Talks Continue to Avert Faculty Strike at Canadian University

A strike by Fleming College faculty looms if both sides are unable to reach a deal by the strike deadline of Jan. 13, says the union.

Gary Bonczak, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 352 representing Fleming faculty, said both sides are currently in bargaining talks.

“My gut feeling is there should be a deal,” he said. “I don’t see any major stumbling blocks if the management side is willing to give up some of their power.”

Three top provincewide issues are dominating the discussions so far — workload, salary and academic freedom, he said.

“The workload issue was what the strike in 2006 was about,” he said. “Our workload issues were not addressed back then and they’re still not.”

Bonczak said management wants more flexibility to assign and change hours of staff members.

“The biggest issue is workload, flexibility, having time for preparation, evaluation and professional development,” he said. “We just want more of a congenial approach to it, rather than management just assigning workload.”

Locally, Fleming College allows faculty “quite a bit” of say in their workload, but that’s not the case at other Ontario colleges, Bonczak said.

For salary demands, the union is asking for 7.5% over three years. The colleges are putting forward an offer of 8% over four years, he said.

“So we’re not that far apart on the salary issue,” he said.

In discussions about academic freedom, the union is proposing the creation of a college senate, similar to a university senate.

“Management at the table won’t even entertain this idea at all,” he said. “They don’t want to lose any of their power.”

If colleges created a senate, faculty could present academic matters, such as courses and curriculum, and possibly retain more control over, Bonczak said.

“They would present their issues and the senate would look at what makes sense for the students and the faculty, rather than just what makes economic sense,” he said. “It would be more of a collegial atmosphere.”

The next time both sides come to the table will be Dec. 14 and 15. There have been 30 days of bargaining so far since talks began in June.

“There could be more days scheduled before the strike vote,” he said.

While he’s confident a deal will be reached before the strike vote, Bonczak said he’s concerned the economic crisis of the past year will give management licence to squeeze more concessions out of the faculty.

“The public doesn’t want a strike,” he said. “So realistically, this is a chance where (management) thinks maybe the members will cave.”

NOTES: There are about 340 full-time and part-time faculty members at Fleming College…. The last time college faculty went on strike was in 2006 when a bitter three-week strike crippled Ontario’s colleges…. Provincially, OPSEU represents 9,000 faculty members at 24 community colleges.