Ontario college faculty vote 79% in favour of strike mandate

Faculty at Ontario’s two dozen public colleges, including Sheridan College in Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville, have voted in favour of a strike mandate.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board announced Friday that a record turnout of 11,484 members (76.1 per cent) voted 79 per cent in favour of walking out if a new contract can’t be worked out.

Contract negotiations between the OPSEU College Faculty Bargaining Team, which represents full-time and partial-load professors and instructors, counsellors, and librarians, and the College Employer Council have been ongoing since July 15.

Faculty tabled their proposals early last month.

“We’ve delivered a strike mandate authorized by a clear majority of all college faculty,” said the OPSEU faculty bargaining team. “As the bargaining team for faculty at Ontario’s 24 public colleges, we’ll utilize this mandate to reinforce our key demands and fight back serious concessions tabled by the College Employer Council that would make our working conditions, and by extension the students’ learning conditions, undoubtedly worse.”

Sheridan College announced the news of a strike mandate on social media early Friday evening.

“Earlier today, the CAAT-A faculty union announced that it has voted in favour of a strike mandate,” Sheridan officials said in a post to X (formerly Twitter). “As the situation continues to develop, you can stay informed and get the latest updates on the CAAT-A collective bargaining at Sheridan Central.”

The two sides remain far apart on wages, workload, vacation time and job security.

“We remain focused on a fair, negotiated settlement that does not sacrifice our hard-fought rights, and which achieves real gains to our wages and working conditions,” said OPSEU. “With an accumulated surplus of $1 billion over the last year alone, the colleges have the resources to fulfill the core mandate of the colleges: training Ontario’s future workforce through teaching, learning, and student support.

“There’s enough money to prioritize quality education, while responsibly navigating any uncertainty.”

The strike mandate, says the union, allows them to “protect our rights” should the CEC impose terms and conditions, including the concessions that have already been tabled.

“This strike mandate sends a powerful message that faculty stand behind our key demands and proposals that will improve wages and working conditions for every one of us,” said OPSEU.

There are over 15,000 faculty members at 24 colleges across the province.