A strike at the University of Western Ontario has been averted after the school reached an agreement with the union.
The bizarre union – International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 772 – is comprised of only 10 members. These 10 employees run the obsolete steam plant which heats both Western and University Hospital. They also keep the tunnels beneath the school nice and toasty warm.
An email was sent to Western students earlier this week to warn of a possible strike and to set out steps to help students avoid disruption of classes and transportation networks. Local 772 would have been in a legal position to strike as of midnight tonight.
Fortunately, Western News reports that a tentative collective bargaining agreement has now been reached, subject to ratification by the Board of Governors.
No word yet on York’s ongoing battle with its TA/Grad Student/Contract Faculty union. It’s an issue we’ve been following for some time now.
See e.g.:
- “We Object!” – The Impossibility of Satisfying Everybody – Dec. 1, 2008
- Classes Resume at Osgoode Hall – Nov. 26, 2008
- CUPE 3903 Strike Update from Osgoode – Nov. 20, 2008
- The Privileged and the Impoverished: Now One and the Same? – Nov. 10, 2008
- Strike Confirmed at York – Nov. 6, 2008
- Yet Another Strike at York University (and Osgoode Hall)? – Nov. 2, 2008
I loved those tunnels when I was at Western. They were long! I also liked the Richter scale machine in the science building. I used to bump it once in a while. The needles would spike.