As the pressure of our strike vote mounts, we’re writing with an exciting update. We’ve secured an earlier mediation date with the employer for November 20th.
Make no mistake, this has been a result of the power we’ve built through our organizing.
What we’ve seen from our employer is that they will only negotiate when they feel pressure.
It’s more important than ever that we have a strong “YES” vote to make sure we have maximum leverage at the bargaining table.
You can still vote “YES” in our strike vote before 3pm today.
College support staff across the colleges are ready to fight for better. Our full-time support colleagues have shown the power of collective action, and achieved a tentative agreement on Wednesday after a courageous strike. However, to be clear, this agreement will not affect part-time support staff.
While our negotiations processes are separate, many proposals that were won by the full-time support staff are similar to ours – like a dollar amount wage increase and enhanced protections for members experiencing sexual harassment – which opens the door for part-time support staff to push even harder for this language in our contract too.
But this is why our strike vote matters, so that we can get a contract that meets the needs of all part-time support workers.
1) Why isn’t the employer’s latest proposal good enough?
- There are no wage increases for all of 2024 and likely, all of 2025. Would you accept an agreement that has no wage increases for the last two years?
- Almost all improvements only apply to regular part-time employees, which only applies to 15% of us.
- This means students and casuals won’t see these proposed benefits, like paid sick time, cancelled shifts, etc.
- They are refusing many of our proposals like job descriptions, feedback for unsuccessful interviews, and pathways to career advancement, even though they cost the employer nothing.
Please check your work email for the email from the Ontario Labour Relations Board sent on Tuesday October 14, and go here for additional information on how to vote.
In solidarity,
Your College Support Part-Time 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.