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Students moving into Western University residences this weekend will first be greeted by pickets at the school’s Richmond Street main gates after its blue-collar workers went on strike Friday morning.
Members of CUPE Local 2361 went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday after the union and the school failed to reach a last-minute deal. At 7 a.m. the strikers set up picket lines. The union represents about 330 caretakers, landscaping staff and trades workers
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“We left it to the employer to come back if they had something more and here we are now,” said Chris Yates, vice-president of the local. “We weren’t able to negotiate a new contract with the employer.”
Their biggest concerns are staffing levels and the fact other organizations paying $4 to $8 more per hour, Yates said. “We’re not asking to be No. 1. We’re asking to be in the mix.”
As the strike deadline neared on Thursday, they pointed to a statement that offered reassurance to those set to arrive on campus.
“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, adding all activities will continue.
London Transit buses will not enter campus, she said, and students moving into residences will receive instructions from university housing staff on Friday. Yates said workers will take shifts of about 100 people on the picket line and roads within the campus are closed.
The university said its latest offer to workers in building services and facilities operations included an average annual wage increase of 5.3 per cent a year in a proposed four-year deal. Union members would earn between $52,000 and $99,000 in the first year of the deal, Western officials said.
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We greatly value the work of this employee group and we feel our latest offer reflects that.
It is disappointing that we have not been able to reach a deal with CUPE 2361, despite Western having proposed one of the most competitive compensation packages in the university sector.
Our latest offer included average wage increases of nearly 22 per cent over four years – more than 5 per cent per year – which would have translated to all members earning between $52,000 and $99,000 in the first year of the new agreement. That’s on top of an already comprehensive package that includes pension contributions of three times what the employee contributes, post-retirement benefits that provide lifetime health and dental coverage, and paid vacation starting at three weeks per year, plus an additional eight paid days a year.
Western has detailed plans in place, and we are committed to ensuring the fall term runs as smoothly as possible. The university is open, and all activities will continue
@HeatheratLFP
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