More than 10,000 college support staff workers across Ontario, represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. today after last-minute bargaining talks with the College Employer Council (CEC) broke down.
The strike, which includes technicians, clerks, analysts, technologists, tutors and facilities operators across Ontario’s 24 public colleges, comes after negotiations stalled Wednesday night on the eve of the strike deadline.
Picket lines appeared at North and Lakeshore campuses this morning, as no agreement was reached in time between the CEC and OPSEU.
Negotiations have been taking place between the two parties for weeks, but as of midnight, union members went on strike.
Members at both picket lines have been chanting their message as they move around the campuses. OPSEU president JP Hornick spoke to the striking workers at North, saying the colleges have been eliminating jobs and courses.
At Humber’s Lakeshore campus, support staff turned out in numbers with signs and good spirits as the first day of picketing kicked off.
Each union member who turned out for the rally had a smile on their face as they flooded Lake Shore Boulevard West, making their message crystal clear: that they weren’t going away until they got a settlement.
Many of the staff members wore shirts with the message: “Our future can’t wait.” And flyers were being handed out to passersby, urging them to “Join the fight for public education.” These flyers said that 10,000 jobs have been lost in the public college sector in the last year, as this work is being privatized.
Although forbidden from giving a formal interview, each union representative who spoke to Humber Et Cetera was more than happy to discuss their work and the reasons for the strike.
It’s not just these members of staff facing uncertainty about the future.
Students and professors at these colleges have been left wondering where this leaves them in the coming days, with many services that are usually readily available to them being taken away for the time being.
Talen Somerville, a Police Foundations major at Humber Polytechnic, had a class moved online on Thursday due to the strike.
After one day, the effects may not be so clear to all as they are to Somerville, but as the strike rumbles on in the coming days, these colleges may feel the full effect of losing their support staff.
The general feeling around campus seems to be one of uncertainty among students.
“Right now, it feels like a standstill, just basically waiting on the email that says the strike is over,” Somerville said.
Humber emailed its enrolled students on Thursday, informing them they will be kept in the know regarding the strikes. The email noted that the college is also unsure as to when the strike could end.
"Students deserve quality services kept in-house — not contracted out — and done by the support staff who know how to do the job and have the institutional knowledge, not management," OPSEU said in a statement issued before the strike began. "Instead, we're seeing library technologists laid off and replaced by vending machines just weeks later. What's next?"
The union says it responded to the CEC’s proposal Tuesday evening with a counteroffer but received no reply before 4 p.m. Wednesday, and “they have walked away from the table. The employer has disrespected us for far too long. If they think they can neglect their responsibility to bargain, it’s time we remind them there is power in the union,” the union said.
The CEC says it provided an enhanced offer to the union on Tuesday. However, the union’s insistence on what it terms as “poison pill” demands makes a deal impossible.
The demands include provisions calling for a temporary freeze of campus closures, mergers and staffing reductions until the end of a new collective agreement.
“A complete ban on campus closures, college mergers and staff reductions could force colleges into bankruptcy,” CEC’s CEO Graham Lloyd said. “CEC has repeatedly advised OPSEU that these types of demands simply can never be agreed to. They are more about broader political campaigns than the benefits we have proposed at the table for their members."
CEC said on its website the latest additions to its proposal include better vision and hearing benefits equal to those of academic staff, Improvements to job security regarding new technology and introduced paid leave for domestic and sexual violence.
“We have yet to see anything on the table that protects members before they are laid off, including language that would keep our work in-house, keep colleges adequately staffed and open, or keep good jobs in our communities,” the union said.
The union claims its locals have received threatening letters discouraging our members from respecting legal picket lines, targeting messaging to other divisions expressing solidarity, and threatening fines.
“Rather than deploying intimidation tactics against the workers your program suspensions have directly impacted, I would encourage you to focus on the collective bargaining taking place at the table. Should you need a reminder, workers have a legal and constitutional right to strike, protected not only by the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, 2008, but also by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Hornick said in an email to Lloyd on Wednesday.
“More to the point, employers are legally prohibited from threatening, intimidating, or pressuring workers into crossing the picket line or to act as a strike breaker during a legal strike. It is my hope that the CEC will engage in good faith bargaining and respect the workers and their allies demonstrating their solidarity across the province they help run,” they said.
Humber and the University of Guelph-Humber have assured students that both campuses remain open and classes continue. “While we are unable to predict how long the strike may last, please know that Humber and the University of Guelph-Humber are committed to student success,” the institutions said in a message to students.
According to OPSEU’s website, more than 55 community allies and groups across Ontario joined the Ontario Federation of Labour’s pledge to “Adopt A College” to support its lines with solidarity actions.
“These types of demands simply can never be agreed to,” Lloyd said. “They are more about broader political campaigns than the benefits we have proposed at the table for their members.”
At Humber College, non-striking staff have been told to report to work as scheduled.
In an early morning email, Jennifer O’Brien, Humber’s Vice-President of People, Culture and Organizational Excellence, said: “Support staff are essential to our college community—they welcome students, maintain our systems, and help foster a safe and inclusive learning environment. We respect their right to strike and remain hopeful for a swift and fair resolution.”
Picketing at Humber’s North and Lakeshore campuses began at 7 a.m. today and runs until 5 p.m.
The CEC has requested that the union consider mediation or arbitration. A list of open and operating services can be found on Humber’s website.
