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University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA)

Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

OPSEU Local 110

London and District Labour Council

The... https://t.co/xMrhOiPTpl — TA/PD Union@ Western (@PSAC610) April 13, 2018

PSAC vice-president Sharon DeSousa said the union did not want to disrupt exam time or ongoing research and thesis work by its members.

“This is a very busy time for the university . . . We know the employer has said they would go back to the table and would not lock us out,” said DeSousa.

Some of the union members staged a brief information picket on Friday morning, but DeSousa said the union will be working to set more bargaining dates, although none have been scheduled.

The 2,000 teaching assistants, members of PSAC Local 610, were in a legal strike position as of 12:01 a.m. Friday. Union officials issued a statement Friday morning saying the university administration’s offer was “overwhelmingly” rejected over two days of voting.

The teaching assistants have been without a contract since August. The local has never gone out on strike.

De Sousa said the university offered wage increases of two per cent, 1.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent over three years.

But she said the teaching assistants fell behind with a 3.5 per cent increase in wages over 2014-2017 while their tuition has increased 6.5 per cent.

DeSousa said more than half of teaching assistants at Western have a net income of less than $11,000, “That’s poverty. The financial stress is unbelievable. About a third of our members work a second job.” she said.

The graduate teaching assistants do various duties, including assisting professors by running labs and tutorials and helping to mark the exam papers of undergraduate students.