Potential Faculty Labour Action
Last updated on October 17, 2024
Faculty across Ontario colleges are currently voting from October 15-17 to decide whether to grant the union the authority to call a strike if necessary. This vote is not an indication that a strike will happen right away. Even with a strike mandate, negotiations between the College Employer Council and OPSEU will continue. A strike will only be called if a strike date is set and no agreement is reached before then. Stay informed as the situation progresses.
Student Support Resources
Connect with an Advocate: Speak with a student advocate to get personalized guidance and understand your rights during the strike. Advocates are available to help clarify your options and provide advice on navigating the situation. Our advocates can help address academic or personal challenges that arise during this period.
Share Your Concerns: Reach out to your campus Vice President or our CCSAI President Ajané to voice any concerns, ask questions, or offer feedback about how the strike is impacting you.
Key Terms and Definitions
College Employer Council (CEC) – The College Employer Council (CEC) is the bargaining arm of 24 Ontario colleges. They are responsible for representing the interests of the college through the bargaining process. Negotiations are between a union of over 15,000 faculty members at colleges across Ontario and the CEC, which represents the employers.
College of Applied Art and Technology, Academic (CAAT-A) – CAAT-A is the bargaining arm of the union, which represents the faculty, librarians and counsellors at colleges in Ontario.
OPSEU – The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is the union which represents public service employees in Ontario. Among the workers OPSEU represents are college professors, librarians and counsellors in Ontario. CAAT-A is a part of OPSEU, but refers specifically to the negotiating party involved in developing the new collective agreement.
Collective Agreement – The agreement between the employer (CEC) and the union (CAAT-A). The previous collective agreement expired in September 2021.
Strike Vote – A Strike Vote – often referred to as a Strike Authorization Vote – is a vote that must pass before labour action can be enacted. On December 11, 2021, a strike vote held by CAAT-A was passed. It’s important to note that just because a strike vote is passed, that doesn’t mean a strike is inevitable, only that it gives the union the option to strike.
Work-to-rule – Work-to-rule is a form of labour action in which the members of the union will do no more than the bare minimum required as outlined by their job description. On December 18, union faculty began a period of work-to-rule. The full extent of how this will affect GBC students is not yet known, but it will likely mean delayed response times from professors and less access outside of office hours.
Binding Interest Arbitration – A mediation strategy proposed by CAAT-A. This process would involve a third party arbitrator reviewing each side’s demands and coming up with a compromise between them. Both sides would then be locked into what the arbitrator decides. CAAT-A offered this resolution strategy but the CEC declined it.
Final Offer Selection – Similar to binding interest arbitration, final offer selection is a resolution process in which a neutral third party is brought in. It differs from binding interest arbitration in that instead of the mediator compromising the demands of both parties, they will only select one set of demands in its entirety. This method was endorsed by the CEC but CAAT-A did not agree to it.
