Western workers, students and community supporters packed the square outside city hall in London, Ontario, last Friday for a rally in support of CUPE 2361 members as they begin the third week of their strike.
They were at city hall because London’s mayor, Josh Morgan, is an influential ex officio member of Western University’s Board of Governors, and CUPE is calling on him to encourage Western decision makers to resolve the strike by reaching a fair agreement.
“We want to be back at work, supporting the students we care about instead of on a picket line because the university administration walked away from negotiations. But it’s great to see so many people here today on day 14 of the strike. Every day we get stronger,” said Steve Pepper, president of CUPE 2361.
The members, caretaking, landscape service and trades workers, have wages that are well below area norms and have seen their wages stagnate for years as the cost of living rises. As a result, recruiting and retraining workers is getting harder and workloads have been increasing, leading to lower quality services for students, faculty and researchers.
“It’s wrong that so many of you who work on campus have to work two or three jobs to survive. You deserve to not rely on charity to feed your families, when so many senior executives get big raises, some up to 30% in a single year,” said CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick.
The workers have been organizing for well over a year, which led to a 99 percent strike vote with more than 90% of members casting an in-person ballot in August. Picket lines have been similarly strong. Conditions on campus have visibly deteriorated despite the employer’s attempts to hire replacement workers – something OFL President Laura Walton noted would be illegal if Ontario had the same laws as federal workplaces.
Western’s finances are in very good shape and student enrolment has increased by more than 5000 since the pandemic.
“While enrolment continues to rise, Western University has failed to invest adequately in staffing that ensures its operations run smoothly,” said Yolanda McClean, CUPE Ontario secretary-treasurer.
At the rally, the workers were also supported by campus academic and foodservice workers, the presidents of the local labour council and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, and the NDP MPs and MPPs from London.