‘One job lost is one too many’: Unions at Western demonstrate in protest of job losses

An outdoor rink has been built in Mitchell to commemorate a teen hockey player who died by suicide. CTV’s Scott Miller reports.

Faculty and support staff unions at Western University demonstrated Friday in protest to staff cuts in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

About 100 people chanted, marched, and took in speeches during the noon hour protest.

“Because one job lost is one too many,” exclaimed Patti Dalton, the president of the London and District Labour Council, on hand for the event on the University College hill.

According to the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA), four support staff positions were eliminated as part of staff restructuring. Dalton says she worries it’s just the beginning.

“This is also, you know, thin edge of the wedge,” she exclaimed.

UWOFA President Shawn Hendrikx said remaining staff have significantly increased workloads.

“We’re here to express solidarity for UWOFA, staff here at Western. Also, there’s been a significant impact on the workload of the staff who remain,” said Hendrikx.

A number of students also took part in the protest.

Graduate student Ella Rose Brown, who’s earning her Masters in Gender Studies, said the cuts speak to the bigger problem of how Arts and Humanities are viewed compared to other disciplines.

“With being a smaller department that doesn’t bring in that much money, we aren’t seen maybe as valuable. And fields that are kind of seen as more subjective are also kind of undervalued, and it is a problem,” she said.

In a statement to CTV News, Western University said it’s carefully managing budgetary pressures. Provincial grants are frozen at 2016-2017 levels, and domestic tuition is frozen until the 2026-2027 school year.

The statement also said this past summer the Faculty of Arts and Humanities reorganized how services are delivered.

“The change resulted in four notices of employment change, created two new staff roles within the faculty and prompted recruitment for a graduate affairs assistant,” the statement said.

Western said during the academic year more than 12,000 people work at Western, including about 1,400 full-time faculty and 2.500 full-time staff.

“What are they going to do next? We don’t trust that,” Dalton stated.