The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2424, who have been on strike since March 5, have been accused of breaking picketing rules agreed upon between the union and Carleton officials.
Allegations of breaking this protocol came in the wake of multiple reports received by Carleton officials. These reports prompted the administration to release several updates regarding inconveniences caused by picketers outside campus property, on March 8 and 9.
In a statement provided to the Charlatan by public affairs manager Beth Gorham, Rob Thomas, Carleton vice-president (human resources), said the Picket Line Protocol is a confidential document that was signed by both parties, outlining the duties and obligations that picketers must follow. It includes allowing university members and OC Transpo vehicles “unimpeded access” to enter and exit campus property safely during the strike, according to updates from university officials.
“The university did not release updates on picket line delays based on one experience,” Thomas said. “It was rather an accumulation of many reports we received from our safety officers and others.”
Several students have also taken to social media to complain about their commute to and from campus since the strike commenced. Miranda Harris, a second-year social work student, received hundreds of hits on her Facebook post.
In an interview with the Charlatan, Harris described her experience as a Para Transpo customer who was not allowed to exit campus on time, leading to a painful situation.
“[The driver] kept trying to explain to the picketers that I was a Para Transpo customer, but they kept yelling for us to calm down,” she said. “Eventually, he just parked the car and got up to talk to someone, but by that point I started crying uncontrollably from the pain.”
Harris said she suffers from Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, and regularly commutes to campus using Para Transpo. On March 6, she used one of Para Transpo’s Blue Line Taxi services offered to customers.
“These services are intended to let us reach our destination in under 30 minutes,” Harris said. “On that day, it took us much later to get out, and my body could not bear the pain of being stuck like that.”
CUPE 2424 president Jerrett Clark said he contacted Harris shortly after her Facebook post received attention, to let her know how sorry he was on behalf of picketers.
“We weren’t aware, unfortunately, that Para Transpo actually subcontracted regular taxis, so it would not have been immediately clear to us that there was a vehicle further back,” he said. “Certainly, if we had known that somebody was in distress in our picket line-up, we’d have cleared that line-up without delay.”
Clearing the line for OC Transpo vehicles is part of the Picket Line Protocol, but according to Clark, buses “voluntarily choose not to cross the picket line in solidarity with other unionized workers.” However, he said he believes that allegations of additional protocol offences from Carleton officials are unwarranted.
“We feel the public messaging about our picket lines are frankly an intimidation tactic,” Clark said. “Threatening to withdraw the protocol is just to instill fear, and this doesn’t mean that we won’t be able to picket any longer, it just means that we would have to take our pickets onto city property.”
He added that he has made it clear to the employers that the union is prepared to return to the bargaining table.
“But we’ve also made it clear that we’re not simply going to return to the bargaining table to reverse our position on their proposed pension concessions,” Clark said.
With the second of week of the strike fast approaching an end, CUPE 2424 and Carleton officials are still not on the same page with negotiations. The union has since filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, accusing the university’s administration of unfair labour practices.
“The union advised when the strike began that the union would be prepared to resume talks only on the pre-condition that the employer must change its position,” Thomas stated. “While both parties have expressed willingness to return to the bargaining table, we are too far apart at this time for talks to be productive.”
In a previous public message on Carleton’s official website, Thomas called CUPE 2424’s approach an “unreasonable pre-condition for talks to resume.”
Due to current labour disruption and its “impact on students with mobility issues,” Carleton has begun to offer a free accessible shuttle service that operates within the campus and does not exist outside. But, Harris said she believes the onus is on the picketers.
“Maybe [the picketers] should block one side of the picket lines, either the exit or the entrance,” she said. “I’ve seen that to work in many other union strikes before.”
Photo by Meagan Casalino
