Tentative deal reached for part-time college support staff in Ontario

Ends 14-year union organizing drive: OPSEU

Tentative deal reached for part-time college support staff in Ontario
OPSEU represents 155,000 employees including 12,000 full-time and 20,000 part-time college support workers and 12,000 full-time college faculty members. GOOGLE STREET VIEW

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) hammered out a first-ever tentative agreement for about 20,000 part-time support staff in Ontario’s colleges.

The tentative agreement comes more than a year after the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) confirmed OPSEU’s right to represent the part-time workers. They overwhelmingly voted to join OPSEU after the largest organizing drive in Canadian labour history that lasted 14 years, said the union.

“Our members will no longer have their lives turned upside down because of chaotic scheduling,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU president. “They’ll have rules surrounding job security, and they’ll know that OPSEU will support them if they’re unfairly treated on the job.”

Specific details of the agreement will be released after the members have had a chance to ratify it. The bargaining team is recommending acceptance of the deal.  The union will be organizing meetings to go over the details with the members and ratification votes will be set up in the coming weeks, said OPSEU.

OPSEU represents 155,000 employees including 12,000 full-time and 20,000 part-time college support workers and 12,000 full-time college faculty members.

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