Faculty Bargaining Information

There will be no strike.

As of Jan. 8, the union representing the more than 15,000 faculty members have agreed with the College Employer Council (CEC), to go to binding arbitration.

The union announced that strides were made as they bargained with the CEC over the last few days – Jan. 6 and 7 – however, they remained at an impasse regarding some of their other demands. This will all be worked on with an arbitrator and effectively ends the risk of faculty walking off the job.

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Previous Information on the faculty labour action:

After a vote was held from Oct. 15 to 18, more than 11,800 members (79 per cent) voted in favour of strike action if necessary.

On Jan. 3, 2025, the union representing college faculty faculty gave their five-day notice of intent to strike; this comes after receiving a No Board report on Dec. 18 which set a 16-day countdown for when labour action could begin.

Currently the College Employer Council (CEC) and Union representing the more than 15,000 college faculty are in non-binding mediation. This means there is a chance that a strike can be averted, and no disruption will occur to students currently enrolled in the Winter 2025 semester.

We understand your concerns as students and recognize that any potential labour action by college faculty can have a negative impact on your academic experience. We can’t resolve the issues, but we can help you understand how it affects you.

To learn how a strike can affect your classes, exams, and access to Student Association services, Click Here

To learn about the processes of Labour Action by the union, Click Here

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Key terms

College Employer Council (CEC) – The College Employer Council (CEC) is the bargaining arm of 24 Ontario colleges. They are responsible for representing the interests of the college through the bargaining process. Negotiations are between a union of over 15,000 faculty members at colleges across Ontario and the CEC, which represents the employers.

College of Applied Art and Technology, Academic (CAAT-A) – CAAT-A is the bargaining arm of the union, which represents the faculty, librarians and counsellors at colleges in Ontario.

OPSEU – The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is the union which represents public service employees in Ontario. Among the workers OPSEU represents are college professors, librarians and counsellors in Ontario. CAAT-A is a part of OPSEU, but refers specifically to the negotiating party involved in developing the new collective agreement.

Collective Agreement – The agreement between the employer (CEC) and the union (CAAT-A). The previous collective agreement expired in September 2021.

Strike Vote – A Strike Vote – often referred to as a Strike Authorization Vote – is a vote that must pass before labour action can be enacted. On December 11, 2021, a strike vote held by CAAT-A was passed. It’s important to note that just because a strike vote is passed, that doesn’t mean a strike is inevitable, only that it gives the union the option to strike.

Work-to-rule – Work-to-rule is a form of labour action in which the members of the union will do no more than the bare minimum required as outlined by their job description. On December 18, union faculty began a period of work-to-rule. The full extent of how this will affect GBC students is not yet known, but it will likely mean delayed response times from professors and less access outside of office hours.

Binding Interest Arbitration – A mediation strategy proposed by CAAT-A. This process would involve a third party arbitrator reviewing each side’s demands and coming up with a compromise between them. Both sides would then be locked into what the arbitrator decides. CAAT-A offered this resolution strategy but the CEC declined it.

Final Offer Selection – Similar to binding interest arbitration, final offer selection is a resolution process in which a neutral third party is brought in. It differs from binding interest arbitration in that instead of the mediator compromising the demands of both parties, they will only select one set of demands in its entirety. This method was endorsed by the CEC but CAAT-A did not agree to it.

Learn More

More information can be found from both the perspectives of the CEC – click here – and OPSEU – click here.

The college will also start sharing information regarding potential contingencies

If you have academic concerns, contact the SA Academic Support team at Academic@SAGBC.ca or Academic2@SAGBC.ca

The Dialog will be following the story as it develops. You can read articles covering the strike and other topics at DialogNews.ca.

Background

The last collective agreement between colleges and faculty expired Sept. 30, 2024.

Negotiations have been ongoing since July 2024, with faculty believing that the CEC are showing they are not ready to bargain in good faith. OPSEU stated Sept. 27, that the CEC and colleges are tabling “concessions which would decrease assigned time for evaluation and feedback, create employment instability, and divide our membership.”

The union also notes the following concessions were tabled:

• Introducing new layoff provisions, increasing job instability;
• Extending the academic year to 12 months for everyone, posing risks to our vacation blocks, 11th month overtime provisions, and non-teaching periods (11.08);
• Two-tiering workload protections, targeting faculty already facing inequitable workload pressures – including members in academic upgrading and trades;
• Reducing teaching time (e.g. asynchronous course teaching contact hours) with serious implications for workload and Partial-Load faculty seniority and status;
• Introducing a new probationary period for Partial-Load faculty – upwards of 2 years – creating new barriers to job security;
• Removing five (5) consecutive professional development (PD) days and further restricting, reducing, directing and controlling our access to PD.

Faculty are hoping to bring changes surrounding the workload of all members, to ensure equity and fairness for members; monetary asks which would ensure all faculty are properly compensated alongside the rising cost of living; and ensuring partial load faculty are properly compensated.

A strike vote doesn’t mean the union is walking away from work immediately, but it does mean the option is on the table. By letting the employer know that a strike mandate has been made, union members want the CEC to know that their bargaining is not in good faith.

What happens next?

Now that a strike vote has been approved, there are a handful of directions the labour dispute could go.

1. CAAT-A and the CEC return to the table and renegotiate a collective agreement or agree to arbitration.

This option is the best case scenario for students as it would involve the least disruption to their education.

2. The union can continue with labour action that doesn’t involve a full work stoppage.

This can also take a variety of forms. Work-to-rule, for example, would slow grading and communication processes, but not affect students’ ability to attend class. Rotating strikes, however, would have an affect on students’ class schedules.

3. The union calls a general strike

A general strike would have the largest effect on students. Classes would be cancelled or postponed and students wouldn’t have the ability to consult with their professors.

How a strike affects students FAQ

Labour Action FAQ