College Faculty Strike Vote 2024: Frequently Asked Questions
Starting Tuesday, October 15th at noon through to Thursday, October 17th at 3:00 p.m., College Faculty will be taking a province-wide strike vote. The vote will be held online and by phone.
Vote YES for student and faculty futures, vote YES for quality education!
Why are we taking a strike vote?
We came to the table ready to negotiate a fair contract. Yet the CEC and the Colleges have shown that they are not ready to bargain, continuing to table concessions which would decrease assigned time for evaluation and feedback, create employment instability, and divide our membership. Precarity is increasing system-wide – three-quarters of teachers, counsellors, and librarians working in Ontario colleges are on short-term contracts with little to no benefits or job security and no redress for workload concerns.
That’s why we need every College Faculty member to turn out the vote, to show that we are unified behind the demand for a fair contract that takes faculty and students into the future.
We train Ontario’s future in the communities where we live and we work. We value students’ education, and we care about our Colleges – that’s why we’re fighting a better College system for faculty and students alike.
Our proposals invest in hands-on, job-ready education. The graduates we train have an integral role in Ontario’s economy – they deserve nothing less than quality education.
Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions: yet our Workload language has gone largely unchanged for nearly 40 years! Faculty currently have a ceiling of 5 minutes and 24 seconds per student, per week for evaluation – as true today as it was in 1985. Data from the Workload Task Force report indicates that only a quarter of faculty are even allotted that time – most have less, and overall, faculty have nearly an hour less weekly for evaluation than 10 years ago. Five minutes is not enough – not for students, and not for us.
Does this mean we’re going on strike?
A successful strike vote doesn’t mean that we are automatically going on strike. It does show the College Employer Council (CEC) and the Colleges that we’re ready and willing to strike if we need to!
Why should I vote YES?
Vote YES to win! A high-participation, strong YES vote will support the bargaining team at the table with the full strength of the membership behind them – more than 15,000 College Faculty members. A strong strike mandate is a powerful tool to fight back concessions and advance members’ proposals at the bargaining table.
That’s why, on October 15-17, we need everyone to vote YES for a strong strike mandate.
All voting will be by secret ballot and take place online or by phone. The Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) will email your unique voter information. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it, and contact the OLRB Help Desk if you do not receive your voting credentials (see details below.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When will the strike vote take place?
A: The vote will take place from 12:00 p.m. (noon) on October 15 through to 3:00 p.m. on October 17, 2024. Members can vote anytime during that period.
Q: How can I vote?
A: The vote will take place online or by phone through the Simply Voting electronic voting platform. You’ll receive instructions via email on how to cast your ballot and your unique elector ID number and PIN from the OLRB. (Don’t forget to check your spam folder.)
Q: Who is eligible to vote?
A: All full-time and partial-load professors and instructors and all full-time librarians and counsellors are eligible to vote and should receive a communication directly from the OLRB with their PIN and voting instructions.
This includes:
- members actively employed at the college;
- members on recall or who have a grievance outstanding;
- members on approved leave, as enshrined in the collective agreement or in law (disability leave, pregnancy/parental leave).
Q: I am a College Faculty member, how do I verify that I will be able to cast a ballot in the strike vote?
A: OPSEU/SEFPO has been working with the College Faculty Local Presidents at each college to ensure that each member eligible to cast a ballot is on the voter list.
Q: What should I do if I am eligible to vote and don’t receive my voting credentials?
A: If you do not receive an email with your voting credentials, you can contact the OLRB Voting Help Desk by telephone at 416-326-7432 (English), 416-326-0313 (French). When you contact them, indicate that you are calling about the strike vote in OLRB case number 1526-24-VO. They can assist you in being added to the voters list.
Q: Will anyone know how I voted?
A: No! The vote is confidential, and conducted entirely by secret ballot. You will not be personally associated with the vote that you cast.
Q: Will I be subject to disciplined or dismissed for how I vote?
A: Also no! The vote is entirely by secret ballot and you will not be personally associated with the vote that you cast.
Q: Why does my bargaining team need a strong “yes” vote (otherwise known as a strike mandate)?
A: All labour action requires a strike mandate vote, as is set out in the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA). Strike action can range from a work-to-rule to a full withdrawal of our collective labour.
A strong strike vote doesn’t mean that we are automatically going on strike. It shows that we’re ready and willing to strike if we need to. A high-participation, strong YES vote sends the bargaining team back to the table with the full strength of the membership behind them.
This show of unity gives us more leverage at the bargaining table to achieve a fair contract – as well as helping us fight off concessions, advance our proposals, and respond to potential employer threats, such as making unilateral changes to the collective agreement.
Under the CCBA, both parties are required to provide five (5) days notice before commencing a labour action (including a lockout or strike.)
Q: What will the strike ballot say?
A: The strike vote ballot will give each eligible voter the option, in French and English, to choose either:
YES – I authorize the bargaining team to call a strike, if necessary
NO – I do not authorize the bargaining team to call a strike, if necessary
Vote YES to give us the power to win!
Q: Does the bargaining team recommend that I vote to authorize the team to call a strike?
A: Yes, the team unanimously recommends that all members vote yes to authorize the team to call a strike and build bargaining power with a strong strike mandate.
Q: What involvement do OPSEU/SEFPO and the CEC have in the strike vote?
A: OPSEU/SEFPO requested that the vote be held. On September 18, the Bargaining Team filed for conciliation and a strike mandate vote in response to what appeared to be the CEC and the Colleges’ intentional use of delay in negotiations.
The CEC provided a list of voters obtained from the Colleges to OPSEU/SEFPO for validation. The list was then provided to the OLRB. The OLRB alone conducts the vote and OPSEU/SEFPO and the CEC have no involvement in that process.
Q: How will the outcome of the strike vote be determined?
A: In order to accept or reject a vote in favour of a strike or other labour action, such as work-to-rule, OPSEU/SEFPO must obtain 50% plus 1 vote support from among the ballots cast in the strike vote. The majority of votes cast will determine the outcome. But a stronger strike vote means more power at the bargaining table!
Q: If I have a problem casting my ballot, whom would I call for help?
A: You can contact the OLRB Voting Help Desk by telephone at 416-326-7432 (English), 416-326-0313 (French). When you contact them, you can indicate that you are calling about the strike vote in OLRB case number 1526-24-VO. They can assist you with any problems casting your ballot.
Help Desk Hours:
October 15 – 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
October 16 – 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
October 17 – 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Q: If I work at multiple colleges and I get multiple PINs, can I vote multiple times?
A: No, you are only allowed to vote once as a member of the bargaining unit. The OLRB will find your vote with the email address you used and will count that one vote as official. If you vote multiples times using multiple PINs, that will be considered a spoiled ballot and will not be counted.
Q: When will the results of the vote be released?
A: OPSEU/SEFPO will send an email to all College Faculty members once strike vote results are ready. Strike votes will be made public at that time and posted on the OPSEU/SEFPO website, as well.
Q: How will I know if a strike, or other labour action, will be taking place?
A: Members will be kept informed through local and provincial communications in the event that a strike action is called. Frequent updates will be provided through email, text, in-person visits, and town halls to keep members informed about the specific type of strike action that will be taken and how members should proceed. Members are encouraged to update their information and reach out to Local leadership if they are experiencing difficult receiving emails from OPSEU/SEFPO.