Union fumes as striking Western University worker hit by vehicle

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Tension is rising at Western University, where a striking worker was hit by a vehicle on Thursday and the union representing 330 employees who walked off the job is accusing the city and university of using London police as a “weapon.”

The union member was on the picket line at the entrance to Elborn College when they were hit by a pickup truck that tried to drive through the line, said Chris Yates, vice-president of CUPE Local 2361 that represents 330 caretakers, landscaping staff and trades workers.

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“They were taken to the University Hospital in an ambulance, on a stretcher with their neck brace on,” he said. “Right now, I know it’s scrapes and a cut or two and definitely a bunch of bruising, but they want to do some scans and whatnot to make sure that they’re OK.”

The incident is the latest flashpoint in a strike entering its fourth week Friday. Students and staff have been caught up in heavy traffic caused by Western’s decision to close roads on campus and pickets holding up vehicles trying to enter the university.

Hours after the worker was injured, CUPE issued a news release saying Western and the city are using police “as a weapon” against workers.

The union said 14 London police officers arrested a member for a minor noise complaint earlier this week. But when it came to the crash Thursday that injured its member, police let the driver leave the scene, the union said.

CUPE said Mayor Josh Morgan and city council need “stop allowing our city’s police to be used to intimidate strikers.”

London police confirmed a pedestrian had been injured on Western Road and said the investigation into the crash is ongoing. Police did not initially identify the pedestrian as a striking worker.

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Western University said it was sorry to hear of the incident.

“The safety of our students, employees and visitors is our top priority, which is why Western special constables continue to work collaboratively with police to manage the entrances to our campus where pickets occur, and we ask those visiting to be patient,” the university said in a statement.

Thursday’s incident is the second in four days at the entrance to Elborn College, where programs in physical and speech therapy are based and members of the public are treated.

On Monday, a London man said his wife and three-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome, were trying to turn into Elborn College for an appointment when they were forced to wait by picketers who were letting one vehicle through every 10 minutes.

Pickets swore at his wife and threatened not to let her in and break her headlights, the man said.

Yates disputed the man’s account. He said he checked with picket line captains and no one was swearing. But he said pickets would be told to let anyone who had medical appointment at Elborn College through the line as quickly as possible.

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The union began picketing at Elborn College on Monday, he said. Union officials are working with the college and London police about letting people in for appointments and monitoring time intervals for picketing, Yates said.

He said his primary concern is ensuring his members get home safe at the end of the day. Thursday was a bad day, he said, but “at least eight to 10 people” have been bumped or brushed by vehicles driving through the lines.

No talks between the two sides have been held since workers walked off the job Aug. 30, days before the start of Western’s fall term on Sept. 5.

The union is demanding increases to staffing and pay that it says lags what other similar employers are offering.

The university, for its part, says its latest offer to workers includes an average annual wage increase of 5.3 per cent a year in a proposed four-year deal, described by Western as “one of the most competitive compensation packages in the university sector.”

Union members would earn between $52,000 and $99,000 in the first year of the deal, on top of pension contributions and post-retirement benefits among other perks, Western said.

jmoulton@postmedia.com

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