Faculty at the University of Windsor have voted 81 per cent in favour of a strike, but there is no word yet on when they could hit the picket line.
The vote comes after the university decided to impose a new contract on its 1,000 faculty members, one that had already been rejected by the union.
Leaders from the Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA) have said they want a contract for their members that is negotiated, not imposed.
Anne Forrest, WUFA president, says the impasse stopped being about money and benefits and started focusing on workers' rights.
"We want a collective agreement that is truly negotiated with us that takes into account the concerns that our members have," she says.
But they add their members have no interest in disrupting classes come September.
University president Alan Wildeman says administration offered a fair deal to professors, including a three per cent wage hike over three years, plus salary adjustments to keep professors at median earning rates to other universities in the province.
"We have a great offer that's there that we are implementing. And we'll just continue to go forward with that. The outcome of the strike vote doesn't make any difference at all to me, because a strike vote doesn't create revenue for the U of W."
Forrest says WUFA doesn't plan on heading straight for the picket line.
"There are a whole variety of activities we could do on campus to really demonstrate some bargainning power that we can't do without the strike vote."
Talks between the university and the union broke down late last month.
WUFA members have been without a contract since July 3.
