This was written by a faculty member
I am not one to normally use social media for political issues, but today is different. Today, my employer, the College Employers’ Council (CEC) of Ontario, pulled a stunt like no other: after a 3-week strike where they have refused to negotiate and kept insisting that the union had blocked them from bringing a vote directly to the members (not true), the CEC is finally forcing a vote on its terrible offer.
The current offer is the same one they presented on September 25 (before the strike), which will basically end the hiring of full time faculty forever. The bargaining team rejected this offer back then. Now, after union members (many of them on 4-month contracts) have been 3 weeks without pay, spending days on cold, rainy picket lines, the CEC is forcing a vote. It seems they knew that only people who were worn down, financially desperate, and worried about their students, would even consider this.
This will seriously affect my young colleagues, the thousands of partial load and part time faculty across the province, and the overall quality of education in this province forever. College students will face one-size-fits-all canned, online content presented without a teacher—just low-paid “markers” and transient part-time “tutors” who have to work at 2 or 3 different colleges just to piece together a decent living.
I care about my students. I also care about quality education and decent jobs for dedicated faculty who bring a wealth of skills, knowledge, and talent to the college system.
If you care about the college system in Ontario, please email Premier Kathleen Wynne and Deb Matthews, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, and tell them the employers have to start negotiating.
Chronic underfunding by the government is what caused the problems in the first place. They have a responsibility to fix it.
Unless the government intervenes now, this strike will go on at least 2 more weeks—maybe longer. We need a fair deal now.