Roughly 3,000 contract instructors, teaching assistants and other education workers at Carleton University are heading towards the fifth day of their strike as it remains unclear when a deal will be reached.
CUPE 4600 president Noreen Anne Cauley-Le Fevre said Thursday the union is ready to meet with the university and continue bargaining. The two sides have not met at the bargaining table since the strike began Monday.
“We’re not that far off [from a deal],” she said. “It’s time to come back to the table.”
Cauley-Le Fevre told the Charlatan the union remains firm on its demands for salary increases of 15 per cent for contract instructors and 13 per cent for teaching assistants (TAs) over the life of the agreement.
The union is also demanding intellectual property rights for contract instructors and a commitment from the university on set TA-student ratios.
On Thursday, Carleton media relations officer Steven Reid told the Charlatan the university was awaiting a response to its Monday offer and was looking forward to getting back to the bargaining table.
The university’s last public update was Monday morning, when president and vice-chancellor Benoit-Antoine Bacon said in an email he was “deeply saddened” the two sides could not reach tentative agreements before the strike deadline. He added the bargaining teams would “regroup and consider next steps.”
Since then, the union and its supporters have been active on the picket line, disrupting on-campus events with several rallies and maintaining pressure on the university to offer what they deem a fair deal.
On-campus events postponed, Senate meeting moved online
Since the beginning of the strike, several on-campus events have been cancelled or postponed.
Most notably, Green Party leader and environmental advocate Elizabeth May was scheduled to deliver the university’s 2023 Bell Lecture on Thursday at the Nicol Building, but the event has since been postponed indefinitely.
Mary Francoli, the associate dean and director of the Faculty of Public Affairs, said in an email the decision was made in collaboration with May’s office.
The annual Bell Lecture, which honours contributors to Canadian political and public life, has featured prominent voices over the years such as Rachel Notely and Jean Charest.
In addition, Friday’s Senate meeting has been moved fully online, according to assistant university secretary Kathy McKinley.
Solidarity rallies on campus
Supporters of the union held two solidarity rallies Wednesday and Thursday, gathering hundreds in support of the striking workers.
On Wednesday, the Carleton University Academic Staff Association, which represents faculty members, and CUPE 2424, which represents administrative, technical and library workers at the university, rallied in support of the striking workers.
Despite several minutes of chanting and using noisemakers, no one emerged from behind the office’s locked door to acknowledge the group’s presence.
CUPE 2424 member András Dobai said the presence of the other unions at the rally is an important show of solidarity.
“[It counters] the narrative that this is a conflict between [the university] and TAs [and contract instructors],” Dobai said. “This is a dispute between management and the workers.”
Thursday’s rally was joined by members of the CUPE national and Ontario executive boards, including CUPE president Mark Hancock and secretary-treasurer Candace Rennick.
“We’ve been talking about your disputes … all across this country,” Hancock said. “You just have to go a few miles down the street [to the University of Ottawa] and workers there, doing the same types of jobs, are getting 15 per cent more.”
Cauley-Le Fevre noted a disproportionately low number of international students on the picket lines.
“International students are the most precarious [members of CUPE 4600],” she said. “They have the right to be out on the lines with us.”
Featured image by Elissa Mendes.
