Ontario college faculty are on strike as of 12:01 Monday, October 16. If you're a current college student, you might be wondering what to do:
KEEP CALM & KEEP STUDYING
Though colleges will cancel classes if a strike occurs, negotiating parties (the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the College Employers Council) can reach a deal at any moment, so don’t fall behind on class work.
Use your class syllabus, materials posted online by your professor, and textbooks to stay up-to-date with your academics.
Students have never lost a semester due to a faculty strike, so don't panic!
STAY INFORMED
Check email and notices from your college about updates from the bargaining table.
GET INVOLVED
Have courteous and respectful conversations with picketers.
Encourage administrators and picketing faculty to find a way to get a deal done.
Don’t be afraid to use social media in a positive manner to have your voice heard.
BACKGROUND
Full-time faculty (professors, instructors, counsellors, librarians) is represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). Administration is represented by the College Employer Council (CEC). These are the negotiating parties.
Negotiations have been happening since July with no success. The last faculty strike was in March 2006 and lasted 18 days. If a strike occurs, they generally last about 2-3 weeks before a settlement is reached. There is no strict timeline on how short or long a strike can be. OPSEU, CEC and institutions have not confirmed to CSA when exactly a semester would be ‘lost’ as it’s never happened before.
OSPEU:
http://www.collegefaculty.org/
https://opseu.org/sector/caat-academic
CEC:
https://thecouncil.on.ca/
Do you have specific questions or concerns? Contact us:
President: Joel Willett, president@collegestudentalliance.ca
Director of Advocacy: Abdullah Mushtaq, advocacy@collegestudentalliance.ca
