Article content
A strike by Western University workers has entered its sixth week and pickets have migrated far from campus to city hall, protesting what one union member called a lack of support from London’s mayor.
About 30 members of CUPE local 2361 – the union representing 330 striking workers including caretakers, landscapers and trade workers – were marching outside city hall on Tuesday morning. They hope to sway Josh Morgan, who sits on Western’s board of governors, to influence the board to strike a deal, said union official Trevor Shearing.
Article content
“The mayor continues to say that his position on the board of governors for Western conflicts with his position as mayor of the city, and won’t speak to us,” Shearing said. “Our perspective right now is that the position of mayor should be above the position at the university.”
Morgan’s office said the mayor wasn’t available for comment.
Union members began picketing outside city hall at 300 Dufferin Ave. about two weeks ago. They’ve been there daily since last week, a trend that will continue as long as the strike does, Shearing said.
Paul Ladouceur, city hall’s emergency management director, said of the picket lines at the entrance to city hall’s parking garage: “It hasn’t caused a whole lot of impact from what I’ve seen so far as they’ve been respectful.”
When The Free Press arrived around 9 a.m. Tuesday , workers were marching at the Dufferin Avenue entrance to the parking garage. Although no vehicles entering the lot were seen held up on Tuesday, one day last week traffic was backed up to Waterloo and Wellington streets in both directions at about 8:30 a.m.
“We’re hoping that the city can come and step in and help out a little bit,” Shearing said. “So far, (the mayor) is refusing to speak with us publicly on this issue, so that’s why we’re still out here.”
Workers walked off the job on Aug. 30 with demands that included increased pay. Officials with Western University didn’t respond to a request for comment on any update on negotiations as of publication time on Tuesday.
Previously, school officials said their offer included an average annual wage increase of 5.3 per cent in a proposed four-year deal in which union members would earn between $52,000 and $99,000 in the first year.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
Share this article in your social network
