Teaching assistants to start strike on Monday at McMaster University – Hamilton

Teaching staff and research assistants at McMaster University plan to go on strike Monday after talks broke down without a deal on Friday.

Both the university and CUPE Local 3906 say there will be picket lines at the campus entrance at 7am Monday morning.

“We do not take this action lightly. mentioned in the release.

University officials said facilities will remain open and classes will continue as normal.

“People should expect delays and allow extra time to access campus,” the school said in a release Saturday morning.

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In mid-October, 90% of assistants said they had a fair share to protect students from tuition hikes, address concerns about rising costs of living in Hamilton, and address lack of graduate job opportunities. and voted in favor of a job action requiring a reasonable offer.

The union is also calling for an end to alleged “unfair wages” among undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants.

The union, which represents about a third of McMaster’s workforce, is challenging teaching assistants, who make up just 3.7% of the school’s annual salary.

“Throughout this process, we have negotiated in good faith and are disappointed with the outcome,” Susan Tai, McMaster’s vice president, said in a statement after the meeting on Friday.

“We highly value CUPE members and their contributions and believe we can make a fair offer.”

Services on Monday will continue as planned, including athletics, the library and food service as usual.

The university has warned students, faculty and employees of delays when entering the campus through the main entrance.

Next week’s strike marks the first labor unrest at McMaster since 2011.

The last strike involving teaching assistants was in 2009.

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