FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March
6, 2006
Faculty set to strike for education
quality improvements in the colleges
TORONTO –
Education quality is the central issue as 9,100 Ontario
college faculty, members of the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union, prepare for a strike set to start at
midnight tonight.
Talks broke
off after union negotiators tried without success to bargain
changes to the collective agreement that would reverse the
decline in education quality in the colleges, providing for
smaller classes and more faculty so every college student
would get more time, more attention, and more feedback.
Unfortunately, the employer’s bargaining team wouldn’t agree
to OPSEU’s demands on quality education issues, and even
tabled last-minute concessions that moved the two-sides
further apart.
“The union will be going on
strike to get exactly what Premier McGuinty says he wants
for our students – higher quality education,” said OPSEU
president Leah Casselman.
“Over five
days of negotiations, management did not table a proposal
until 9:30 p.m. Monday, March 6. Incredibly, that
last-minute proposal moves backwards from the offer that
management had in place at the time of the strike vote,”
said Ted Montgomery, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team.
“The
management team’s complete failure to bargain in good faith
is shocking and deplorable. Management has wasted five days
and never put an offer on the table until the last minute.
Not one of the issues of quality has been addressed in their
offer,” he added.
Ontario’s
24 community colleges are represented in bargaining by the
College Compensation and Appointments Council. The faculty
have been without a contract since Aug. 31, 2005.
A media
briefing will be held at:
When:
Tuesday March 7, 9:00 a.m.
Where: Delta Chelsea Hotel (Gerrard at Yonge)
Mountbatten Room B
– 30 –
For
more information :
|
City |
College |
OPSEU local |
Contact |
Phone number |
|
Barrie |
Georgian |
350 |
Regis Yaworski |
(705) 728-1968 x 1435 |
|
Belleville |
Loyalist |
420 |
Bernard Belanger |
(613) 391-9236 (cell) |
|
Brampton |
Sheridan |
244 |
Doug Law |
(647) 882-3440 (cell) |
|
Brockville |
St. Lawrence |
417 |
Graeme Aubert
Mary Ann White |
(613) 213-4576 (cell)
(613) 213-1181 (cell) |
|
Cornwall |
St. Lawrence |
417 |
Graeme Aubert
Mary Ann White |
(613) 213-4576 (cell)
(613) 213-1181 (cell) |
|
Hamilton |
Mohawk |
240 |
Roberta Burke
Fred Deys |
(905) 648-1661 (cell)
(905) 962-3733 (cell) |
|
Kingston |
St. Lawrence |
417 |
Graeme Aubert
Mary Ann White |
(613) 213-4576 (cell)
(613) 213-1181 (cell) |
|
Kitchener-Waterloo |
Conestoga |
237 |
Graham Ward |
(519) 503-1828 (cell) |
|
London |
Fanshawe |
110 |
Paddy Musson
Linda Skinkle |
(519) 495-5455 (cell)
(519) 868-2094 (cell) |
|
Niagara Region |
Niagara |
242 |
Bruce Harper |
(905) 401-2431 (cell) |
|
North Bay |
Canadore |
657 |
Peggy Morrison |
(705) 471-8047 (cell) |
|
Oakville |
Sheridan |
244 |
Doug Law |
(647) 882-3440 (cell) |
|
Oshawa: |
Durham |
354 |
Debbie Rautins |
(905) 410-1271 (cell) |
|
Ottawa |
Algonquin |
415 |
Doug Brandy
Jack Wilson |
(613) 863-9156 (cell)
(613) 228-3872 (HQ) (613) 228-0526 |
|
Ottawa |
La Cité |
470 |
Fernand Begin |
(613) 746-2011 (HQ)
(613) 742-2493 x 2047 |
|
Peterborough |
Sanford Fleming |
352 |
Gary Bonczak |
(705) 749-5520 x 212 |
|
Sarnia
|
Lambton |
125 |
Ray Wreford
|
(519) 464-3810 (cell); (519) 383-0061
(HQ) |
|
Sault Ste. Marie
|
Sault |
613 |
Jim Pardy
Richard Page |
(705) 971-4393 (cell)
(705) 949-5706 (HQ)
(705) 971-0686 (cell) |
|
Sudbury |
Cambrian |
655 |
David Starbuck |
(705) 561-9329 (cell) |
|
Sudbury |
Boréale |
673 |
Jean-Pierre Belanger |
(705) 698-9539 (cel.) |
|
Thunder Bay |
Confederation |
732 |
Kaia Beaudry |
(807) 626-6511 (cell) |
|
Timmins/Kirkland Lake and area
|
Northern |
653 |
Olayide Shaba |
(705) 568-7992 (cell) |
|
Toronto |
Centennial |
558 |
Eileen Burrows |
(416) 570-9377 (cell) |
|
Toronto |
George Brown |
556 |
Tom Tomassi
Ed Larocque |
(416) 575-1749 (cell)
(416) 452-3647 (cell) |
|
Toronto |
Humber |
562 |
Maureen Wall |
(416) 333-2217 (cell) |
|
Toronto/Richmond Hill/Aurora |
Seneca |
560 |
Larry Olivo
Patricia Clark |
(647) 828-5422 (cell) (416) 495-1599
(HQ) (416) 831-9063 (cell) |
|
Windsor |
St. Clair |
138 |
Barb Graham |
(519) 981-1100 (HQ) |
|
OPSEU Communications |
|
|
David Cox
|
(416) 443-8888 x 314
(416) 788-9197 (cell) |
|
OPSEU Communications |
|
|
Randy Robinson
|
(416) 448-7441
(416) 788-9134 (cell) |
