Labour leaders and community allies are standing in solidarity with support staff workers on the picket lines at Loyalist College on Monday.
More than 10,000 support staff employees at Ontario Colleges, including around 160 at Loyalist represented by OPSEU Local 421, are calling for measures to protect jobs, boost wages and better support the college system.
Last Thursday, local support staff workers joined the province-wide strike to fight for the future of student supports and public education in Ontario.
Those striking workers brought the noise and the chants of ‘shame’ in decrying what they felt was a lack of support from Loyalist and the provincial government.
The numbers at Loyalist alone are staggering, with 40 full time positions, 10 part time positions in support staff, and 68 full time faculty positions being lost or are currently in the process of being laid off.
“There’s an estimated 100 plus partial load faculty to be gone by the end of September,” treasurer of OPSEU Local 421 Tiffeny Dyck stated.
“If you’re not counting, that’s over 200 staff here at Loyalist and the College is estimating 2018 enrollment numbers based off of that. In 2018, we had 40 administrative management sector staff. Today, we have approximately 85 of those administrators.”
Last month, Loyalist College announced additional layoffs for 36 full-time faculty, amounting to a 50-per cent reduction of full-time teaching staff as it reportedly faces the potential of a $25 million loan from the province by March 2026.
“I want to know why college executive team and the Board of Governors have allowed us to get into this financial situation,” Dyck stated.
Ontario Federation of Labour president and Loyalist College alumnus Laura Walton had some choice words for all provincial politicians who she feels have not gone to bat for them during hard times.
“When I stand in front of a sign that says I’m working for workers, you can 110-per cent agree that I am working for every single worker in Ontario, unlike Doug Ford, unlike Tyler Allsopp, unlike Rick Bresee, unlike David Piccini,” Walton assured.
“Do you see them here on your picket line? Have they ever been on a picket line? Because here’s a little secret, folks, when you’re working for workers, you work for all workers. You don’t pick and choose the workers that you feel like supporting. You support every single worker every single day, and you make sure that they get that what they need from the boss, not line the pockets of the boss.”
Walton added this fight is personal for her, as she currently has a son going to Algonquin College in Ottawa.
“We’re going to be talking about how it’s the people, the staff of Loyalist College, that makes it run, not the administration,” she emphasized.
“I would wager a bet right now that if the administration didn’t show up, it would probably run better.”
OPSEU President JP Hornick stated in remarks that the College Employer Council and the Doug Ford provincial government’s underfunding of the college system ‘is not a crisis, but corruption, pure and simple.’
“When you have an MP on the first day of your strike who has the gall to stand next door and announce a deal with private interest that will directly undercut the college programs themselves, we are not looking at normal times,” said Hornick, referring to an announcement MP Allsopp made with the Quinte Economic Development Comission last week on supporting manufacturing jobs through Elevate Plus.
“We are not looking at a time to be polite. We are looking at a time where we need to stand together, where we need to escalate, and we need them to feel it in their marrow how important this is to each and every member of this community.”
Hornick added this is about the ‘soul of Belleville’ and the soul of Ontario and cementing a better future for generations to come.
OPSEU Local 421 head Tim Prewer noted the last time he spoke with President of Loyalist Mark Kirkpatrick was in January and there has been little to no communication since, except through letters.
“We have not met since with negotiations breaking down, they have not been out to visit us on the line,” Prewer confirmed.
“The staff rep and myself did have a quick meeting on Friday to try and talk about certain situations that were happening on the line. (College representatives) haven’t gotten back to us yet as to their response to what we’ve talked to them about. Nobody has come out to the line and said, Hi, how are you doing, whereas in past strikes, they have come out.”
Although faculty members with OPSEU Local 420 are not on strike, some did manage to join the support staff workers on the picket lines on Monday.
OPSEU Local 420 president Tracy McKenzie, Quinte Labour Council president Marg Bourgoin and other labour leaders were on hand to support the cause as well.
(BROCK ORMOND)
