Support staff narrowly avoided a strike after reaching a last-minute tentative agreement with the University.
In a Labour News update on March 9, the University announced they’ve reached a tentative agreement with United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2010, representing 1,200 general support staff, to renew their Collective Agreement. In an electronic vote conducted between Feb. 11 and 14, 96 per cent of support staff workers supported a potential strike if USW Local 2010 and the University failed to reach an agreement. Negotiations began before the expiry of the local’s Collective Agreement on Dec. 31. USW 2010 represents over 1,700 University support staff, academic assistants, and residence dons.
USW Local 2010 has been pushing for higher wages, stronger job security, workload protections, and compensation for wage restrictions imposed by Bill 124, which capped public sector wage increases at one per cent annual until its repeal in 2024.
According to the Labour News update, the agreement is tentative and still subject to successful ratification by the parties involved, with full details remaining undisclosed.
READ MORE: Support staff workers set a strike deadline for the first time in USW 2010 history
Following the strike vote, USW Local 2010 filed a No Board Report with the Ontario Ministry of Labour on Feb. 21, triggering a 17-day countdown to a legal strike and enabling the University to lock out workers. The union had set a strike deadline for March 8 at 11:59 p.m., with picketing scheduled to begin on March 10, according to a Feb. 22 news release sent to The Journal.
The Journal reached out to USW 2010 President Kelly Orser to speak on the tentative agreement but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
While the support staff’s Collective Agreement is now tentatively settled, residence dons remain covered under a separate Collective Agreement that extends until July 2026. Meanwhile, academic assistants, whose agreement expired in August 2023, are set to begin negotiations with the University in April.
This is a developing story…
Tags
Collective agreement, negotiations, USW, USW Local 2010
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