OPSEU College Support Staff – Important Resources in a Knowledge-Based Economy

As most people probably know by now, Colleges Ontario (representing college management) and the OPSEU union representing 8,000 college support staff have been negotiating this weekend. It is hoped negotiations will result in a resolution to the contract dispute that resulted in a work stoppage on September 1st.

There have been many issues raised during the strike which is affecting all colleges in communities across Ontario. Despite all the coverage in the media about the strike, there still appears to be a lack of understanding about our roles in supporting students and faculty. A lack of understanding of our roles and how the skills we use everyday contribute significantly to the success of Ontario’s colleges. Colleges aim to produce knowledgeable and well-skilled graduates. Well, we are valuable resources throughout the colleges that support faculty in curriculum delivery and student success.

There has been much discussion in recent years about the shift in Canada to a knowledge-based economy. The rhetoric has stressed the importance of having the right programs offered at our colleges. The goal is to make sure job seekers are appropriately qualified for the labour market as it exists today and are prepared for the shifting trends we are seeing for tomorrow.

In recent years, Ontario has even developed financing projects to assist Colleges among other areas to be able to “…support business innovation by providing them with state-of-the-art, industry-relevant research infrastructure to foster partnerships with the private sector in a specific area of institutional strategic priority” (June 2011).

A knowledge-based economy requires top notch learning institutions with faculty who have relevant industry experience, state of the art technology and state of the art buildings. We wholeheartedly acknowledge the importance of great faculty, technology and buildings. What we hope Colleges Ontario and the college presidents understand is that to run top notch institutions, colleges also require well-educated and skilled support staff. Support staff are the individuals who ensure faculty have the resources they need, the technology is supported and the buildings are operational. Support staff ensure students have the resources they need to complete program requirements whether it be financial aid for tuition, tutoring for coursework, accommodations for their disability support, mental health support, an outlet for physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle or strategies for their job search when they graduate. In short, we are instrumental in ensuring that colleges are able to contribute to a knowledge-based economy.

As we look to the future and our ever growing knowledge-based economy, college management needs to consider the importance of the resources support staff provide to faculty and students. How can colleges continue to support a knowledge-based economy without ensuring the staff providing support to both faculty and students are themselves educated and skilled? Finally, consider how colleges can ensure they continue to recruit educated and skilled support staff. The answer – ensure individuals in support staff positions have good wages and good benefits.

Authors of this blog
OPSEU College Support Staff

*Source: Ministry of Research and Innovation.

College Workers – Educated and Providing Essential Student Support

I’m a university graduate and the majority of my colleagues have post-secondary education. We run job fairs for students and graduates, review applications and transcripts with a high degree of accuracy in order to ensure we have qualified students and a fair admissions process, disperse OSAP, bursaries and scholarships, tutor and support students in academics, we’re nurses and counselors, we run the gym, nutrition and health programs, we’re IT support staff who keep everything running behind the scenes, all systems go for staff, faculty and of course students who rely on the IT infrastructure to access timetables, book lists, important info about scholarships, OSAP, exams, projects, homework, the list goes on.

My college president earned $181,000 in 2008. His salary increased to $270,000 in 2010. Our VPA saw a $40,000 increase in salary in the same 3-year period… our VP Marketing and Communications over $20,000.

When we were without a president, the college still ran smoothly, when we’re without support staff, the place falls apart. Our president got a nearly 50% salary increase and no one batted an eye. We’ve asked for 3% a year and there’s public outcry. I don’t get it.

We’re asking for inflation and even then money is secondary to the significant and historical changes presented by our employer . An employer who won’t negotiate, in fact refuses to even come to the table, although that’s not what they’re telling the media.

We support our families, our students and our communities. But that doesn’t matter anymore because for the first time in 32 years we’ve pushed back on changes that fundamentally change the face of the workforce in this province.

OPSEU College Support Staff Member
Originally posted as a response to article on CBC.ca – Sept. 2011

College Student’s Parent Supports Union

My son just started Algonquin. I want to write to the President and express my outrage that this situation is permitted to continue by management not going back to the table. I want my son to succeed but I also want him to know that when he enters the working world he will have a fair shake at decent working conditions because of the unions that have made it so! On Algonquin’s website there is nothing but the full last offer documents from both side – bargaining in public. And there appears to be no way to get any sort of address – e-mail, fax or snail for the President. Disgusting. Please, if anyone has this information – post it daily to the CBC and tweet and facebook it!

Author Unknown – College Parent

Originally posted as a response to article on CBC.ca – Sept. 13, 2011

Students Support Striking OPSEU College Workers

A letter to the College Presidents. Student emphasizes lack of support services negatively impacting courses. Support staff needed back at work.

Dear Mr. Lovisa and fellow college presidents:

As a student of Durham College I would appreciate it if you would take the time to read this correspondence.

It was not without reservations that I walked towards the Durham College campus on September 12th, 2011. I walked because I wanted to avoid the picket line delays that might cause me to be late for writing a correspondence course midterm test, which I had arranged with a college staff member on August 30th. Last week I received a delayed response from the Continuing Education department reassuring me that yes, my exam would go ahead as scheduled despite the strike. I was left feeling that I should print off the email confirmation of the exam booking to bring along. In fact, I should have done just that because about two minutes after arriving at the exam center I was pulling up the email on the college computer to print out for the invigilator. There was no record of the midterm being booked and no midterm paper ready for me to write.

The following day I was told I could re-schedule the exam for Wednesday September 14th. On that date, I had completed only the first few questions when I began to wonder whether or not I had the correct exam paper. The questions were not on the material that I had prepared for according to the course paperwork. After approaching the invigilator we determined that I had been given the final exam for the course, not the midterm test that I had requested. I then had to wait for the correct exam to be provided and start all over again.

The colleges would like the general public to believe that this strike is barely affecting the level of service and education provided to students. As the president of Fanshawe College so eloquently stated, he feels the strike is merely comparable to a few mosquitoes flying through an open window (the fact that this metaphor was directly followed by the claim that the strikers are certainly not being compared to mosquitoes only served to drive the insult home). Although I have a hard time knowing what to believe regarding information related to the strike, one thing I know for a fact is that if it has affected me in such a significant and inconvenient way then students at Durham College, and therefore at other colleges as well, are also being affected detrimentally. In fact, at the exam time tonight there was another student who had scheduled his exam online yet his exam was not prepared for him.

Currently, I hold a full time job as well as working part-time on the weekends, generally working 6 or 7 days a week. I am working towards a diploma through Continuing Education, taking as many as five courses at once, while maintaining an average above 90%. Two months ago I paid over $1000 to register for four courses. Not including the textbooks, of course. The diploma I am working towards at Durham College is an important step for me and it is essential that I meet my goal of an expected finish date in April 2012. This strike has, and will continue to, affect me as a student. I don’t have the time to wait for every mistake to be corrected. I certainly now have no faith in my completed exam reaching its destination, being marked and recorded properly. Not to mention complications I will be likely to experience in the other four courses I am enrolled in, or the fact that I cannot book any further midterms or exams until the strike is over.

This strike is wasting the time, money and effort of myself and every other student. And for every student that has taken the time to write to their college and complain, there are countless others who are thinking the same thing. It is imperative that the colleges go back to the bargaining table as soon as possible. Students don’t deserve to endure personal hardships because of a political agenda.

Sincerely,

College Student