Western University bracing for job action as strike deadline looms

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No talks are scheduled as a strike deadline for about 330 caretakers, landscaping staff and trades workers at Western University looms.

If an agreement is not reached, and the workers go on strike or are locked out by the university, thousands of students and their families will have to navigate picket lines when they begin moving into residences on Saturday.

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Members of CUPE Local 2361 will be in a legal strike position if the two sides don’t come to an agreement by 12:01 a.m. Friday, which seems likelier as some workers have already been locked out of system access by the university, Chris Yates, vice-president of the local, said Thursday.

“A number of people were cut off from access to their email, their cards that allow them card access to different areas have already stopped, and we’re not even at midnight,” he said.

“I hope we can work something out (but) from the actions that I’ve seen so far with basically locking us out before the deadline, I’m not hopeful. We are prepared to strike, and we will, if necessary.”

Earlier this month, CUPE Local 2361 filed for a no-board report from Ontario’s Labour Ministry – a formal notice that a board of conciliation needn’t be appointed. The notice started a 17-day countdown, setting the potential for a strike or lockout on Friday.

First-year students are scheduled to move into residences from Saturday to Monday. The university’s fall term begins Sept. 5.

Yates said that unless Western returns to the table with an offer addressing the union’s concerns, workers would “likely” be on the picket lines Friday.

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Western University declined a request for comment and referred The Free Press to a statement posted Wednesday on its website.

“Western has detailed plans in place, and we are committed to ensuring the fall term runs as smoothly as possible,” Lynn Logan, Western’s vice-president operations and finance, said.

The university is open, and all activities will continue, she said.

“Whether you are walking, biking or driving, give yourself extra time coming to and leaving campus. Movement may be slower due to picket lines as well as some campus road closures intended to ensure the safety of the community during the busy start of fall term,” Logan said.

London Transit buses will not enter campus, she said, and students moving into residences will receive instructions from university housing staff on Friday.

Workers are seeking a pay increase because their wages have not kept pace with the “rapidly rising costs of living” and have fallen behind what other employers pay for similar work, Yates said.

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A union official said in a Free Press story last week that staff at Fanshawe College are paid $5 to $7 more an hour for the same work as those employed at Western.

Low wages have resulted in difficulty recruiting and retaining workers, and two-thirds of the local’s members are working a second or third job “just to make ends meet,” Yates said.

Yates said that Western’s enrolment has been trending upwards, “and they’re the one talking about that.” The university’s enrolment has increased by 5,000 students since the COVID-19 pandemic, and projections show an enrolment increase of 1,400 students this school year, he said.

“That’s their own projections . . . hat’s around close to 6,000 students,” Yates said.

Members of the union, such as the caretakers, landscape service technicians and skilled tradespeople, are the ones that keep “the lights on, the plumbing working, the doors open (and) keep the campus safe and accessible for students,” Yates said.

“We have said all along that if they can come back, if they return to the table with an offer that’s going to address our concerns, then we’re willing to negotiate,” he said.

bwilliams@postmedia.com
@BrianWatLFPress
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada

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