Carleton University campus safety workers strike / B.C. teachers vote overwhelmingly for job action / Auto strategy needed after Chrysler decision: Unifor
Carleton University campus safety workers strike
OTTAWA — Campus safety workers at Ottawa’s Carleton University are on strike.
"Our members are deeply disappointed that we are not able to reach an agreement with Carleton University," said Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) negotiator Nelson Ross Laguna.
Some of the key issues leading to the labour action include job security and a lack of sufficient staffing to ensure campus safety.
While the university has grown from 20,000 students in 2007 to more than 30,000 students today, the union said the number of campus safety workers has not increased correspondingly.
"Nobody wants a strike," said Ross Laguna, "but we will do what it takes to ensure the employer comes back to the table ready to negotiate a fair agreement with their campus safety workers."
OPSEU Local 404 represents 50 campus safety workers including special constables, dispatchers, campus safety officers and student safety patrollers.
B.C. teachers vote overwhelmingly for job action
VANCOUVER — Despite an overwhelming vote in favor of a strike, the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) will return to the bargaining table.
The recent vote saw 26,051 members vote for job action, giving the union an 89 per cent strike mandate. The 41,000 teachers represented by BCTF have been without a contract since June 2013, despite more than 40 sessions at the table and a full year of bargaining.
Wages, class size and class composition are ongoing issues, the union said.
According to the BCTF, the government’s most recent offer would see teachers in the province go without a wage increase for another two years, despite other public sector workers recently receiving increases of as much as four per cent.
The union has 90 days to initiate a form of job action, but BCTF president Jim Iker said a return to the bargaining table is the next step.
"The strike vote is the first stage to put pressure on," Iker said. "For us, it’s not about going on strike. We don’t want to go on strike. We want a deal at the bargaining table."
If job action does occur, he said, it will come in stages. In an effort to prevent school closures and disruptions to students, the first stage of a strike would be administrative.
Auto strategy needed after Chrysler decision: Unifor
WINDSOR, ONT. — When auto giant Chrysler recanted its request for financial assistance from the government, it showcased the need for long-term planning in the auto industry, according to Unifor.
Earlier this month, the automaker withdrew its request for funding from the provincial and federal governments in order to invest in assembly plants in Windsor and Brampton, Ont., saying the company would instead go it alone.
The move was lauded by the president of Unifor, Jerry Dias — who said it also foreshadowed the looming need for a more effective auto strategy.
"We are pleased that Chrysler has said it will invest in Windsor," he said. "We are deeply concerned, however, that in the long-term, we are going to lose an incredible opportunity to secure Ontario’s manufacturing industry well into the future."
Of particular concern is that key players develop a long-term strategy, which would include public investment, in order to create a strong and competitive manufacturing sector, Dias added.
