Ontario Colleges Vote in Favour of a Strike

It's official. Ontario Colleges have voted 60 per cent in favour of a province-wide strike. Loyalist voted 72 per cent in favour of a provincial strike. I found out the news late last night after arriving home after work.

The following is taken from an online article from the National Post:

Posted: January 13, 2010, 10:21 PM by Barry Hertz

Nearly 60% of Ontario’s college teachers have voted to give their bargaining team a strike mandate, with mid-February the earliest possible strike date.

“Our members have delivered a clear statement,” said Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) president Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “If management is serious about reaching a settlement then it’s time they returned to the bargaining table with the singular goal of reaching an agreement.”

Dr. Rachael Donovan, chair of the colleges’ bargaining team, agrees with the need for swift negotiations, but said in a statement: “A strike mandate hasn’t made OPSEU’s positions any more affordable. It hasn’t given the colleges any more money.”

The colleges have made an offer to faculty that increases salaries by 8% over four years.


So what does that mean for me and my current program? Well, not a whole lot. A lot is still unknown and even though a strike date has been set, a negotiation could be reached by then and classes may not ever be interrupted.


Here's hoping.

The Moment by Moment Campaign

The holidays are pretty much over and school is about to start up again next Monday. I had an amazing holiday but it definately did go by too fast. However, with all the rest and relaxation I got from school I was still pretty busy with work and life in general.
My group's fundraising efforts for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada have had some exciting updates. We finally decided on a campaign name! The Moment by Moment Campaign. Sounds pretty awesome, eh? With our campaign name we also decided on starting up a twitter account to help aid us in our efforts to support the CCFC and their fight to Find The Cure. Our twitter account is now linked to my blog and can be found on the right hand panel access list. Feel free to follow our efforts and help support our cause: @momentXmoment. Their is no power greater than the power of knowledge. If we can educate people and our community, the knowledge it creates and the awareness it spreads will only benefit the CCFC and our joined efforts to Find The Cure.
For more information on the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada and what they do, please feel free to visit them at http://www.ccfc.ca/ and spread the word.

Here is a little information on the CCFC and what our team will be educating the community on:


Mission
Find the cure.

Vision
The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC) believes that a cure will be found for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. To realize this, the CCFC is committed, first and foremost, to raise increasing funds for medical research.

The CCFC also believes it is important to make all individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) aware of the Foundation, and educate these individuals, their families, health professionals and the general public about these diseases.

Values
In undertaking this vision, the CCFC believes:

-The greatest proportion of funds raised must be allocated to research;
-Collaboration with the medical community is imperative;
-Goals must be set and met throughout the organization;
-Participation by volunteers is crucial to our success;
-The success of the Foundation rests on the mutual respect of staff and volunteers;
-The national nature of the Foundation must be respected;
-All volunteers, members, supporters and employees have a right to contribute in an environment that asserts the personal worth and dignity of each individual.