About 370 workers at the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board could be on the picket line Monday morning if their union can't reach a tentative deal by Sunday night.
Two bargaining units representing office, clerical and technicians, and custodians and maintenance staff are in a legal strike position as of 12:01am Monday.
The deadline has already been extended once.
"Our members do not contemplate strike action lightly," says Unifor Local 2458 President Bruce Dickie. "We are appreciative of the impact a potential strike may have on students and parents. This is the last available resort in our effort to pursue reaching a fair and reasonable agreement."
They've been working without a contract since August 31, 2014. The union says the expired contract was forced on the workers under Ontario's Bill 115, which was later ruled unconstitutional. Despite the ruling, Unifor says the school board has stood by the conditions of the legislation freezing wages, removing access to benefits for those who will retire soon and restrict the ability to strike.
Unifor has been in talks with the school board, but negotiations have reached an impasse.
Before that, office, clerical and technical workers gave the union a strike mandate of 92%, while those in the custodian and maintenance unit voted 100% of strike action if necessary.
