Thousands of striking college support workers took to the picket lines on Thursday at various locations across the province of Ontario as their union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), continues to negotiate a contract with the College Employer Council (CEC). The Georgian College campus in Orillia was one of the rally locations and hundreds of people were seen outside the campus entrance in support. Angela Foster, president of Local 349, said colleagues from around the region came together as they continue to aim for a fair contract. “Standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with colleagues from other colleges, community members, and our own campus as we bussed everybody in today because we have been working for months to try and get a negotiated contract for our full-time support staff, and the college keeps walking away from the table,” said Foster. “Twice now they’ve walked away from the table.” Current and former staff on campus as well as students took to the picket lines all highlighting their own concerns with the strike as well as the closure of Georgian campuses across the region. Shelby Glionna-Woolman is a student on campus and lives in Orillia and is frustrated with the amount of job cuts the school has made along with the closure of the campus in Orillia. “I think it’s very important when looking at cuts that this college is making,” said Gilonna-Woolman. “I’m paying two grand a semester, and all of a sudden it’s being cut, and I now would have to move colleges, which is 30 minutes from my house, just to finish my education.” Other students like Matthew Mccolm just started school at Georgian College five weeks ago and will now have to transfer to Barrie to finish their education. He said the community has come out to show support for the workers and the campus. “The people are rallying, some support workers and some volunteers from students and other teachers, to show solidarity with the Georgian students that are really, who without any notice whatsoever, we’re told that their campus is shutting down,” said Mccolm. Talks between the two sides fell apart earlier this week, and according to CEC, the two groups were progressing talks until the ultimatums were put on the table. “One is they want an outright restriction on any type of contracting out, without their permission, whether it affects jobs or not,” said Graham Lloyd, CEO of CEC. “The second one is where they want a restriction on the type of work that’s being done, and they want to prevent deans from having conversations with students about such things as study habits or best practices or financial aid. They claim they only need support staff, and that no dean or manager should ever have that type of conversation.” Adding they are now at an impasse due to these conditions. “We don’t want to be at this impasse, but as long as they maintain these ultimatums, unfortunately there really is no path forward,” said Lloyd. Job security is top of mind for those on the lines. “The biggest issue for us since the beginning of this has been about job security,” said Foster. “So the colleges refused to discuss that in bargaining, and it’s so important to us, in light of all of the layoffs that have happened across the province—over 10,000 layoffs—and here at Georgian, we’ve lost over 200 positions, and over 60 of those were full-time support staff positions that we lost.” Adding the rally is all about negotiating long-term employment. “Today (Thursday) is about negotiating a contract, and it’s also about saving our colleges because our colleges are significantly underfunded,” said Foster. “And as a result, this campus that we’re standing on right now has been declared for closure for 2026.” With the CEC expressing similar objectives. We just want the students back with uninterrupted education,” said Lloyd. “We want their support staff; they’re very important, and we want them in the building doing their important work.” Both sides have indicated they remain at the table willing to negotiate a contract and are waiting for the other to return to the table. According to OPSEU, there are no future rallies currently planned.
