College campaign gets HOT this summer

Be cool – get involved in your community

School may be out for most college students, but the campaign to win union rights for part-time college employees won’t stop for summer.

Ontario’s 24 colleges employ 16,000 part-time faculty and support staff. They do the same work as full-timers, but they don’t get treated the same. The big reason? It is against the law for part-time college workers in Ontario to join a union.

Since last fall, OPSEU has been building a campaign to win union rights for these workers. Our web site at www.collegeworkers.org  tells the whole story.

The right to unionize is a basic democratic right. This summer, OPSEU has hired 13 mobilizers to take our campaign out of the colleges and into our communities. All of the mobilizers work, or have worked, as college part-timers.

Starting July 3, they’ll be taking our postcard campaign out to farmers’ markets, shopping centres, street festivals, and so on. They’ll be lobbying MPPs. They’ll be planning labour day events, and they’ll be planning “welcome back” activities at each college campus.

They’ll also be looking for volunteers to help with these activities. If you think you might be interested, send a message to collegeworkers@opseu.org . Let us know your nearest community college. We’ll put you in touch with the mobilizer in your area.

Get your posters, postcards, lobby kits and coffee mugs!

New lobby kits, postcards, posters, and coffee mugs this summer feature the new “I believe in FAIRNESS” logo.

To get materials, contact collegeworkers@opseu.org  or call our Campaign Hotline at 1-866-811-7274 or (416) 448-7443. The mugs (see photo) cost $2 each. OPSEU locals can order them (and pay for them through a deduction from their quarterly rebate) by completing the form at http://www.opseu.org/caat/parttime/caatmugorderform.pdf  and fax it in to Mary-Anne Di Adamo at (416) 443-1762.

SPECIAL EDITION for all OPSEU members

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