OPSEU tweeted today that it is setting a strike deadline for its college workers.
“Today, three months after starting work-to-rule action, we are setting a strike deadline in an effort to compel the CEC and the College Presidents to do either of the two things they have refused to do since bargaining began,” says the tweet from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
The union is looking for the colleges to complete negotiations on faculty’s priority issues or refer outstanding issues to binding interest arbitration.
“If neither of these things happen, the 16,000 CAAT-A faculty will stop all work and commence picketing, on Friday, March 18th,” says the tweet from this morning.
Faculty was asked to “encourage students" to reach out to college presidents. The faculty bargaining team sent an open letter to college presidents today, calling on them to do what is right to ensure students are protected and their school year is protected.
See: College faculty reject forced contract offer
Faculty was also asked to write the college presidents telling them they have the ability—and responsibility—to end this now.
Ontario College full-time and partial-load instructors, professors, librarians, and counsellors voted to reject the final offer in February.
"We are disappointed that academic employees have rejected the employer final offer. There remain very few outstanding Union demands, but the CEC has repeatedly told the faculty bargaining team that they are unacceptable and management can never agree to them," said Dr. Laurie Rancourt, Chair of the CEC bargaining team at the time.
The academic employees are engaging in what they refer to as work-to-rule.
See: Canadore College professors in 'work to rule' mode as contract negotiations reach impasse
Full-time faculty now only make up half, or 120 of the faculty at Canadore, the rest being part-time.
In a February 18 release, the Colleges said they will continue to operate until an agreement is reached or OPSEU decides to escalate beyond work-to-rule.
OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren Thomas says it is still not too late to avoid a strike. “I firmly believe we can reach a deal at the bargaining table,” said Thomas. “I’m convinced a deal is there and that we can avoid a messy strike that is not in anybody’s best interests.”
