Toronto – On January 14, 2022, OPSEU/SEFPO filed an unfair labour practice (ULP) complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, accusing the College Employer Council (CEC) and a number of colleges of interfering in the rights of members to support their union’s position during contract negotiations.

The union says several colleges, including Niagara, St. Lawrence, Humber and Fanshawe, have directed faculty to stop sharing bargaining information using their email signatures or learning management system (LMS).

Nevertheless, the colleges continue to use college resources to circulate CEC bargaining information to faculty, staff and students.

The ULP also says colleges have interfered in OPSEU/SEFPO’s right to seek member support and to engage in strikes without employer threats of reprisal.

CEC CEO Graham Lloyd has issued a letter casting doubt on the legality of faculty’s right to work to the letter of their contracts, while refusing to address their concerns around workload. Bargaining Team Chair JP Hornick calls his letter “a deliberate, if clumsy, attempt to distract and confuse faculty about their legal right to participate in work-to-rule.”

In his letter, Lloyd insists the CEC will return to the table only if faculty drop any demands the CEC is unwilling to consider.

Hornick says the CEC and the colleges fail to address their continued refusal to bargain faculty demands on workload, partial-load issues, contracting-out, intellectual property rights, equity and decolonization. Hornick also confirmed that the union’s earlier offer to refer outstanding issues to voluntary binding-interest arbitration remains a path forward without disruption.

“The CEC continues to engage in a fear-based campaign that doesn’t even pretend to counter the merits of faculty concerns and proposals,” noted Hornick. “We haven’t filed this ULP lightly. We strongly believe faculty have the right to communicate with our students and the public about our bargaining – and to be able to do so in an environment free from reprisal or threats of reprisal.”

For more information: JP Hornick, College Faculty bargaining team chair, 416-806-9526

Other Bargaining Updates

College faculty arbitration update

OPSEU/SEFPO CAAT Academic and the CEC participated in a mediation/arbitration September 7-9, 2022. Following the mediation part of the proceeding, an arbitration occurred on September 9, 2022. The arbitrator’s award will form the new collective agreement and it is...

College faculty bargaining team statement

The college faculty bargaining team has issued the following statement: Arbitrator William Kaplan has imposed a media blackout on the upcoming voluntary mediation-interest arbitration between the colleges’ and college faculty bargaining teams. There will be no further...

Joint statement by OPSEU/SEFPO and the College Employer Council

OPSEU/SEFPO’s college faculty bargaining team and the College Employer Council have issued the following statement: The parties have reached an agreement to enter binding interest arbitration and the strike that was scheduled to commence at 12:01 am on March 18, 2022,...

College faculty to resume talks with employer

Toronto – With some 16,000 college faculty set to go on strike at 12:01 Friday morning, the College Employer Council (CEC) and the faculty bargaining team have agreed to meet Thursday. “We were encouraged that the CEC replied to our letter and have agreed to meet...

College faculty set strike deadline

TORONTO – Some 16,000 faculty at Ontario’s 24 public colleges say they will go on strike at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, March 18 if the College Employer Council (CEC) does not agree to voluntary binding interest arbitration.   The faculty bargaining team sent an open letter...

Work to Rule: Phase 3

Started 12:01am, March 02, 2022 Focus Work-to-rule must impact the functioning of the colleges in order to work as a bargaining strategy to bring the Council back to the table to discuss faculty’s needs. The colleges and CEC have chosen to abandon negotiations and to...

Legal Brief Supports Faculty Proposals

Throughout this round of bargaining, the College Employer Council (CEC) has repeatedly refused to negotiate significant issues regarding workload, staffing, or fairness for partial-load faculty. They have justified their obstinacy by claiming that changes to these...