The members of OPSEU Local 417, St. Lawrence College (SLC) faculty union are currently waiting “on pins and needles” as the deadline for their pending strike action drags on.
“I plan two things for tomorrow,” Local 417 President Grant Currie said late in the afternoon on Thursday, March 17, 2022.
“I plan to be in class with my students at 12:30 p.m., to teach them working relationships,” he continued, “and I have plans that see me organize a picket.”
If an agreement is not reached by midnight between college faculty workers throughout Ontario – represented by OPSEU – and the College Employers Council (CEC), the former are in a position to strike. And they will, Currie said, here in Kingston, and on the SLC campuses in Cornwall and Brockville.
“I would say they are resolved,” Currie said of the local 417 members, who remained in the work-to-rule position for three months before being moved to the strike position. OPSEU members at SLC received word on Monday, March 4, 2022, confirming that they are effective Friday, March 18th. 2022 would strike, the two parties should not agree on the negotiating table.
The halt in negotiations has nothing to do with wages or a pay rise, a point College Faculty Union members have continually emphasized throughout the negotiation process. Among the focal points for the college faculty workers with OPSEU are around the contraction of the work of college employers, and the lack of time available to devote to student marking – a framework that has not changed in over 30 years, Currie said. explained.
“You know, there are colleges that have excluded services like counseling for students. We are looking for protections for this kind of thing … we want counselors to be part of our negotiations and part of the work we do,” he said. after discussing only the most pressing issues at a General Assembly of Local 417. the interview.
“We have talked quite a lot about workload issues, the fact that our workload formula has not changed since 1984,” he added, noting that while this particular topic may be complicated to understand, he uses the example of group work as a relevant aspect many people understand.
“You know, students hate group work, but if I only give so much time a week, I can only mark so many papers. So, I would like to offer individual work, but the time I need is taken up,” he said. he.
Full details of OPSEU Local 417 regarding their collective agreement and current negotiations with the CEC are available here.
Currie spoke with the “difficult place to be in” presenting the current situation to himself and his fellow SLC faculty members, who would much rather be in the classrooms and schools doing what they do best, but feel the need to to stand up professionally. need, he said. However, in the last few weeks before the potential strike, Currie said he had the opportunity to speak with more and more students who have expressed interest in learning more about negotiations and topics – a positive for union members who both want and need students to understand the situation.
“The power is really in their hands,” Currie told the students.
“Students see the work we do, you know? People like Glenn [Vollebregt, SLC CEO and President] do not see the work we do. We are always in touch with the students. And we have the support of the students, ”he continued. they stop. “
And while the SLC College faculty union members – many of whom recall the strike that took place just five years ago – are ready to strike, they still hold out hope that an agreement will be reached before midnight. But whether that is likely or not is completely unknown, Currie continued.
“I have no communications,” Currie said of any updates to the collective bargaining team. However, “faculty and our team have organized events for tomorrow in case the strike deadline passes, and we are actually on strike,” he said.
Should the deadline pass without resolution, picketing will begin at SLC Campus in Kingston at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 18th. 2022 and.
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