Lindsay Frost Campus workers are on strike
Union estimates that 650 programs have either been shut down or are in the process of being shut down across Ontario
The support staff at the Frost campus of Fleming College are now on strike as of Sept. 11, one of 24 colleges in Ontario that are taking this action.
The 60 workers at Frost Campus are represented by local 351 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. They include administrative workers, IT specialists, student access coordinators, financial aid specialists, food service workers, and library technologists, among others.
There are approximately 10,000 workers on the support side of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) bargaining unit.
The previous contract expired at the end of August. Both sides met several times in the past few weeks to negotiate a new collective agreement. Provincially, members voted 77 per cent for a strike mandate with 80 per cent turnout. At Fleming College, the strike mandate was 80 per cent with an 83 per cent turnout.
OPSEU estimates that 650 programs have either been shut down or are in the process of being shut down in the province-wide system, which has resulted in about 10,000 lost jobs.
Mark Newell is vice president of OPSEU local 351 and serves as the picket line captain at the Frost campus. When not on strike, he runs the fish hatchery. Newell argues that “the problem is structural and that the Ford government shows little or no interest in fixing the problems.” He points out that the funding crisis faced by the college system is largely created by poor policy choices.
Newell has been working in the Environment and Natural Resource Sciences for 17 years. He says he takes great pride in his work and in the program.
“The Frost Centre at Fleming College has been a leader in these fields since the 1970s. Unfortunately, we are being degraded by a province-made funding crisis. There has been a tuition freeze, inadequate transfer payments and a severe loss of international students.” Fifteen programs were cut from the Frost campus in April 2024.
According to OPSEU, the Ontario government ranks dead last in per-capita funding of post-secondary programs. But there has also been a great deal of movement of funding from the college system to the private training based Skills Development Fund – money that is transferred to private educators and trainers.
Melanie Frain is a steward in local 351. When not on the picket line she works in tutoring and academic skills development and has been for 25 years. Melanie is concerned that this structural funding crisis is weakening the college system.
“I am concerned about the quality of education. Taxpayers’ money is not being properly directed to student needs.”
OPSEU is demanding stronger job security provisions and a wage increase that keeps up with inflation.
College Employer Council CEO Graham Lloyd said in a media release that a “complete ban on campus closures, college mergers and staff reductions could force colleges into bankruptcy.”
Lloyd said in the release that CEC’s offer remains on the table for the union to consider. “We remain far apart on a number of important issues and we strongly encourage the union to agree to mediation (or) arbitration to help us reach an agreement.”
CEC offered wage increases of two per cent in each year of the contract, increased on-call premiums by 75 per cent, increased shift premiums by 67 and 75 per cent, enhanced employment stability committee rights, enhanced vacation carryover rights, increased recall rights by 50 per cent (to 18 months), severance enhancements increased by 50 per cent for employees laid off due to the current financial crisis facing the system, guaranteeing employee rights to disconnect from work, and removal of CEC proposals that the union communicated as concessionary.
But according to Newell, “this strike is about more than the provisions of our collective agreement. It is about sustaining a strong publicly funded post-secondary college system.”
–with files from Robyn Best.
For the past two days, I have been stopped as I try to enter the Fleming College grounds in Lindsay at Albert Street. I wish the Advocate would allow us to post photos because I took some good ones. I guess it has become de rigueur in protest culture now to block the way of motorists because as I entered the grounds via Albert at Mary yesterday and today, I saw an OPSEU striker with a stop sign standing in my path and pylons to stop the motorists so the strikers could approach my car and speak with me. I had already read all about the strike and I completely understand why they are striking so I was friendly as were they. There are far fewer international students than in previous years. I have long walked my dog on the Fleming campus and on the campus of the Adult Education Centre on Angeline. Each year, it has become more difficult to find parking because the school was enrolling more and more students and so, as September approached, I automatically expected to see more cars parked along Albert Street and maybe even no place to park at the Adult Education Centre. But when I saw there were empty spots in the parking lot at Fleming College and at the Adult Education Centre and no cars parked along Albert, then I remembered the dramatic reduction in international students. Of course, that will cause job losses among staff and I don’t wish that on anyone. Mr. Rapaport blames Premier Ford, as many on the left will do, but it was Canada that reduced the numbers of international students due to increased pressure on national services like housing and healthcare, driven by the rapid influx of students in recent years. The government implemented a cap on study permits, which led to a significant drop in international student numbers to create a more “sustainable and balanced” program. So, there is lots of blame to go around, although many Canadians will feel relieved by the Liberal government’s reductions in the numbers of international students, including immigrants who face another winter on Ontario streets and city planners and developers who need to build accommodation and services for our rapidly growing community. I hope OPSEU is able to come to a speedy and favourable resolution and that no one gets hurt. (I can dream.)
70% of working people in Canada are employed in the private sector. We pay for EVERYTHING. All health care. All welfare programs. All roads. Every government employee and their generous benefit plans. Every single government related expense is paid by US… WE ARE TAPPED OUT. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. If we aren’t paying enough of our income to support all the government expenses , there MUST be cuts. Sorry (not sorry) but I don’t get up at 4am every day to go to work just to watch my income go to someone else. This is ridiculous. If government employees feel they aren’t getting paid enough , they can quit their jobs and work somewhere else. That’s what humans do. They should not be guaranteed a job for life , with nice big pay raises every couple years, when the tax payers, who are struggling to buy groceries , are paying their wages. Again , ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.