College strike would mean a big setback for this Mohawk College student

Ciara-Joy Hutchings's plans could be completely ruined as the Ontario college faculty prepares to strike this Friday. 

Hutchings, a single mother of three, did the fast-track program to finish a two-year community and justice program at Mohawk College in a year and a half. She's three weeks from being done. 

"Now, there is no end date," she said. "I don't know what will happen, I don't know how this will affect my education, graduation or future."

For the second time in less than five years, faculty at Ontario colleges are set to strike, as the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) announced recently in an open letter to college presidents. 

"Faculty have done our best to limit the impact of our strike action on students and to avoid a picket line. Now, however, you have again ramped up your threats against individual faculty and appear to be moving toward a lockout instead of negotiating a deal," the union said in the letter.

Hutchings started her program in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with most of her college experience being online. 

"We've been told they'll do everything they can," she said, "but they can't come to agreements to stop this strike."

Many students have taken the faculty's side, including Hutchings, who expressed her discontent with the colleges' "greedy" behaviour and called on classmates to support professors by writing to college presidents. 

"Tuitions are the same, professors are making the same, but the colleges are profiting and tuition is still rising even with online learning."

"We, as students, see why professors are doing this. We just don't understand why [do this three] weeks before graduation."

Hutchings said she had plans to start a business program after graduation. Now that plan is up in the air. 

"Two years ago, I left a domestic violence relationship and turned to becoming a change in the community … Upon completing my degree. I plan on opening a domestic violence safe space in a few years for men and women and families, so for me this particular strike is potentially putting off my next program."

The strike would include professors, counsellors, librarians and instructors employed by Ontario's public colleges and would affect about a quarter of a million students.

The OPSEU open letter stated that staff will go on strike at 12:01 a.m. on Friday if the College Employer Council (CEC) does not agree to head to "voluntary binding interest arbitration" to settle outstanding contract issues.