Administrative and technical staff at the University of Guelph say they’ll walk off the job if they don’t have a deal by midnight Saturday morning.
United Steelworkers Local 4120 represent 900 employees of the school, including secretaries, library assistants and lab technicians.
They have been working without a contract since April 30.
Pensions and job security are considered among the top items for the workers, union president Wendy Morley said.
Erika Obuchowicz, a biological sciences student, said she and other students were worried about the impact a strike would have on their studies.
“I know this will be affecting a lot of our labs, and a lot of students are not going to be able to get into the groove of things,” she said.
“These workers are so important to us.”
Morley agreed that students could be inconvenienced by a strike – as could others, given members of her local also do governmental food testing.
“The university in general will be widely affected,” she said.
School spokesperson Chuck Cunningham said the university would remain open regardless of any work disruptions.
“The university has put contingency plans into place,” he said.
Both sides said they remained hopeful a deal could be reached before strike action occurs.
