TorontoSid Ryan, the Ontario president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, is in Ottawa today to speak to teaching and research assistants at Carleton University, poised to take a strike vote next week.
Ryan will be speaking with the 1200 teaching assistants and research assistants - members of CUPE Local 4600 who have been working without a contract for six months - at a general membership meeting today, Monday, January 15 at 1 p.m., Room 2017 of Dunton Tower at Carleton University.
The meeting is closed to the media and the public. However, Ryan is available for interviews before the start of the meeting and following the meeting. Also attending the meeting will be members of CUPE Local 3903, who, after a 78-day strike, successfully bargained tuition protection, a key issue in the Carleton negotiations.
Protection against skyrocketing university tuition fees will be a key factor in bargaining province-wide. To date, the Carleton administration has refused to discuss any form of tuition indexation. They would be wise to look to the successful strike at York and return to the bargaining table prepared to negotiate a deal, says Ryan.
After several rounds of negotiations, talks with Carleton administration broke off November 29, when the university refused to discuss several key issues affecting the quality and accessibility of post-secondary education and resulting working conditions.
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For more information please contact:
Sid Ryan, President, CUPE Ontario
(416) 209-0066
Stella Yeadon, CUPE Communications
(416) 578-8774