Western University students are preparing themselves for a possible strike Tuesday that would see hundreds of faculty members walk off the job in the event no new deal is reached between the school and faculty union.
Members of the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA), which represents just over 1,500 faculty, librarians and archivists, have been in a legal strike position since 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
The two sides were meeting through the day Monday in a last-ditch attempt to hammer out a new collective agreement before an 11:59 p.m. strike deadline, set last week by UWOFA’s board of directors.
While the union has said it’s hopeful that a new deal can be reached, it’s possible that Monday’s bargaining session could continue right up until the 11th-hour, as was the case four years ago.
Amid the negotiations, students have been caught in the middle, with some nervous about what to expect and how a strike may impact their studies, with exams scheduled to begin in less than a month.
“It’s a little stressful just for the time of the year that it is right now. I have two presentations, two exams and two essays due this week,” said Kierra McDonald, a fourth-year Western student, on Monday.
“At the same time, if the strike happens, I don’t know what that means, how long it’s going to get delayed, especially this late in the year … I’m preparing for it to happen just in case, so I have all my work prepared, but it is a little stressful.”
First-year student Krish Kodali told Global News that some teachers have been reassuring students that if a strike does occur, it likely won’t be a prolonged walkout.
“However, I think that there’s still the uncertainty that we’re going to university for the first time in person, and there’s obviously certain expectations we have as students to receive on-par education,” Kodali said.
“Obviously the strike, if it does happen, would inhibit that for any certain period of time. So as a student, I think it’s mainly just concerning that our education might be inhibited.”
Kunalraj Talampally, who is also in first year, told Global News that when it came to getting the word out about a possible strike, only two of his five classes had touched on the matter, adding that several teachers have been more focused on midterm content amid the busy academic calendar.
“They’ve all been kind of ignoring it,” Talampally said. He adds that he hopes a deal is reached, noting that a strike could mean a loss of lecture time.
“Some of these more difficult classes … you don’t get too many lecture hours in. You lose lecture hours when the examination dates don’t move, because they can’t, there’s too much content to cover,” he said.
“That’s been causing a lot of stress, especially for people in my calculus class. We’re just really, really hoping that there is no strike.”
Fourth-year Ivey Business School student Tiger McDonald said he had been emailed by the school about what students should expect when it came to their classes.
“There is the challenge of the quality of education that you’re searching for when you do come to university, and ultimately you want to do it right, and you want to do your courses properly, and you want to learn the most you can,” he said.
“So far what I’ve been communicated to is (that) remaining assignments would be — I don’t want to say omitted — but remaining assignments would not be graded.”
He adds that his professors have been fully transparent about the ongoing situation, and wants the university’s faculty to have a better standard of living.
“They’re hopeful that we can see them for the rest of the week. It’s going to take until the end of day today to find out that decision,” he said.
“We seem to all be on the same side here, but we all want the best thing, which is our faculty to have a good compensation and us to get a good education.”
Classes for Western’s three affiliated colleges, Brescia, Huron and Kings, won’t be impacted.
Should a strike go ahead, students will have to find another way to class if they usually take the bus onto campus.
The head of the union local representing London Transit drivers and mechanics says buses will not be crossing any picket line.
“The company’s graciously put a plan together and respects that we don’t cross them, and we’ll just be basically going all around the outside of the university,” said Michael Gauthier, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 741.
Service changes will be posted on the London Transit website in the event there is a strike, and students will be informed by the university, he said.
“We’ll support them all the way,” he said of UWOFA members. “We have that right being a unionized environment, and we’ll support our brothers and sisters no matter what union they’re with.”
“I’d like the students to understand it’s nothing personal, we’re doing what we do out of respect and just ask that they be patient with us, and we’ll be able to get them where they’re going, still.”
Whatever deal is ultimately reached, faculty members will be looking at three years of one per cent annual wage increases as a result of the province’s Bill 124. Union officials have argued that with current inflation, members will see an effective pay cut because of it.
As a result, union officials have said they’re seeking improvements in other areas, including working conditions and workloads, better job security for contract faculty and better access to health benefits for part-time faculty, among other things.
On Friday, UWOFA’s president, Hiran Perinpanayagam told Global News that Western had been pushing for a four-year deal, but had not offered anything for the fourth year to make it attractive to members, offering only a 2.25 per cent bump and a one-time lump sum for full-time members.
Roughly 91 per cent of UWOFA members voted in favour of strike action in September. The union has set up a strike headquarters at 612 Colborne St., and portable toilets have been placed around campus in areas where picket lines are expected.
The last strike by UWOFA members occurred in 2011 involving librarians and archivists. The strike lasted around two weeks before a deal was reached, the union says.
Western University has remained relatively tight-lipped about the possible strike, with a spokesperson reiterating on Monday that officials were “hopeful that an agreement can be achieved and a labour disruption can be avoided.”