peacefully demonstrating students and workers, then clearly the University prioritises its assumed property rights over student and worker safety and wellbeing. The University administration’s claim to trespass rights is especially unclear since the title to the land that the University occupies is currently under dispute and before the courts. We reiterate the University of Waterloo’s Territorial Acknowledgement and note that Six Nations of the Grand River has not invoked the Trespass Act.
On May 29th, 2024, our Membership voted to express support for many of the demands of the student encampment. Financial transparency is critical to effectively bargain for fair working conditions. Hence, limiting transparency hinders workers’ rights just as surely as it shirks accountability for how the University handles its investments. Thus we call on the University to disclose detailed financial records in a timely manner, and establish better protocols for the open access of this information going forward. We also call on the University to divest from weapons manufacturers and defense contractors, and the companies on the BDS National Committee List: HP, Siemens, AXA, Puma, SodaStream, Ahava, Sabra, and produce that comes from within illegally occupied land. We do not want our labour, nor its fruits, to be contributing to violence and genocide.
Please see the following statements from CUPE National and CUPE Ontario on university encampments and the following statements from CUPE National and CUPE Ontario on ceasefire in Gaza.