The University of Western Ontario has been in negotiations with UWOFA-LA (Librarians and Archivists) since late April working to renew the group’s second contract, which ended June 30. The 51 members of the bargaining unit are represented by the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA).
Currently, the University and UWOFA-LA are continuing conciliation talks, with meetings scheduled for September 6 and 7. However, UWOFA-LA has requested a “no board” report and will be in a legal strike position as of 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, September 8, the first day of classes.
The University is putting a number of plans in place to ensure minimal disruption to students, faculty, staff and the community should a labour disruption occur. It is expected that all campus libraries will remain open and most library services will be available, including borrowing and accessing physical materials, accessing electronic materials, directional services, and reference source assistance. However, highly subject specific, in-depth reference services may not be available.
All University employees who are not members of UWOFA-LA will be required to report to work as usual in the event of a labour disruption by UWOFA-LA and students will be required to attend all classes and exams as usual.
During this period, updates to the University community will be communicated in the following ways:
- WEB: Updates will continue to be posted on the Contract Negotiations @ Western web site at https://communications.uwo.ca/contract_negotiations/. If a strike appears imminent, a dedicated website will be launched with a link off of the University’s home page at www.uwo.ca.
- EMAIL: All students and University employees will receive significant updates via their Western email account.
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Members of the University community are encouraged to join Western’s official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/London-ON/The-University-of-Western-Ontario/7616007794) and Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/westernu) so they can be alerted when new updates are posted online.