Yet again, college strike talk worries student leaders

For the second straight year, the threat of a strike at Sault College and at similar schools across the province hangs ominously over the start of a new school year. In 2011, college support staff (photo shown courtesy of OPSEU) hit the picket lines on September 1. And now it's faculty who are unhappy and could be heading for a strike vote. The College Student Alliance issued the following news release today.

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Ontario college students want a resolution

TORONTO (August 27, 2012) - With the College Faculty Collective Agreement expiring on August 31 and the strike vote set for September 10, college and college-university students across Ontario are anxiously hoping for a resolution of contract negotiations.

The College Student Alliance (CSA) is calling on both the Council and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) to be fair and reasonable in the negotiations of the new contract.

September is an important time for new students beginning their college education and also for those returning to their studies, who experienced the September 2011 support staff labour disruption.

"We urge both sides to reflect on the best interests of students and we ask that both parties bargain in good faith and take the strike option off the table," says Ciara Byrne, president of the College Student Alliance. "We also ask that each college administration work with their respective student governments to develop contingency plans to reduce the potential impact of the bargaining process on students."

With four full days left of bargaining until the current contract expires, full-time academic staff are getting ready to vote on whether or not to give OPSEU a strike mandate on September 10, after which they would be in a legal position to strike.

"We understand that there are significant issues on the table that need to be discussed but a strike is not the answer. With four days left of bargaining we ask that both parties review their demands and come to an agreement," says Tyler Epp, director of Advocacy of the CSA. "We believe in the bargaining process and hope that a new collective agreement is reached without a labour disruption that could potentially cost students their semester."

The CSA has been providing up-to-date unbiased information through this website, [which] was built for student associations across Ontario to provide bargaining updates to their students.

An academic strike has only happened three times in the history of the college system: in 1984, 1989 and again in 2006.

The College Student Alliance (CSA) is an advocacy organization, which has been proudly serving Ontario's college and college-university students since 1975.

The CSA currently represents 16 colleges and 23 student councils with over 135,000 full-time student members throughout the province.

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