The Link: Concordia University Library Workers begin Strike Actions

Library Workers at Concordia University voted last November to mandate strike actions after 18 months of negotiations with the university failed to produce a contract. According to The Link, the strike mandate requires the Concordia University Library Employees Union to strike for a total of eight hours, and two and a half were carried out on Thursday, January 16th.

The university and CULEU had been holding conciliation meetings with the last one ending Monday as the two sides ran into "major blockages." The major sticking points appear to hinge around changes the university is attempting to make to advancement schedules, particularly for new employees. Union leadership says that this has been a goal of the university since the union was formed. Library workers see this as a barrier for new employees and an attack on how they have come to understand their place within the university. According to CULEU leadership, the university failed to negotiate on this issue through all of 2019 and shows no signs of accepting employees' "hands off" perspecitive.

Once CULEU has spent its mandated 8 strike hours it will convene a new general assembly to determine next steps.