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STUDENTS CAN STRIKE BACK
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by
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March 16 - 22, 2006 |
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In early March, over 9,000 teachers at Ontario’s colleges walked
off the job forcing 150,000 students in the province out of class
indefinitely. Given the timing, many believe that teachers are
striking during this crucial juncture in the academic year to get an
agreement they would not get otherwise. Caught in the clash
between management and the union, the students are suffering
the most.
Greg Narby is a full–time professor at Humber College. He
says the reason for the strike being called now is simply,
“Strategy. The union knows we have more leverage if we go now
with graduation in May.”
One of a handful of teachers dead set against the strike,
Narby feels there’s no way students can benefit from halted
negotiations and suspended classes. “Right now, they’re being
used as pawns.”
“Students don’t want a strike,” states Tyler Charlebois,
Director of Advocacy for the College Student Alliance. He says the
current situation is untenable considering the two parties have
been negotiating since the teachers’ contract ran out last August.
“These are two sides made up of mature adults; surely they can
reach a fair settlement so students can get back in the
classroom.”
No one knows when the strike will end and what
repercussions it could have. Some teachers have taken on
supplemental employment while classes are out, sending a mixed
message to students who’ve been told by college administrators
to keep working on assignments. With so little information to go
on, most students are playing it safe and using what resources
are available to hand in projects they know won’t be marked for
some time.
While they may not be saying much about when they’ll get
back to class, the teachers claim the strike is not about workload
or even pay, but “quality of education,” a dubious claim given the
requests outlined in their March 6 proposal to College
management. In the proposition, the union demanded teaching
contract hours be cut from 14 to 12 per week, a salary increase of
four per cent a year for the next two years and an elimination of
the two lowest pay scale levels for all teacher categories. But wait
a minute, don’t these people only work 36 weeks a year? In a
world where most people don’t experience job security, two–
month paid vacations, or raises every six months, how bad off can
teachers be?
Savvy to the spin, many students feel there’s absolutely
nothing wrong on college campuses and the “quality of
education” is, well, just fine. The class sizes are appropriate,
teachers are accessible and those enrolled are happy with the
programs offered.
“I personally feel college class sizes are okay,” remarks Brad
Weber, a Television Broadcasting student at Mohawk. He says that
professorial guidance is always there when needed and that steps
have already been taken to reduce class sizes in his program. “I
would suggest putting the money it takes to reduce class sizes
towards keeping equipment current and relevant. Make that a
higher priority than class sizes and students will feel like they’re
getting more out of their tuition.”
College management maintains that the school year is not in
jeopardy and that students will get what they’ve paid for. They
plan to reveal their strategy for getting the year completed
sometime next week. However, with the teacher’s union unwilling
to go to the bargaining table, it is unclear how effective this plan
will be considering the pesky issue of who’s going to teach the
classes. At best, management’s solution sounds like hollow PR
designed to ease the nerves of anxious students who are, if
anything, confused. Whatever management’s plan is to keep the
academic year on track, by the time it’s implemented students
will have been out of school nearly a month and the problems
they face because of this remain the same regardless of a
solution.
Particularly distressed by the strike are those transferring to
university or another program. Their transcripts can’t be
evaluated at other institutions until marks are in and the school
year finished. With application deadlines looming, some students
are concerned their education will have to be deferred. And
they’re not the only ones sweating. Those planning to participate
in co–ops and clinics over the summer are finding themselves
similarly displaced. “It’s terrible,” Narby says of the way the
students are affected. “You can’t just call these workplaces after
being away and say you’re ready to come now.”
For Weber, who has already lined up summer employment,
class delays hit hard financially. “If school continues in the
summer,” he says, “I will not only be losing income from a job I
can’t work but I will be forced to pay additional rent and living
expenses to stay.”
Charlebois concurs that the situation is tough on those
whose resources may be limited at best, “We’re talking about
people who are not well–off to begin with. They certainly don’t
make $76,000 salaries.” That’s the average college teacher salary
in Ontario. He observes that many student budgets are
constrained by seasonal employment, OSAP funds and housing
availability. Throwing a strike into the middle of an academic year
upsets an already precarious balance. “The majority of college
students are people trying to better themselves, that’s why they
go to college, they’re trying to build a better future” he
elaborates. “And right now, that future has been halted.”
Students who feel strongly about the strike are encouraged
to get busy writing letters and making phone calls to the Premier,
your MPP or the head of the teacher’s union. These people have
the power to get both parties back to the table and students back
into the classroom. Demand that education be made an essential
service, to put an end to disruptive school–year strikes altogether.
Whichever method, if the current situation has you steamed,
you’ve got time to act now while school’s out. “I think it’s a bit
irresponsible on their part to strike when it affects students the
most,” observes Weber. “It makes sense from a bargaining point
of view, but doesn’t put the needs of the client first, which is the
student.” V
[ SARAH VEALE]
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