Douglas College Coquitlam campus support staff ON STRIKE tomorrow. Campus may be closed.

VANCOUVER, Nov. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - Support staff at Douglas College in Coquitlam are going on strike on Wednesday November 21, 2012 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 7am to 7pm.

"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 BCGEU President Darryl Walker. "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, 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 7am to 7pm 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 tomorrow'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 2nd, Douglas College support staff voted 77% in support of strike action to back their bargaining demands.

Douglas College support staff have been without a contract since June 30, 2010.

SOURCE: B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union

Media contact: Oliver Rohlfs, BCGEU Communications [phone] - [email protected]

4911 Canada Way, Burnaby, BC V5G 3W3 Tel: [phone] or 1-800-663-1674  www.bcgeu.ca
The BC Government and Service Employees' Union is a component of NUPGE (CLC)

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