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'We have a solution if the colleges are serious about addressing our issues.' - Ted Montgomery, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team.
Toronto (2 Feb. 2010) - The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) has offered to send "all outstanding issues to binding arbitration" to avoid a strike by 10,000 faculty members at Ontario's 24 community colleges.
The union announced the option to avoid a strike at the same time as it set a deadline of Feb. 11 for reaching a settlement if the province refuses to accept arbitration.
“First and foremost, we want to reach a negotiated settlement,” said Ted Montgomery, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team. “If the colleges won’t bargain that, we are willing to send all our outstanding issues to binding arbitration. The colleges, however, must agree.”
Montgomery says that while issues surrounding workload and academic freedom are of paramount importance, the union is also taking into account the impact on students if there is a strike.
“We have a solution if the colleges are serious about addressing our issues,” Montgomery added. “If they don’t want to negotiate in good faith or use the arbitration process, then it will be clear whose interests they are putting first…and it isn’t the students’.”
OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas says that while he is ready to back his members with the full weight of the union, a strike is not in everyone’s best interest.
“Even the premier wants these negotiations resolved so that the education of Ontario students isn’t compromised,” Thomas said. “Our members are serious about backing their demands, but I believe that a solution can be reached. It’s up to the colleges now.”
Earlier, OPSEU suggested that the province put it's so-called "final offer" to a vote by faculty members.
“While we continue to seek a negotiated settlement, the fact of the matter is that the Colleges – under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA) – can organize a vote on their offer at any time," said Thomas.
"Our bargaining team has reminded them of this on multiple occasions, especially after they imposed their terms and conditions on our members on Nov.18, 2009,” he noted.
Montgomery said the normal process is for the union to take a ratification vote on an offer it recommends. “But we cannot recommend the current offer for ratification because it fails to address the key issues,” he said.
OPSEU conducted a vote of its membership on Jan. 13. Faculty members voted 57% in favour of striking if necessary to reach a new contract. Majority votes were cast in 18 of the 24 colleges. OPSEU has a combined membership of approximately 10,000 members across the provincial college network.
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