As hundreds of University of Windsor workers held a protest on campus Saturday, CUPE Local 1323 president Dean Roy said he’s hopeful a deal can be reached before the strike deadline at midnight.
“We’re still at the bargaining table and things are moving forward slowly, but we expect to be here for long hours tonight,” Roy said Saturday morning. “But we’re hopeful we can make a deal.”
By late Saturday afternoon, Roy said not much movement had occurred and that there was “no good news and no bad news at this point.”
Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1393 represents almost 300 skilled trades and professional staff at the university, including plumbers, carpenters, graphic designers, nurses, lab technicians and IT workers on campus.
“We want them to understand that our membership is out there and they’re serous and united,” Roy said. “We really want to be at work on Monday morning. We don’t want to be on the picket lines tomorrow.”
Roy said the union is “looking to preserve, basically, what we’ve got.
“We’re not asking for big increases,” said Roy. “The employer wants concessions on numerous fronts. We’re concerned about job security and bumping language and adjacent layoffs, and they obviously want to make it simpler for that to happen in case they have to cut staff to face budget constraints.”
Aldo DiCarlo, a physics lab coordinator on campus, said the fact it has become a struggle and a fight to just maintain wages and job security is hypocritical on the employer’s part.
“If you look at administrative salaries, you’ll notice they’ve increased and they have all forms and all different ways to do that to make it look right,” said DiCarlo. “But when it comes to their staff, all of a sudden that rule doesn’t apply anymore. So it doesn’t look good on their part.”
DiCarlo, who has worked at the University of Windsor for over 16 years, was one of the many who wore signs during the protest. His signs had the words, “Keep Calm and Strike On” written on the front, and “Keep Calm and Bargain On” on the back.
DiCarlo also brought his 12-year-old twin sons to the rally and said talking to them about the situation provided the simple insight that is needed by administration.
“Last night while I was making these signs, one of them asked why I would be going on strike and I told them it was to maintain the wages in my job and keep my job, and he said ‘Boy dad, I hope by the time I get a job, all those issues are worked out,’” said DiCarlo.
“To me, that is the message to everybody. I’ve got children and I want something for them to grow to, and the stuff they’re doing here is just nonsense. At 12 years old, if they can see it, why can’t they?”
University president Alan Wildeman said late Saturday afternoon the bargaining process is ongoing and didn’t want to speculate on whether he thinks a strike will be avoided.
“We’ve been working very hard on this for months and bargaining very frequently goes down to the wire,” said Wildeman. “We are committed to trying to get a deal done and we’re just here to try to support them.”
Wildeman said he didn’t want to comment on specific issues but said if a strike does occur, classes will continue as usual Monday morning.
“I’ll just reiterate that what we’ve been doing has been, we believe, fair and respectful and responsible and trying to achieve collective agreement that give employees the best protection we can and at the same time are consistent with the university long-term needs,” said Wildeman. “It’s no more complicated than that.”
Mary Brownlie has spent the last 33 years working at the University of Windsor and was on campus Saturday protesting.
“It is so sad and it is so disheartening that we have to push so hard to maintain what we have,” said Brownlie. “The mood across campus is very low and we are very concerned about what our importance actually is to the university.”
Brownlie said she has spent over half her live working at the university and said she and her fellow employees are very dedicated to doing their jobs and doing them well, so she said she feels “it is only fair to get fair pay.”
While she now works in IT services, she began her career on campus human resources – once called personnel.
“The name was changed to human resources for the purpose of making it very clear that your people are your biggest resource,” said Brownlie. “That needs to be really recognized – that your people are your biggest resource – but it doesn’t feel like it.”
Chemistry technician Tina Lepine wore a sign that said “Technically we run this place” during the rally. She said she loves her job and is content with what she makes and doesn’t understand why it has to be so difficult to maintain that.
“It’s frustrating and exhausting and really brings down morale,” said Lepine, who has worked at the University of Windsor for 10 years.
Lepine said sometimes it feels like “they could get on without you,” but she’s very passionate about her job and said “regardless if nobody notices, that’s fine with me.”
She said she knows her job isn’t insignificant, although it may feel that way at times – like when her boss passes her in the morning without a hello “because I really don’t think they know who I am.
“I know in my heart what I do is important and I love being here for the students, but there’s a very definite line in the sand between administration and staff and it’s way to evident,” said Lepine. “It’s too bad that they have to be that way.”
University workers with CUPE Local 1393 hold a rally outside the University of Windsor, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
Len Wallace, dean of Canvas Campus Educational Initiative, right, leads protesters through a series of labour songs while at a rally for university workers with CUPE Local 1393, outside the Kerr House, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
University workers with CUPE Local 1393 hold a rally outside the Kerr House, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
