NEWS RELEASE
SAULT COLLEGE STUDENT ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
**************************** College part-time support staff unionization - facts for students
SAULT STE. MARIE - (October 15) - Sault College’s part-time support staff, including students who work on-campus, visited the polls to determine whether or not they want to become unionized, says the Student Administrative Council of Sault College.
“Contrary to what is being told to student workers, there are many issues that will arise if this new unit is actually formed,” says Mr. Bob Wheeler, president of the Sault College Student Administrative Council (SAC).
Because of the conditions with the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), which provides government grant and loans to students in financial need, and the Ontario Work-Study Program (OWSP), which provides assistance to institutions to fund on-campus employment, the perceived positive impacts of unionization may not be seen by students.
“Students on OSAP are only allowed to earn a maximum of $50 per week, any earnings above and beyond that will be clawed back from their assessment,” adds Wheeler. “With the majority of student jobs being funded through OWSP and students working on-campus to make up their unmet need, there really is no gain for students. After paying union dues, some students would actually be in a worse situation than they currently are.”
“There are many other factors that make this vote not beneficial to students,” continues Wheeler.
One important factor that is not being talked about is the probation period.
All unionized workers are technically on probation for the first three months.
As most student jobs are for short terms, a semester, this could mean that they would not be eligible for union protection for a significant portion of their employment.
There also appears to be concern for student jobs in general.
“Considering the current state of the economy, this is not the best time for this to happen,” explains Patrick Hunter, SAC Native Student Council president. “With collective bargaining promising increased salaries and benefits and with only so much money in the pot, it’s not difficult to see which jobs will be eliminated first.”
After the previous week of voting throughout Ontario’s Colleges, it has been estimated that only 15-20 percent of the eligible voters have cast their votes, with a particularly low student turnout.
With the Ontario Public Service Employee Union’s (OPSEU’s) recent claims of Ontario’s College part-timers being treated unfairly, there does not seem to be significant interest in the vote for unionization.
“The fact is,” states Wheeler, “that if student employees were not satisfied, I’m sure I would have heard something by now. I truly believe that Sault College is one of the best employers in the district.”
“SAC is deeply concerned that student workers are being lost in this process and in fact on-campus employment could be lost if college part-time workers vote in favour of unionization,” warns Wheeler. “We don’t want to see any loss of student workers or jobs as a result of today’s vote for unionization.”
Many people were alarmed when OPSEU, in the initial stages of planning this vote attempted to have it scheduled for September, before most student employees were hired.
With an estimated 60 percent of the unit being student workers, there are many people who appreciate the Ontario Labour Relations Board’s decision to hold these votes in October.
“Because of this,” adds Wheeler, “I know that many people including myself have questioned OPSEU’s tactics for forming this unit. Although I completely respect the right to unionize, I believe that students should take a closer look at who would be representing them before they cast their votes.”
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