College Part-Time Support Staff Bargaining Update #15: Strike Vote in 12 days: A breakdown of what the employer is refusing

Part-Time College Support staff across Ontario’s 24 campuses take our strike vote starting in just 13 days.

The strike vote will be held via online/telephone poll from October 14 at noon to October 17 at 3 pm, and all part-time support staff will be eligible to vote – including student, casual and temporary workers.

By voting “YES” together, we will show our employer that we are ready to take strike action – if needed – and add the pressure we need force them to actually negotiate our collective agreement with us – something they have effectively refused to do for 19 months.

Next Part-Time Support Townhall – Thursday, October 9 at 7 pm

If you have questions about the strike vote, or are ready to learn more about the fight, join us on October 9th at 7pm for our next townhall.

The employer hasn’t given us a response since December 2024 – 10 months ago.

The truth is, many of our proposals would come at little to no cost, and yet we’re hearing silence.

Let’s talk about what is on the table:

Union Proposal	Rationale	Employer Response (from December 2024)
Feedback on unsuccessful interviews	Allows all part-time employees to grow and seek opportunities for advancement No cost	No
Consideration for Full-Time Jobs	Include language that allows regular part-time members to be considered for full-time jobs. Provides pathways to full-time work No cost	Being considered
Stronger Sexual Harassment language	Strengthens protections for members with extended timelines for sexual harassment grievances No cost	Being considered
Transfer into bargaining unit	Count all time worked towards seniority – for unionized and non-unionized employees who then join the bargaining unit. No cost	Being considered
Job Descriptions	Helps clarify responsibilities and brings structure for all employee groups No cost	No
Cancelled Shifts	No loss of pay if shift is cancelled within 24 hours For all part-time employees, however this mostly impacts students and casual workers	Only considering this provision for RPT
Bereavement Leave for chosen family	For all PT groups Recognize important non-biological bonds and expansive definition of family	No
Wages	6% increase for all PT categories Bring up the floor so that every employee is being paid minimum $1 over minimum wage by Feb, 2025	Last offer: *Refusing any retroactive pay increases* for 2024 2% for 2025 2% for 2026**
Vacation Pay	Current vacation pay in lieu of time off is mandated by law (4% for under 5 years and 6% for over 5 years) Propose to increase by 2%	6% total for all employees
Religious/Cultural Leave	Time off without loss of pay to recognize religious and cultural holidays Already mandated in Ontario Human Rights Code	No. All employers are bound by this, but they refuse to include it in our Collective Agreement and would rather we take them to the Human Rights Tribunal
Paid Sick Days	5 paid sick days for all PT groups Not a significant cost, due to lack of backfilling Earned and not carried over	Last offer (Dec 2024): Only agrees to 2 days for RPT only

The employer’s latest offer boils down to: no retroactive wage increases for an entire year, refusal of basic provisions like paid sick days, and shutting down of measures to support career advancement. This tells us that this employer has no interest in bargaining fairly, unless we increase the pressure.

What are our next steps?

We need a strong “YES” strike vote to demonstrate our collective power and increase our leverage at the bargaining table. To do that, we need to reach as many part-time colleagues as possible to make sure they have information they need to vote on October 14th to 17th.

Are you ready to step up and help organize for a fair contract?

We’re making calls to build relationships with other part-time colleagues and answer questions.

Will you sign up to join a phonebank? We provide training and support. Join us on Zoom: from 5-7pm every weekday between now and the end of the strike vote!

If you have questions about bargaining, please contact: caatsptbargainingteam@gmail.com

In solidarity,

Your Part-Time College Support Staff Bargaining Team

Noor Askandar, L 557, George Brown College, Chair (she/her)
Sara McArthur, L241, Mohawk College, Vice-chair (she/her)
Natalie Williams, L245, Sheridan College, (she/her)
Doreen Follett, L416, Algonquin College (she/her)
Torsten Hamelin, L557, George Brown College (he/him)
Aliza Kassam, L557, George Brown College (she/her)
Paula Naylor, L612, Sault College (she/her)

Follow us on social media for regular updates:

Instagram: @CollegeSupportPT Facebook: @CollegeSupportPT

You can reach out with any questions, or get involved in your email to caatsptbargainingteam@gmail.com.