People crossing the picket lines at Humber's North campus are being threatened by motorists trying to avoid the mandatory stop-and-talk with strikers.
Fredy Mejia, president of Local 563 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), said one of the challenges picketers face is abuse towards them from people driving through trying to access past picket lines.
He said people are speeding by them as if they don't care about their legs being crushed under the vehicle.
"They don't care about our health and safety, and the profanities that they shout at us, it's just not acceptable," Mejia said.
"People are declaring themselves racist, sometimes in front of a camera, that they just hate people, and the fact that they are running behind an engine that is running makes them feel more powerful," he said.
Mejia said he is very shocked to see such behaviour from some people and how disrespectful they are.
"We understand the frustration, we are explaining, we are asking for a few seconds of their time, yet we get these profanities and threats that they will drive over our legs," he said.
Mejia said these people are students and staff.
He asks that students and faculty, coming to campus, be patient and respectful as they are their coworkers.
Mejia said there will be action taken against wrongful conduct towards picketers. They have security personnel present to reduce tensions at every intersection.
He said the last incident took place 15 minutes before the interview with Humber Et Cetera.
"We had a student who declared himself racist, who shouted profanities at us, and stated that he hates immigrants, and I can't even repeat what he said," Mejia said.
Meanwhile, Meija said there are no updates on the state of bargaining with the College Employer Council.
"Our bargaining team is ready to go back to the table and resume the conversation with the College Employer Council (CEC), but there is no update," Mejia said.
"We are going to be here for as long as it takes," Mejia said.
He said their team is ready to talk, but they can't do anything if the employer does not respond.
"This is not about money specifically, of course, we are asking for recognition for the great work that we do for this institution, we are the backbone of the colleges. I do believe we deserve something reasonable as a salary increase," Mejia said.
He said if there was an offer on the table that they could not refuse, it would already be on the table by now.
John-David Kato, a Fitness Laboratory Technologist, said he hopes things get resolved and that an agreement is made so they can get back to work.
Kato said he feels pretty good about the strike as there are still a lot of people supporting it, but that “it's been a week, and you know, no one wants it to drag on too long.”
Usman Malik, a Humber librarian technician, said the support staff are responsible for the technical services as they catalogue the materials and help with course reserves, so professors have the course materials they need to give to students for them to progress through the term.
“It's hard not to know about the support staff strike, because it's impacting all of us even though we're not on strike, the loss of our colleagues is really impacting the system, it's affecting the quality of education that students are receiving in a very negative way, so I want to come out here to support,” he said.
Malik said support staff are important as they also help with counselling and career advising, and that the strike is an existential fight for the future of education that is both accessible and affordable.
“Right now, colleges are being systematically defunded by the provincial government, and what's happening is that money that is meant for the college system is being siphoned into these privatized education schemes , which shortchange students,” he said.
“In essence, Ford is enriching his rich buddies, these private companies, to offer their own education schemes instead of the quality education that we come to expect from the college system,” Malik said.
He said the support staff are there to tell the public of what is happening so they can reverse the course and restore funding to the public college system.
Joseph Italiano, an advisor from the University of Guelph-Humber, said they wanted to get back to their jobs and be able to be there for the students, as they put their heart into education and genuinely care about the students.
“We want to be back in our offices as soon as possible so that way we can provide the support that our students rightfully deserve and need,” Italiano said.
