Questions and answers for students about a college strike
You are naturally anxious about what will happen to you and your academic career in the event of a faculty strike. We hope this will answer most of your questions.
Q: What happened to students in the previous strikes in 1984 and 1989?
A: Even management has publicly acknowledged that no students lost their school year because of the work stoppages. Certainly students were inconvenienced, and some did not support the faculty. However, most seemed to understand that the issues being fought for by the faculty had to do with the quality of education.
Q: What do the major student organizations or councils think?
A: Many Locals have been in communication with their student governments. The bargaining team has met with the College Student Alliance to keep them informed.
Their website is www.collegestrike.com. The Student Association at George Brown College has issued a press release supporting the faculty.
Q: How do faculty issues affect me?
A: Faculty working conditions are students’ learning conditions. Faculty are bargaining to limit excessive class size; to obtain proper preparation time for electronically-based learning; to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of full-time teachers accessible to students; to ensure that evaluation methods are selected by
teachers with students learning needs in mind. Many of the issues faculty have been bargaining for have a direct impact on quality education. You deserve and need the best education faculty can provide. Faculty are taking a stand for quality.
Q. Why are faculty going on strike instead of continuing to bargain?
A: Faculty have extended every effort to reach a settlement, but management keeps insisting that any settlement includes substantial concessions from faculty. The faculty have realized a strike is the only way to convince management to negotiate a fair, reasonable, and responsible collective agreement. A strike can be the tool to
bring about settlement.
Q: Are the faculty salary demands reasonable?
A: Faculty salary demands are in line with current high school teacher settlements. College President salary increases have averaged over 11 percent each year from 1999 to 2002.
Q: Why can’t there be a settlement without a strike?
A: There may yet be a settlement. Bargaining is set for March 1 and 2 in an effort to avert a walkout. Faculty and management have been in negotiations for nearly a year. While the faculty have modified their proposals to a considerable degree, management still insists on concessions and take-aways from the collective agreement.
Some of those take-aways would hurt the quality of college education (such as unlimited class sizes and teacher burnout). The faculty have been clear in telling management that they would not compromise quality.
Q: How can I complete my school year?
A: Nobody knows for sure. The management of each college bears the responsibility for deciding how the operation will resume following a strike. Likely the term will be extended. Note again, that in the two previous faculty strikes, no student lost their year due to the work stoppages.
Q: In a strike, do classes, field placements, and clinicals, etc., continue?
A: Any attempt to continue classes ‘as normal’ would be futile without the full-time teachers. Nevertheless, the ultimate decision will be made by each college.
Q: Can I talk to my teachers during a strike?
A: Certainly – but not about classes or curriculum. Teachers are forbidden by law from working at the College during a strike, and the College is forbidden by law from paying teachers during a strike. This restriction also applies to electronic communication like e-mail or chat rooms. We’d be happy to meet you on the picket line to
talk about other things.
Q: Should I just stay away or quit school?
A: If a strike does occur, the provincial government will have to act quickly to prevent loss of the school year. The College Relations Commission monitors this issue. You should not withdraw from your programs or quit school.
CAAT(A) Bargaining Index Page
