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"Douglas College support staff deserve a fair and reasonable wage increase in line with what support staff at other post secondary institutions have received," said Darryl Walker, BCGEU President.
Vancouver (21 Nov. 2012) - Support staff at Douglas College in Coquitlam are on strike on November 21 for one day in support of a fair and reasonable deal.
Douglas College will have to decide whether classes and activities at the David Lam campus in Coquitlam will proceed or not, but the campus at 1250 Pinetree Way in Coquitlam will be struck from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"Douglas College support staff deserve a fair and reasonable wage increase in line with what support staff at other post secondary institutions have received," said Darryl Walker, President of the union representing the workers, the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE). "This strike is happening because the employer is offering exactly half of other deals in the post secondary sector."
There are 304 Douglas College support staff represented by the BCGEU/NUPGE including 71 at the David Lam campus in Coquitlam. They work at registration, in IT services, as library assistants, at the bookstore, in student services, and offer financial aid to students.
Pickets will be up from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1250 Pinetree Way in Coquitlam (one kilometer north of Coquitlam Centre).
Douglas College's main campus in New Westminster was shut down for one day last week as part of the same strike action. The main campus is not affected by today's strike.
Douglas College is the seventh largest post secondary institution in British Columbia, with 4,700 full-time and 10,000 part-time students.
On November 2, Douglas College support staff voted 77 per cent in support of strike action to back their bargaining demands.
Douglas College support staff have been without a contract since June 30, 2010.
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE