Workplace Blog

McGuinty expects striking teachers to return to classroom
Globe and Mail – Canada
… The strike, now in its third week, has kept 150,000 students out of the classroom, leaving … David Cox, a spokesman for the union, said teachers cannot take …

Strike ends, classes resume Monday
National Post – Canada
The union representing about 9,100 striking teachers and college … The strike, which was in its third week, had the province’s more than 150,000 students …

Not all Ontario colleges will be open Monday
Toronto Star – Canada
… to settle their contract dispute but the teachers’ union said Saturday it’s furious that not all classes will resume right away. The strike, which dragged on …

Canadian Press: Colleges and teachers agree on arbitration process; Classes resume Monday

Students and teachers will be back in their classrooms at Ontario’s 24 colleges on Monday.

The union representing about 9,100 striking teachers and college officials announced Friday night that they agreed to arbitration to settle their contract dispute. The strike, which was in its third week, had the province’s more than 150,000 students fearing they might lose their semester.

Striking college faculty will be back at work on Monday, a spokesman for the teachers’ union said.

UPEI FA: Negotiations-at-a-glance

UPEI: What to do in the event of a faculty labor disruption

CBC PEI: UPEI sides negotiating through media

The two sides in the labour dispute at UPEI still aren’t at the table, but they are taking shots at one another through written statements.

Faculty went out on strike Tuesday. The two sides are reporting they are far apart on the issues of pay, work load and benefits.

The Guardian: Bill to end UPEI strike last resort, says Binns

Faculty association, students reject such a move and say more provincial funds would help bridge gap leading to current walkout.

Premier Pat Binns says back-to-work legislation would be a last resort, but his suggestion has already received a failing grade from both professors and students at UPEI.

Both the UPEI Faculty Association and the UPEI Student Union say forcing striking professors and librarians back to work is not the solution. UPEI’s more than 375 faculty association members have been off the job since Tuesday.

No talks were held Thursday and no new talks are planned.

Toronto Star: College strike talks stall

To quote from the 1976 movie Network: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” This sums up exactly what I, a paying college student, am currently experiencing. And I’m not alone.

Evening Times: A STRIKE by up to 250,000 Scots council workers on Tuesday will shut more than 400 schools in the Glasgow area and hit almost 80,000 kids

A STRIKE by up to 250,000 Scots council workers on Tuesday will shut more than 400 schools in the Glasgow area and hit almost 80,000 kids.

Every primary, nursery and special educational needs school in Glasgow will close, hitting 55,000 pupils.

In East Dunbartonshire, all schools, including secondaries, will shut, affecting 22,300 youngsters.
In other regions, council bosses are holding talks with union officials to avoid closing schools – but even if they open there will still be disruption for pupils.

The 24-hour strike is over pensions and the walkout will affect a wide range of council services.

CBC Toronto: College instructors won’t end strike without arbitration deal

The union representing Ontario’s striking college instructors has rejected a request to go back to work while negotiations continue over an arbitration process to end the dispute.
Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Chris Bentley made the request Thursday after the two sides agreed to sit down with the chair of the College Relations Commission – the arm’s-length body that oversees the 24 colleges in Ontario – to help the sides decide on how to end the strike.

Mail Tribune: Rogue River teachers vote to support strike

Wearing orange buttons with black ribbons and a message stating “We Are United,” the district’s teachers on Thursday voted unanimously to support a strike.

“We had a 60-to-1 vote to approve the strike,” said high school teacher and negotiations chairman Joe Burns. “And the one person who didn’t vote ‘yes,’ said he’d definitely support the strike. We are unanimous.”

The teachers have been working without an approved 2005-2007 contract since July 2005. After seven months of failed negotiation attempts, the teachers said they were losing hope of finding a resolution to the contract dispute before the pending strike date of April 12.

Detroit Free Press: Sick-day battle brews in Detroit schools

The day after one-quarter of Detroit Public Schools teachers called in sick, shutting down 54 schools, the warring teachers union and administrators retreated to their corners to reload.

Leaders of the Detroit Federation of Teachers met with their attorney Thursday in response to school officials’ threat that the 1,724 teachers who called in sick Wednesday would not be paid unless they have a doctor’s excuse.

Lekan Oguntoyinbo, spokesman for the district, said the point was to make teachers use their sick days responsibly.

“The behavior exhibited by the group of teachers who chose not to show up was injurious to our primary goal to improve and sustain academic achievement,” he said.

Globe and Mail: McGuinty wants Ontario college students back in class

The Premier says if both sides in a college teachers’ strike care about students, they should resolve the dispute.

Ottawa Citizen: Premier wants college students in class Monday

The premier says if both sides in a college teachers strike care about students, they should resolve the dispute. Dalton McGuinty says it’s become obvious that the immediate issue is the arbitration process.
The teachers’ union and the colleges have agreed to arbitration, but not on what form it should take.
The union wants binding arbitration, but the colleges are insisting on “final offer selection,” in which an arbitrator chooses between the two offers. McGuinty says that’s not a legitimate reason to keep students out of class any longer, adding they should be back at school Monday morning. The strike, now in its third week, has more than 150-thousand students fearing they may lose their school year.

Toronto Star: No charges after striking teacher hit by car

No charges will be laid after a collision involving a striking teacher and a car outside a Toronto college.
Police said today that they don’t believe the driver committed a criminal offence in the incident, which has left the 62-year-old teacher in hospital with life-threatening injuries.