Dear Student,
I don’t blame you for being angry with the strike! Through no fault of your own, you are caught in the middle.
You are being told the College Employer Council walked away from the bargaining table, and called on the union to hold a vote on their original offer; the one which led to the strike in the first place! Talk about confusing and frustrating!
I am a teacher. I love my job and I want to get back to the classroom. I want to be with you, but something is stopping me!
That ‘something’ that stops me is a vision of the future where the majority of people like you will have no choice but to work as short-term contractors.
A future where there is little or no job security, no employer contributory pensions, no benefits, no paid vacation, and where people like you are underpaid for the skills they have spent a fortune and year’s acquiring.
In that future, people like you are contracted because it makes you cheaper to employ, and easier to get rid of.
Contracting is a great short-term strategy if as an organization, money saving and profit are your only motives! But in the medium to long term contracting destroys loyalty, weakens commitment, negatively impacts performance by increasing stress and anxiety. It also means the organization loses knowledge wealth, experience and continuity due to high levels of staff turnover (all of which are essential attributes if they are to remain relevant in an everchanging marketplace).
For many people that future is already here. It is how they live now.
I too am angry, but if I give in now and accept the original offer from the College Employer Council I am accepting a precarious future, not just for me, but for you.
The original offer means reducing the number of faculty. It means less one on one time with students. It means bigger class sizes. It means more lecturing and less experiential learning. It means less investment in student welfare, and it means you getting less education for your tuition. It means employers will find it harder to employ you. It means what you do in college counts less out there!
So, with a heavy but determined heart, I need to carry on with this fight because I don’t want that future for you, or for me! I also don’t want it for your university counterparts who are facing the same challenges.
Forcing faculty to vote to accept the original offer that will harm the future well-being of Ontario is irresponsible. Please don’t fall for the rhetoric or tricks, please look beyond the next week, or next month; please think about your long-term well-being, and support us.
I'm sorry you are caught up in this mess. I am a teacher and I love teaching you. Help us all get back to the classroom together by supporting our future and yours – so that what you do in college, will continue to count out there!