193 full-time support staff at St. Clair College have hit the picket line.
They've been out since 7 Thursday morning at the Cabana Road entrance, with their signs and flags.
They're part of the 10,000 full-time support staff from Ontario's 24 publicly funded colleges who walked off the job early Thursday morning after the College Employer Council (CEC) and Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU) failed to reach an agreement.
Justin Fox is the vice president of communications for OPSEU Local 137, representing support staff at St. Clair College.
He says they're hoping for a fair contract.
"Morale is up, and we're trying to stay positive and hope we can make a point but get a fair contract in the running too," he says.
Fox says they're on strike and are fighting for the future of student support.
"It's not just a fight for a contract; it's about the future of student support," says Fox. "We're fighting because we know our students need us. Students deserve quality services kept in-house."
193 FT support staff at St. Clair College are on strike. They hit the picket line around 7 a.m. The college is open and classes are happening. #cklw @AM800CKLW pic.twitter.com/WZvibrTU0T
— Rob Hindi (@rhindi800) September 11, 2025
He says his colleagues at St. Clair College are being laid off and student supports are being reduced or cancelled.
"Just in my department alone, which is the registrar's office, we shut down services at our downtown campus and our Chatham campus, and we've lost more than 20 per cent of our staff," he says. "So college support are holding the line and ready to fight for our students' future and protect the opportunities in our own backyard."
The union is seeking better wages, benefits and job security.
The CEC says that at a time when college enrolment and revenues are down by as much as 50 percent, OPSEU continues to insist on demands that are fiscally impossible.
Despite the strike, St. Clair College's Windsor, Downtown and Chatham campuses remain open, and classes and academic programming continue as scheduled.