On Campus

Brock semester under threat

Instructors and teaching assistants vote 80% for strike

Classes at Brock University could be canceled this month after part-time instructors and teaching assistants voted 80 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 4207, is asking for higher wages, more hours for staff and improved health benefits.The union also wants to eliminate Brock’s ability to eliminate seminars, which are run by the union’s members. The strike vote, which gives the union a mandate to call a strike if an agreement cannot be reached, was held towards the end of January.

CUPE, which has requested the intervention of a conciliator, has accused the administration of failing to even bother negotiating by not meeting with the union until several weeks after the contract ended last April, and for “coming [to the bargaining table] unprepared.” A statement from the university noted that Brock is currently in negotiation with five unions, and while all have requested conciliation, “No strike deadlines have been set at this time.”

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