Over 12,000 faculty members at Ontario public colleges went on strike on Oct. 16, when the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the College Employer Council (CEC) were unable to come to an agreement on issues brought forward by OPSEU, according to a press release from OPSEU’s website.
On Oct. 14, the union brought forward an offer for a 50:50 ratio of full-time to contract faculty, increased job security for part-time faculty, and academic freedom to give faculty a stronger voice in academic decision-making. The full list of issues can be viewed on the OPSEU website.
“This is a fair and reasonable offer that addresses the top concerns of faculty across the province while taking into account the employer’s concerns about costs,” JP Hornick, chair of the bargaining team for OPSEU, said in the release.
The CEC refused to agree to the terms, according to the release, leaving thousands of students across 24 Ontario colleges without class when college faculty began picketing. While some students see this as a much-needed break, some are unhappy about the strike.
Cameron Thorpe, a film and television major at Sheridan College in Toronto, said that strikes affect many programs differently. In his program, students are restricted from renting out equipment during a strike, meaning their documentaries for class will not be produced.
“Forget the whole thing about losing tuition money—we’re kind of losing our vision and our ability to produce our projects . . . We’re losing our money’s worth, not just the money value,” Thorpe said. “It would be nice if we got compensated.”
Jack Wilson, an Algonquin College professor and vice president of the OPSEU, said that the picket line has received tremendous support.
“Busses are honking, cars too. It isn’t just vehicular support, we’ve also had student support,” he said.
Wilson explained that the issues being debated are affecting students the most. He said that contract professors reconsider teaching at Algonquin after one semester, meaning that professors are always being changed.
“One of the worst [cases] that I heard was a student who had four different professors for a class . . . he ended up having to retake the course because professors teach differently and have different expectations,” Wilson said.
He said people have been saying this is not just an issue for colleges.
“Others in precarious work know what we mean. They get it. It’s a societal issue . . . people are waking up, especially young people, and are seeing that the system is broken,” Wilson said.
Thorpe said the CEC should have been able to deal with the conflict in a way that did not inconvenience thousands of students across Ontario.
“I really care for this institution so I really don’t like that this is happening . . . I would like to feel that the school is student-based like it advertises,” he said.
As of publication, the strike was still ongoing and no talks had been scheduled to reach an agreement.
