THUNDER BAY – John Holmes isn’t happy he’s missing classes.
But he also understands why his teachers at Confederation College – and their colleagues across Ontario – have taken to the picket line in search of a better deal.
Holmes, a second-year film student at the Thunder Bay campus, was joined by several of his schoolmates on Friday, walking the picket line alongside some of the 150 faculty who walked off the job on Monday morning.
“A lot of us just came out today to show our support. We’re mainly here about the different ratio between full-time and part-time teachers,” Holmes said.
“Right now it’s 18 per cent for full-time and the rest would be part-time teachers. A lot of the time the part-time teachers are doing the same work as full-time teachers and not getting paid the same.”
The two-hour rally, which took place just after the lunch hour, was in part organized by Kristi-Ann Poole-Quirt, who recognized the importance of the school’s faculty to her future.
“They’re on strike for equal pay, fairness in the job and mainly just for our education,” she said.
“It’s important to support the teachers because they’re the ones who support us. They make our future and they’re also the ones who are going to make the futures of students coming in the next few years. So I think it’s important to show all the support we can.”
Poole-Quirt says the louder students speak, the quicker a deal might get done and the quicker students and teachers can return to the classroom.
“I think so, and I really hope so. Definitely the more, the better, so we’re just trying to get our voices as loud as we can,” she said.
Rebecca Ward, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 732 CAAT-A Division, said it’s a great feeling to see the students out rallying behind their cause.
“This is a very challenging time for faculty members in the college system for sure. Having students beside us as allies is more important than I think they realize,” Ward said. “Students are significantly impacted by what’s happening in this college system. Not just by the strike, but what led to the strike.”
Teachers without full-time positions aren’t always able to offer office hours, for example.
“To have them here to say that’s not OK, we stand with faculty, we deserve more full-time faculty for the tuition we’re paying is phenomenal,” Ward said.
Like Poole-Quirt, she’s hoping the more students that speak up, the faster the strike will be settled.
“I believe that we are at a tipping point. I’ve seen across the province in the last two days there have been rallies all across the province and the students’ voice is getting louder. I think they actually have the most power in the system … They are the paying customer, so they have the power to make this different and we will help them get there however we need to,” Ward said.
Student leaders have asked the province to intervene to end the strike.
