Women, disabled and trans people.
McGill and Meem University has been able to choose a space that we could inhabit.
McGill University belongs to us, to the workers, the students, the gang and the people this land is both upon.
McGill we know you operate, subjugate, divide and impoverish.
You make workers do more for less.
By refusing them, seniority and benefits, you keep them in precarity.
And we see you as disabled when they dare to ask for a living wage.
Your politics echo the campus groups.
We see you interfere to divide groups on campus.
You force us into precarity and make us unable to fulfill our mandates.
McGill, we see how you use precarity.
You abuse your workers by driving them into poverty and dependency.
You abuse your students, but also students who use the services provided by workers.
You threaten the most used student services.
We see your politics in action at CUPORG too.
You force conditions upon CUPORG's existence.
You force and you disrupt our programming in order to force us to run an existence for five years.
You disrupt our activities and seek to CUPORG to just get it.
McGill and me, you remind me of Goya's painting, Saturn Diverting his Sun.
I'm her night student.
McGill, you institution feeds on her labor, bodies and her hopes.
No more McGill, no more of this.
Oh yeah, love it.
Alright, next up we have Melissa, who's an amused member and also a member of the Fight Back Group.
Good evening everyone, my name is Melissa.
I started work for McGill over the summer and I'm going to tell you just a bit of what I saw.
What I saw working for McGill was student workers working for poverty wages
in jobs that would normally be paid twice as much for a wealthy institution
that loves to brag about its international reputation.
I saw our collective agreement brazenly disregarded concerning wages and break times.
I saw student workers and workers working for unstable hours which do not guarantee a salary to pay the rent.
I saw student workers suffering to keep those jobs even if it meant failing in classes or jeopardizing their grades
or if it meant undermining their physical or mental health.
I saw students and workers and student workers working all summer for $10.85 only to pay all that back in September
in the form of tuition fees, giving it all back to the university in the end.
I'm also a member of Amuse and I'm also an activist with Socialist Fight Back Club on campus
with organized solidarity pickets because we believe that this strike is not just about our members and Amuse,
it's about all of us.
The Amuse situation is connected to a worldwide trend of poorly paid and insecure employment.
It's becoming the norm and not the exception and it's probably going to affect you.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau just recently said that we should all get used to unsecure employment.
This is especially a message meant for youth that this is what you can expect under the capitalist system.
We believe the source of the problem is the system itself which relies on cheap and precarious labor and driving down wages
to fight for a new society, a socialist society which prioritizes human need over private profit.
To do that, we need your help. We need help beyond Amuse.
We need to link up the struggle of Amuse with other struggles in unionized and non-unionized workplaces.
We need to link up with student struggles like the struggle for free tuition and an abolition of tuition.
We need to link up with other movements calling for the forgiveness of student debt and free education for all.
All these struggles are one and together we can win but it's going to take unity, it's going to take solidarity.
We need your help. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Where did my list go? Oh, yeah, I remember.
Okay, next up we have Erin from SMOOL. Round of applause. Erin from SMOOL.
Hello, everyone. My name is Erin Sobat. I'm the Vice President University of Therans at the Student Society of McGill University and I'm here to stand in solidarity with Amuse.
SMOOL voted to endorse Amuse's bargaining on October 13.
I want to say that I'm inspired by the positive energy that has been behind this strike these last five days and the support from across our community.
Amuse members, I'm particularly encouraged to see you all here today to demand better from our university because you have not been respected by this administration.
Just today, they are replacing Amuse workers with volunteers at an event to make McGill look progressive.
We already know that they won't even give you all ID cards or accurate job titles because apparently it's not worth their time.
And even as the administration tries to deregulate more international student tuition programs and increase student fees, they claim that underpaid labor through the work-study program qualifies as sufficient financial aid.
You know, I hear what they say about workers in unions behind closed doors. They call you petty, greedy, and a threat to be managed.
But they are also afraid of your power and this week you have reminded them of that.
A strike is one of your best tools of collective action and while it's getting colder outside, I hope that you're not afraid to use it again if necessary.
Finally, I want to recognize the work of the Amuse executive and bargaining team and all of the Amuse members who have been on strike and picketing.
Your bargaining team has been working incredibly hard to serve your needs and to secure a new agreement with McGill.
I want to wish them the best of luck as they return to the negotiating table with all of you behind them. Thank you.
Woo-hoo!
You have power. You're a threat. Fuck yeah! That just brings me so much pleasure.
Next up, we have an amazing person and our last speaker for tonight. Let's welcome the president of Amuse, Claire McKayla.
Thanks for Luca. That was a really nice shout out.
It's great to see the 15 and fair banner here. It's great to see these I support Amuse balloons and I really encourage all of you in line to think about not crossing our picket line and not attending the Snowden event in solidarity with our struggle.
We have made the connection between our struggle and Snowden's actions on the Facebook event if you'd like to read about it.
You can also ask us questions. We'd be happy to answer them about what's going on and what the states are at McGill University regarding the issues that Snowden is famous for.
In closing, I'd like to say that we need your continued support just as the other speakers have called for your continued support to reach our demands. This is not the end. This is only the beginning for all of us in solidarity.
Go, go, go!
Strike, strike, strike. Organizing is our right. Strike, strike, strike. Organizing is our right. Strike, strike, strike. Organizing is our right.
That's all we got for now, but we're going to play some music and we're all going to dance.
Dance for our living wage, dance for employment protections, dance for hiring priority and jobs we've already done.
Thanks everyone.
We got one more announcement.
Thank you again to all the people who mobilized for the National Children's Day for the school's graduation.
The workers, the students, we're here together.
Go, go, go!
