Not-so-lonely crusade of union dude in little blue bus

Roger Couvrette is pleased with his reception by part-time and sessional instructors today at Sault College.

Couvrette is the president of the Organization of Part-time and Sessional Employees of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (OPSECAAT).

He's travelling across the province in a little blue bus, to encourage other part-time and sessional employees to sign up with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)-affiliated organization.

Many Sault College workers took the time to sign cards today, says Couvrette.

He is seen today with Richard Belleau, president of OPSEU Local 731 and local organizers Sandra Hodge, Gayle Verdecchia and Lorri Foley.

Couvrette and the little bus with It's time emblazoned on its side will be hitting the road to Sudbury tonight.

It will be his last stop on this leg of the campaign, before heading home to Toronto to continue the recruiting drive from there.

"We need over 35 percent of the possible signatures and we are well past that," he said today during a stop at Sault College. "Shortly after this term, likely in April, we will hold a vote to join OPSEU. We hope to be at the bargaining table this summer."

Couvrette, a part-time teacher at Algonquin College in Ottawa, was elected as the organization's first president when it was officially formed in November 2006.

He says organizing was the only recourse to address what he calls 'third-world' working conditions that part-time and sessional instructors endure at colleges across the province.

"But this isn't about college management," he says. "Ontario is tenth out of the ten provinces in funding for colleges and the managers are just doing whatever they can to try to provide a post-secondary education for their students."

Couvrette says the number of part-time and sessional teachers working at most Ontario community colleges outnumbers full-time instructors, leading to a decline in quality of education because the colleges have such high teacher turnover rates.

"A sessional does at least as much, if not more work than a full-time instructor but for a fraction of the pay, no benefits and no recourse for grievance," says Couvrette. "It's basically a take - what - you - can - get - or - look - for - another - job situation."

Many colleges fail to fully inform their part-time and sessional employees at the time of hire as well, Couvrette said.

More of these employees could be taking advantage of benefits like an employee pension plan, but the colleges can't afford their contributions so they just don't mention it.

And sessionals face another whole set of problems.

Couvrette says that, according to provincial legislation, a sessional cannot work more than 12 in 24 months.

"If they are even one day over that 12-month mark they have to be hired for full-time," he says. "That means many of them are let go shortly before the 12-month mark."

This will be one of the many issues brought to the bargaining table if part-time and sessional employees of Ontario's Colleges decide to join OPSEU alongside their full-time counterparts, Couvrette says.

Part-time student employees are also being targeted by the union drive.