Frequently Asked Questions
What are we fighting for?
Since the beginning, our proposals at the table have been shaped by college full-time support staff bargaining surveys and our democratic processes, like our demand set.You sent your bargaining team with strong priorities, including: better wages and job security; improved benefits; stronger lay-off/recall language, health & safety language, and leaves of absence language; and no concessions.But a lot has changed since we first started bargaining: the lay-off numbers revealed in the faculty’s contract award revealed that the extent of job cuts across the system, even for our division, far exceeded even our highest estimates.We have always known that our ability to win things at the table has also been about funding, which is why at our final demand set meeting in March 2025, there was a demand that was voted on by our division: sustainable funding for the college sector.The colleges’ bargaining agent (the CEC), who we are negotiating with, has a clear line to the Ford government, and it is their responsibility to ensure the college system is robust, not run to the ground.But since bargaining, our employer hasn’t wanted to play ball on our funding demand. Instead, their concessions that are still on the table would make it easier to lay staff off, reduce the justification they would have to provide to cut jobs, and shift support-staff work and eliminate positions.We have heard loud and clear from our membership: we need to protect our work, and save our jobs. And that involves fighting for a college system to go back to.It’s why we’ve reformulated our demands into two new proposals: no staffing reductions, or campus closures/mergers, for the length of the collective agreement.Other unions and divisions have won similar language and fights. For example, LCBO workers who went on strike last June and won no store closures for the length of the collective agreement, the introduction of 1000 permanent part-time positions, and forced the Ford government to backtrack on their privatization plans.Last week, airline workers defied the federal government and stayed on strike and won “on ground” pay that Air Canada previously deemed impossible in bargaining.What is “possible” changes when we stand up and fight.We know that in order to win at the bargaining table, we need our communities to go to bat with us. These are demands that we can bring the public onboard with us, who are watching in dismay as program after program are being suspended and campuses are closing.It’s not just the future of our work on the line, but also the future of our college system.What happens next?
Under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA), the employer may request a final offer – or “forced” offer vote – fifteen (15) days before the expiry of the collective agreement. Our agreement expires on September 1st, 2025.During a “forced” offer vote, the employer stops bargaining with your elected bargaining team, and instead calls for a secret ballot vote of the general membership on their latest offer. At this point, the membership can decide to accept, or reject their offer.A deal not brought forward by your own bargaining team is never a good deal. We do not have to accept a deal that is not good enough! We’ve built power with a historic strike mandate that saw a record turnout of members participate: there’s no reason to give up that power now.What about mediation-arbitration?
Mediation-arbitration is a process by which both parties – union and employer – agree to suspend democratic bargaining and send all outstanding issues before a third-party arbitrator, who will ultimately decide, or “award” the final contract.At this juncture, we have no reason to default to mediation/arbitration when we are still in active negotiations with the employer, and have spent weeks building up power across the membership through our strike vote.Accepting this option would mean giving up our right to strike, the most powerful tool at workers’ disposal, and sacrifice our ability to stand behind our proposals.It lets the employer off the hook from fulfilling their obligation to bargain – and we expect them to come to the table. We also need to be careful not to set a precedent for future rounds.Are we going on strike?
A strike is the most powerful tool available to workers to leverage collective power and win changes in our workplace. A ‘no board’ report does not automatically mean we’re going on strike, but it does initiate a sixteen (16) day countdown, after which labour action could commence.Under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA), once a ‘no board’ is issued the terms and conditions of a collective agreement are frozen for a sixteen (16) day period. Bargaining may continue during that time.On the 17th day following the conciliation (“no board”) report, any or all of the following could legally occur:● Your bargaining team can call for strike action, with five (5) notice which can fall within the countdown – putting the earliest day for possible strike action to commence at September 11th;
● We can continue to bargain with the employer;
● The employer could lock out its employees;
The employer could make unilateral changes to the collective agreement and impose terms and conditions.Locals need to begin to prepare for a potential strike, however, a strike deadline will only be set once your bargaining team publicly calls for it. In the interim, we still have bargaining dates with the employer – and we expect them to come to the table, ready to negotiate, just as we are.How much is strike pay?
If we decide to take strike action, the employer will cease paying workers who are engaging in the strike action. OPSEU/SEFPO strike pay is $450/week for the first 3 weeks then $550/week in the 4th week and beyond (dependents paid at $125/week each).This is administered via Direct Deposit, which is why it’s important to update your information on the OPSEU/SEFPO members portal.Who counts as a dependent for strike pay?A dependent family member is defined as:– A child under 18 (or under 26 if attending school full time) or a dependent child as defined by the collective agreement or benefit plan;
– A non-income earning spouse (excluding a spouse on strike);
– A disabled family member; or
– A elderly family member who normally receives financial support from a striking member.
If both spouses are on strike, both may claim the dependents. What is next?We win the contract we’re ready to organize for. And right now, that means preparing for a potential strike on every one of our 24 college campuses across Ontario.This isn’t about the 7 of us at the bargaining table, it’s going to take hundreds of college full-time support staff — just like you — stepping up to talk to each other to win. Are you ready to step up and help organize your campus?Join the first organizing meeting on Friday from 12-1pm, where we will make a plan to reach every college full-time support staff and show our employer we’re serious about winning a strong contract. Register here. See you tomorrow,Your College Support Full-Time Bargaining Team:Christine Kelsey, Local 416 (Chair)Shelley Gartshore, Local 124 (Vice-Chair)Veronica Attard, Local 416Dan Brisson, Local 672Bob Holder, Local 243Dana Leaman, Local 241Xiaoyan Wang, Local 561