Students at Fanshawe College and more than 20 other community colleges across Ontario may face an early disruption to the academic school year. Support staff are in a legal strike position on Sept. 11. As students arrived for orientation day for the upcoming fall semester, many told CTV News they had no idea that a strike by full-time support workers was possible. But to those directly involved, it is no surprise at all. “The earliest possible date would be September 11th. So, next Thursday, as of 12:01 a.m.,” said OPSEU Local 109 president Adam Rayfield. Rayfield said support workers include staff in the registrar’s office, library, accessibility centre, and maintenance areas “They’re the first faces you see when you walk into any academic or student services office. And they’re the last face you see as well.” Before program cuts and job reductions were announced in the spring, 1200 full and part-time supporter workers were employed by Fanshawe. Rayfield states those numbers are now in a steady decline. He expects his membership will bear the brunt of a 35 per cent reduction in college staff resulting from a reduction in international students. OPSEU’s senior leadership is demanding job security in negotiations. However, over the long weekend, College Employer Council (CEC) president Graham Lloyd told CP24 that talks have proven challenging. “We’ve told them that they have some demands that are simply unacceptable. They couch them in what they call job security. It includes a demand that there would be no campus mergers, campus closures. They have a demand that there be absolutely no reduction or layoffs of their staff. And that’s just something that the colleges can’t agree to.” With the countdown to Sept. 11 on, the anxiety of Fansahwe students caught in the middle builds. “I feel like all the teachers would have to push all your courses into like a big package, and dropping all that on you at once could be overwhelming for some,” said first-year student Wyatt Dale Appleyard, Yet, if support workers do take action, most students expect to be out of class. “Oh, I think we probably can’t run without all of those things. I think it’s all very important,” said business market student Liv Teeple. Rayfield is holding “some level” of optimism that a deal to avert a strike can be reached before the deadline, but in the interim, he’s asking for the patience and support of students.
