Support workers at Simon Fraser University are expected to hold a one-day walkout at the school's main campus in Burnaby today. Similar strikes are expected at SFU's Surrey campus Friday and its Harbour Centre location Saturday and Sunday.
Lynne Fowler, CUPE 3338 president, said what the union’s members are looking for is a collective agreement similar to those reached at several other B.C. universities, including UBC, Thompson Rivers University, the University of Northern B.C. and Royal Roads University.
"We received no indication from the administration that they are willing to return to the bargaining table to negotiate a settlement," said Fowler.
"That leaves us no alternative but to ramp up job action to pressure them to bargain in good faith until we have a deal."
Meanwhile, support workers at Vancouver Island University voted Tuesday in favour of strike action.
"We've taken our strike vote and it came back with a very strong mandate, and likely we will be issuing strike notice shortly but we haven't set a final date for that yet," CUPE 1858 president Deborah Hopper told Business in Vancouver, explaining they would like to avoid striking if it is possible using methods such as mediation.
"Both CUPE 1858 and Vancouver Island University administration are really committed doing everything we can to get this situation settled without having to take major job action."
