Ontario college teachers vote to strike if necessary

Faculty members cast ballots across the province after management walked away from the bargaining table.

Toronto (14 Jan. 2010) - Ontario's 9,000 community college teachers, counsellors and librarians have voted in favour of strike action if necessary to strengthen their hand at the bargaining table as they try to negotiate a new contract with the province's 24 Community Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT).

The teachers are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE). OPSEU is the largest Component of the National Union of Public and General Employees, which has 340,000 members across Canada. NUPGE has thrown its full support behind the faculty members.

The union announced Wednesday night that faculty members at 18 of the 24 colleges had voted to give their bargaining team a mandate to call a strike if negotiations are unsuccessful.

“Our members have delivered a clear statement. If management is serious about reaching a settlement then it’s time they returned to the bargaining table with the singular goal of reaching an agreement,” said OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas.

“With (this) strike vote we are saying the time for inflexibility by management is finished. Let’s get down to negotiations and the sooner the better.”

Mid-February strike possible

Ted Montgomery, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team, said the "first goal" is to reach a fair settlement without a strike.

"But if that’s not possible the earliest strike date could be mid-February,” he added. "At the start of this round of bargaining our members set out some firm demands, including workloads, salary and academic freedom, and we intend to deliver results on those demands."

The union continues to maintain that the colleges implement the recommendations of an independently-chaired special workload task force, established after the 2006 faculty walkout. Both sides had agreed to the task force recommendations which included academic freedom and workload, but in bargaining management is reneging on that agreement.

The union is also calling on the colleges to withdraw their imposed terms and conditions of employment that were arbitrarily put into place – in the absence of a negotiated settlement – on Nov. 18, 2009.

 “Our members are upset by the fact that they find themselves working under terms and conditions of employment that have been imposed on them by management,” said Montgomery.

Appeal to Milloy and McGuinty

He also called on John Milloy, minister of training, colleges and universities, and Premier Dalton McGuinty to reinforce their government’s commitment to quality education by directing college negotiators to return to the bargaining table with the intent to arrive at a fair settlement.

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

More information:
• OPSEU asks college teachers for strong 'Yes' vote
• NUPGE strongly backs Ontario college teachers
• College faculty calls vote after management walks