President's Message

Everyone needs support!

July 24, 2008

OPSEU’s 6,500 college support members voted last week to reject the contract offered to them by college management, and to authorize the bargaining team to call a strike if necessary.

Disrupting the education of the students is the last thing our members want - but fairness for all workers within the college system is our goal.

OPSEU members in college support staff want to bargain the same wage increase that others in the college system have been offered.

At the same time, our campaign for fairness for part-time workers will continue as the new legislation is expected to be passed.

For support workers, there are nine days of bargaining left, so a strike is not inevitable. OPSEU is out to bargain a contract, not a strike. But our members are doing their best to prepare for the eventuality of a strike in case those talks fail.

While the bargaining team and the locals are more prepared then ever, there is much work to be done to prepare for the eventuality of a strike.

Members should be signing up for strike duties and staying informed about developments by logging on frequently to the web site at www.opseu.org.

Faculty and part-time workers should also be aware of the issues, and should find out how they can assist the support locals.

Other OPSEU locals should consider helping out as well. In this year of the ‘perfect storm’ of bargaining, you can be sure that any help you provide now will come back to you when it comes to bargaining your own contract.

The best means of avoiding a strike is to be adequately prepared for one. And remember, everyone needs support.

In solidarity,

Warren (Smokey) Thomas

President