Striking CUPE workers have minimal impact on Western move-in day

Thousands of first-year Western University students moved into residence Saturday.

“It's an exciting day, as we're welcoming 6,000 new students to our first year residences,” said Chris Alleyne, associate vice-president of housing at Western.

However, as their parents arrived on campus to drop them off, they were greeted by striking members of CUPE local 2361.

“We're trying to make an impact, not in a way of holding students up from coming in and experiencing their Western life,” said Chris Yates, vice-president of CUPE Local 2361. “We're trying to make an impact, getting our message across, giving them leaflets, letting them know we want to be here, supporting them, and how at the moment we're not.”

Yates said they only had one instance Saturday morning where a car nearly ran over one of his members. He said London police were called, however, police could not confirm that happened.

Striking members of CUPE Local 2361 spoke to parents and students as they arrived at Western University Campus on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) At noon Saturday, members, alongside community allies, gathered at the Richmond Street entrance for a solidarity rally.

“We have a rich university that benefits from your labour, and yet they are penny pinching when it comes to paying you what you are worth,” said MPP Terence Kernaghan during the rally. “That is a shame.”

Yates said they are just asking for competitive wages.

“Wages that are comparable with other organizations just in our own London market,” said Yates. “We're having difficulty getting the people here to do the work. We need enough people here to do the work to keep the campus safe, clean and accessible for the students.”

Western University has issued a statement to CTV news regarding the strike.

It read, in part, "It is disappointing that we have not been able to reach a deal with CUPE 2361, despite Western having proposed one of the most competitive compensation packages in the university sector. Our latest offer included average wage increases of nearly 22 per cent over four years – more than 5 per cent per year – which would have translated to all members earning between $52,000 and $99,000 in the first year of the new agreement."

The statement also read, "We greatly value the work of this employee group and we feel our latest offer reflects that." 

Most of these CUPE members have never been on a picket line. The last time Local 2361 was on strike was 1987.

Striking members of CUPE Local 2361 spoke to parents and students as they arrived at Western University Campus on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) “Members are getting their feet under them, learning what a strike is all about, learning what it's like to picket, but they're having fun, supporting each other, showing solidarity, and they're taking a lot of energy from the support we've been getting from the community,” said Yates.

Back at residence, Alleyne said CUPE members are important to university life and culture.

“We really are hopeful and the university is committed to reaching an agreement,” said Alleyne. “Our focus today, of course, is just ensuring that our students are arriving on campus, that they're greeted warmly, that things are running smoothly today and things are going really well.”