In case you missed it, the ongoing stand-off between two of Carleton’s unions and administration is coming down to the wire.
CUPE 4600, representing contract instructors and teaching assistants, and OPSEU 404, representing safety staff, both passed strike votes in February.
The vote allows them to walk off the job if they can’t reach new bargaining agreements with the university.
The deadline for that agreement is fast approaching, with with the strike date for both unions set at 12:01 a.m. on March 10
What does this mean for the students? Long story short, it won’t be pretty.
According to Carleton’s human resources policy, the university “will remain open and will continue to operate as normally as possible.”
That’s going to be a tough gig to pull off with a third of educators missing.
Midterms and assignments won’t get graded, about half of Carleton’s classes will come to a grinding halt, and students would be forced to start rethinking their plans for the summer.
It’s hard to tell how long a strike could last, but it has the potential to push back exams and delay graduation for a lot of students.
If OPSEU 404 walks out, Carleton also loses the safety officers, patrollers, and dispatchers who know the campus better than any other security force.
In the coming days, both unions and Carleton’s administration need to hit the bargaining table with a strategy to sort their differences, or students will be the ones who pay for their bargaining issues.
