View of picketers blocking traffic this morning. It's part of a province-wide strike, here 330 members affected. #CKLW pic.twitter.com/BNWAkqhBaY
— AM800news (@AM800News) October 16, 2017
Hundreds of St. Clair College workers have hit the picket line.
Overall, the strike involves 12,000 professors, instructors, councillors and librarians across the province.
St. Clair College is open but no classes are being taught ,as well, drivers are being delayed getting into the building.
330 college staff are represented by OPSEU Local 138.
Local Union President Bernie Nawrocki says among the key issues, the union wants better working conditions and academic freedom. "We want fairness for contract faculty. Contract faculty numbers are disproportionate to full-time numbers. We would like to see that ratio increased to 50-50, right now it is 70-30."
St Clair College is dark and quiet this morning after strike announced last night. Follow coverage on @AM800News and @mikelisa800 #CKLW pic.twitter.com/8uWli49rZE
— Kimberley N Johnson (@KimberleyNJ) October 16, 2017
"We would like to see better working conditions for them {the faculty}, better contracts, they only work about 4 months at a time and then they don't have any work," says Nawrocki. "As well we would like to have some academic freedom language in our contract allowing us to decide how we are going to teach courses and how we are going to evaluate students."
Nawrocki says workers had no choice but to strike. "We don't want to be out here on strike, we really feel bad for our students but unfortunately management has put us in this position. We feel that we could have bargained a deal and they weren't interested."
Faculty at St. Clair College will be on strike as of 12:01 a.m. Monday October 16th 2017. Please check stclaircollege.ca for more info.
— St. Clair College (@StClairCollege) October 16, 2017
Nicole Zwiers, a member of the OPSEU bargaining team, says a key issue is the growing number of faculty members being hired on a contractual basis.
"Contract faculty are so poorly paid, and they are left trying to cobble together a couple of different contracts from at different colleges, that they don't have time to engage in program development and discussions with our students and that;s developed over a period of time."
She hopes that the strike is short lived.
"We remain optimistic that we can engage in talks again with the employer. But of course we need both sides at the table and both sides willing to work towards some kind of settlement. I remain hopeful that that will happen."
Employer Council spokesperson Sonia Del Missier describes the strike as unnecessary. She says management was offering terms that were as good or better than recent settlements with teachers, college support staff, hospital professionals and Ontario public servants.
The council says the union demand for staffing ratios and wage increases would add more than $1-Billion in costs over three years.
The strike affects 500,000 students.
During the strike, all classes will be cancelled but St Clair College will remain open.
St. Clair varsity athletics will also continue to operate normally with all practices, exhibition games and OCAA league games.
Ontario college strike begins Monday morning as employer rejects faculty offer https://t.co/gbp38f7v80
— OPSEU (@OPSEU) October 16, 2017