Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2424 (CUPE 2424) voted 93 per cent in support of the union’s negotiating team up to and including strike action, on Oct. 16.
According to its website, CUPE 2424 represents more than 850 administrative, technical and library workers at Carleton. An Oct. 20 message on the website said more than 63 per cent of members cast their votes.
“The message is clear. We will not stand for major concessions,” the post stated.
The vote is the most recent event in a series of bargaining processes sparked by the expiration of the collective agreement between the union and the university. According to Pam Griffin-Hody, CUPE 2424’s president, the strike mandate vote was held following pension concessions tabled by the university.
“We’ve told the university that this is unacceptable, that it’s an unacceptable item that cannot be ratified by our membership,” she said. “We needed to hold a strike mandate vote in order to be very clear that the membership stands behind us on this issue, that we’re speaking as one.”
The union’s collective agreement with the university, which expired on June 30 according to CUPE 2424’s website, forms the contract of employment between the two parties. The ongoing bargaining process allows both the university and the union to form a new agreement. Griffin-Hody said non-monetary proposals were discussed over the summer, and monetary proposals such as wages and benefits were brought up in mid-September.
For a legal strike to happen, Griffin-Hody said several steps are still required. She said conciliation has already been filed for Nov. 7-8, which will see the presence of a mediator provided by the Ontario Ministry of Labour intervene to help both parties reach an agreement. According to Sherry Taylor, labour relations manager for Carleton’s human resources department, either party may ask the Ministry of Labour not to appoint a conciliation board, after which a legal strike could take place.
Should a strike happen, members of the admissions and registrar’s office, the Paul Menton Centre and computer services, as well as nurses, mental health counsellors and other staff would be affected.
Nevertheless, Taylor said the university remains optimistic and trusts that proper negotiations will prevent strike action, and that proper accommodation would be provided to students in the event of a strike.
“The university would remain open, and classes, labs, tests and exams would continue as scheduled. Management would take appropriate steps to cover core services and lessen the impact on students,” Taylor said in an email, adding that the university requested and remains open to further meetings with the union, in order to avoid a strike.
According to its website, CUPE 2424 went on strike for two weeks in 2007.
Photo by Aaron Hemens
