More than 6,100 administrative and technical staff at the University of Toronto will be in a legal strike position on Tuesday, the first day students are set to return to class.
Members of the United Steelworkers Local 1998 voted 96 per cent in favour of a strike mandate after officials say two months of bargaining failed to close the gap on a number of issues including job security, remote work and artificial intelligence.
“UofT says it will find $20 million in savings next year by not replacing employees who leave the university,” local president John Ankenman said in a statement. “That will worsen the heavy workload burden that many of our members already face.”
Union officials say they are prepared to continue bargaining through the long weekend in hopes of reaching a new contract, adding workers won’t necessarily walk off the job on Tuesday unless the talks break down.
“If contract negotiations with the employer continue to be productive, your elected negotiating committee may agree to continue bargaining past the strike deadline,” read the most recent update from the union.
“Unless and until you hear otherwise from USW Local 1998, Tuesday, September 8th is a regular workday. Remember, a strike deadline only means that we are in a legal strike position; it does not mean that we are on strike.”
The union represents a wide variety of workers including Information Technology, undergraduate and graduate program coordinators, academic advisors, and lab assistants.
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