“Two locals have given their executives overwhelming strike mandates,” says National representative Connie Credico, “and others will follow. These employers are intransigent in their opposition to co-ordinated bargaining of common issues, but they are blatantly meeting in the back room themselves.”
Workers at UVIC, UBC, SFU and UNBC are also looking for some action from the government. The governments so-called wage guidelines and the employers associations that have been created in all areas of the education sector are both complicating negotiations.
“This is the first Day of Action on our university campuses,” says Doug Sprenger, spokesperson for the CUPE BC universities coordinated bargaining committee. “Its an indication to government and university administrators to get the ball rolling on job security, pay equity, and pension and other benefit improvements.”