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January 23, 2009
College certification vote:
Inspired voters make Week 1 a success
The union certification vote for part-timers and sessionals at Ontario community
colleges got off to a strong start this week.
“Week 1 of the three-week vote has
been an unqualified success,” said Roger Couvrette, president of the
organization of part-time and sessional employees (OPSECAAT). “ This vote is
inspiring people, and at every college I visited, what impressed me most was the
incredible enthusiasm of the people voting.
“They know exactly what this
vote means and they are so conscious that they are seizing a truly historic
opportunity,” he said. “There’s a great feeling of optimism, a great feeling of
possibility. It’s time!”
Labour Relations Officers of the
Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) set up their ballot boxes at nine colleges
this week. Overall voter turnout for the week was 1,392 voters. Algonquin
College led the pack on Jan. 19 with 425 votes, followed by Mohawk with 210 and
Sheridan with 168 on Jan. 22. St. Lawrence, La cité collégiale, Fleming,
Loyalist, Durham, and Sheridan also gave a good account of themselves.
“The bigger the turnout, the better
it is for all us,” said Couvrette. “There is strength in numbers, and if you did
not vote this week I urge you to make plans to do so if at all possible.”
Voting resumes Monday, Jan. 26 at
colleges in western Ontario and heads north later in the week to finish at
Confederation College on Jan. 29.
Jan. 19 was Martin Luther King Day
“Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere.”
- Martin Luther King,
Jr.
I don’t believe in
coincidences. So for me, it is no accident that we began voting for our civil
rights as sessional and part-time educational employees on Jan.19 – Martin
Luther King Day. Reflecting on the day, I couldn’t help but think about the
importance of both having the choice and the opportunity to vote at this time.
So when it’s my turn to vote, I’m
going to vote yes. Yes, because I am voting for rights and freedoms that have
been promised to me. Yes, because I am voting for being treated with dignity.
Yes, because I am voting for what’s right for me and my family, and for positive
change in Ontario’s post-secondary education community. Most of all, I’m voting
yes to create a legacy of equity. Join me. Vote Yes!
- Deborah Headley,
part-time faculty, George Brown College
A quarter-century later, a student votes YES!
John Huot, a retired faculty member
and now OPSEU’s lead organizer at Humber College, received this e-mail from a
former student this week:
Hello John,
I was enrolled and completed
the Community Worker program 1980-82. I recall well some of your classes. I
also recall that I met Bob Rae for the first time in one of your classes,
perhaps something about political process. At the time he was the leader of
the NDP but did not have a seat as an MPP. I have since gone on to do many
things but life has brought me back to Humber and now teaching in the Social
Services Worker program. So, hello and I fully plan to vote YES on Feb 2!
You can vote ANYWHERE in Ontario
Many part-time and sessional
faculty work at one college but live near another. Others may be traveling
during the vote period. Here’s the good news: You can vote at any one of the 60
vote locations in Ontario. For a complete and up-to-date listing of vote
locations, please visit
www.collegeworkers.org.
Park for free when you vote in London
If you plan to vote Jan. 26 at
Fanshawe College in London, please note that parking is free all day at the
meters in front of Building K, 1001 Fanshawe College Boulevard.
Voting in Guelph? Read this
Part-time or sessional faculty who
plan to vote at the Guelph campus of Conestoga College should note the correct
time and room of the vote on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Voting goes for one hour from
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Room A6 at 460 Speedvale Ave. W. The schedule posted
on the web at www.collegeworkers.org had voting starting a half-hour later.
Why no vote in Hearst?
OPSEU members at Collège Boréal in
Hearst have voiced concerns over the lack of a vote location in their community.
They’ve got good reason. The nearest vote location is 100 km away in Kapuskasing.
So what happened? For the record, OPSEU requested a ballot box in Hearst, but
the college employer opposed it. The Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB)
decided not to place one there. A similar thing happened at Georgian College
(which voted Jan. 21), where the employer asked the OLRB to move a vote location
from Collingwood to Midland.
Voting this week
Officers of the Ontario Labour
Relations Board will supervise voting this week at these colleges:
Jan. 26
Fanshawe
Lambton
St. Clair
Jan. 27
Cambrian
Canadore
Conestoga
Niagara
Jan. 28
Northern
Sault
Jan. 29
Boréal
Confederation
For a complete listing of vote
locations and times for this week’s vote, see the chart below.
Got questions? We’ve got answers
If you have questions about joining
a union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, or collective bargaining in
general, we’ve got answers. For answers to the most commonly-asked questions,
visit www.collegeworkers.org . If
you have questions that don’t appear in our Q&A, call our hotline at
1-866-811-7274.
Vote times and locations
Part-time and sessional college
faculty certification vote
January 26 – Jan. 29, 2009
Mon., Jan. 26
Lambton 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Room L211, 1457 London Rd.,
SARNIA
Mon., Jan. 26
Fanshawe 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Chair’s Office, 369
Finkle St., WOODSTOCK
Mon., Jan. 26
Fanshawe 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon; 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.; 5:00
p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Room 1020, Building
K, 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd. LONDON
Mon., Jan. 26
Fanshawe 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Chair’s Office, 120
Bill Martyn Pkwy., ST. THOMAS
Mon., Jan. 26
St. Clair 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon; 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Room SC165, 2000
Talbot Rd. W., WINDSOR
Mon., Jan. 26
St. Clair 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon; 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Boardroom 200F, 1001
Grand Ave. W., CHATHAM
Tues., Jan. 27
Cambrian 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Room 1402, 1400
Barrydowne Rd., SUDBURY
Tues., Jan. 27
Niagara 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
College Boardroom,
300 Woodlawn Rd., WELLAND
Tues., Jan. 27
Niagara 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Room W213-4, 135
Taylor Rd., RR #4 NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE
Tues., Jan. 27
Conestoga 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Meeting Room 3,
Learning Resource Centre, 299 Doon Valley Dr., KITCHENER
Tues., Jan. 27
Canadore 12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Room C312, 100
College Dr., NORTH BAY
Tues., Jan. 27
Conestoga 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.; 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Boardroom 2A12, 108
University Ave. E., WATERLOO
Tues., Jan. 27
Conestoga 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Room A6, 460 Speedvale Ave. W.,
GUELPH
Weds., Jan. 28
Sault 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m. , 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Staff Lounge, 443
Northern Ave., SAULT STE. MARIE
Weds., Jan. 28
Northern 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Room A106, 4715 Hwy.
101 E. TIMMINS
Weds., Jan. 28
Northern 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m., Main Meeting Room, 640
Latchford St., HAILEYBURY
Weds., Jan. 28
Northern 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Room A107, 140 Government Rd.
E., KIRKLAND LAKE
Thurs., Jan.
29 Boréal 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.; 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Room 1150K, 21
Boulevard Lasalle, SUDBURY
Thurs., Jan.
29 Boréal 11:30 a.m.– 2:00 p.m. Administration Room, 3
Aurora Ave., KAPUSKASING
Thurs., Jan.
29 Confederation 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.; 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Room C244, 1450
Nakina Dr., THUNDER BAY
Thurs., Jan.
29 Confederation 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Room 147, 440 McIrvine Rd.,
FORT FRANCE
Thurs., Jan.
29 Confederation 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Room 106, 900 Golf Course Rd.,
KENORA
Thurs., Jan.
29 Confederation 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Green Room, 100 Casmir Ave.,
DRYDEN
For full information about the
OPSEU drive to win union rights for part-timers and sessionals at Ontario’s
community colleges, visit
www.collegeworkers.org or call 1-866-811-7274.
For full information about the OPSEU drive to win union rights for part-timers
and sessionals at Ontario’s community colleges, visit
www.collegeworkers.org or
call 1-866-811-7274.
The Part-Time Times is authorized
for distribution by Roger Couvrette, president of the Organization of Part-Time
and Sessional Employees of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (OPSECAAT),
and Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees
Union.
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