Colleges throughout Ontario head into the third week of the strike after two days of mediation between striking OPSEU workers and the College Employer Council failed to reach an agreement.
The union is now planning a major rally at Humber North campus Oct. 2, with striking full-time support staff workers from Seneca, George Brown and Centennial Colleges joining the pickets on Humber College Boulevard beginning at 7 a.m.
An email was sent Sept. 30 to OPSEU members about the Thursday rally, calling for a mass turnout at Humber North, including support staff from all 24 publicly funded colleges, labour allies, faculty, and fellow supporters.
Buses will be organized to pick up staff from campuses throughout the GTA, with the mass turnout planned to occur at Humber Polytechnic’s North campus at 7 a.m.
It's in reaction to the mediation talks, which began on Sept. 26 and ended with an impasse on Monday, according to statements from both the CEC and OPSEU. The initial one-day meeting turned into three as it stretched into the weekend, before the meeting ended with no progress.
On Sept. 24, CEC released a newsletter responding to OPSEU’s request for mediation. CEC said they learned through the media that OPSEU was seeking a government-appointed mediator.
Graham Lloyd, the CEO of the college employers' group, said in a statement that it has always bargained in good faith.
“[Colleges] have put forward more than $145 million in improved wages, benefits, and job security, and advised OPSEU of issues it cannot accept,” he said.
On the same day, OPSEU also published a release, emphasizing that the full-time support staff members are standing “stronger than ever.”
“We’ve made our message to the employer’s frontman and CEO, Graham Lloyd, clear: get back to the table and tell the truth about your plans for our colleges,” it said.
OPSEU has released statements on its social media and newsletters claiming Lloyd is on a destructive public relations tour. A post on Instagram from OPSEU said the CEO is “lying about the union” to the media instead of meeting at the bargaining table.
Bargaining came to a close on Sept. 28, with both the CEC and OPSEU publishing news releases the next day outlining different versions of how demands were received.
The CEC newsletter begins with sharing a letter outlining the ultimatum of the meeting, with the management team saying they call on OPSEU to share its latest offer with full-time support staff.
The management team said CEC is frustrated with OPSEU’s bargaining team “derailing progress and prolonging the full-time support staff strike.”
The news release states CEC tabled enhanced offers exceeding $155 million, including improvements to wages, on-call pay, bereavement leave, contracting out, and tech change protections.
Despite this, CEC said OPSEU removed two of its “poison pills” late Saturday night. Instead, the union tabled two proposals: a ban on all contracting out, and “restrictions on collaborative work that would hinder service delivery to students.”
The CEC stated that support staff employees already have protections in these areas and insisted that colleges can never contract out without permission. It also stated that it rejected the collaborative work restrictions proposal because it contradicts the culture within these institutions.
“Collaborative work restrictions have never existed in the 50-plus-year history of public colleges. We rejected this when the Academic unit demanded it, and we will continue to reject it now,” it stated.
The CEC is referring to Humber Polytechnic’s faculty strike in 2017, which lasted for five weeks before the government stepped in. The organization continues to argue that OPSEU's demands are restrictive.
“Negotiating against receding horizons only undoes days of progress we achieved together,” it stated.
Meanwhile, OPSEU outlined that its demands are meant to protect employees and their jobs.
The union said it sought a temporary hold on layoffs after thousands of job cuts throughout colleges. OPSEU stated these demands were unconditionally removed.
The union added that it tabled seven packages, having to re-formulate proposal after proposal in hopes of reaching a deal, only to hit a standstill with the CEC.
“None of the colleges’ proposals has the effect of preventing the loss of a single job. True job security means owning our work and ensuring jobs are not eliminated,” OPSEU stated.
The news release noted the closures of Georgian College’s Orillia and Muskoka campuses last week. OPSEU said when it asked CEC about the news at 10 a.m., the organization said it had no news about the closures, although the announcement was made at 8:30 a.m.
“This employer has lied to us every step of the way – and they’re lying to us now when they say there’s no better deal to be found,” OPSEU stated.
