From February 15-17, OPSEU-O members participated in a referendum following the college employer’s initiation of a ‘Forced Offer Vote‘ (FOV). Of the faculty members who voted, 62 per cent were opposed to the CEC’s offer. The FOV can only be used once, and is therefore considered to be their ‘final’ offer. 

The request contains virtually the same terms that led to the strike vote, according to CAAT-A.  

The union has urged the CEC, the team which bargains on behalf of 24 Ontario colleges including George Brown College, to return to negotiations and consider voluntary binding interest arbitration in order to resolve the dispute as soon as possible. In a statement released on Twitter, they congratulated faculty on successfully raising their voices in defense of themselves and of students.  

In response, the CEC has said that voluntary binding interest arbitration is off the table. This move would allow an arbitrator to choose what they deem to be the most acceptable terms from both parties.  

The CEC is not inclined to opt for this, as they have repeatedly stated that they are opposed to involving a third party in the bargaining process. Since the union’s proposed terms were deemed unacceptable in the report released by Mediator Keller, there is no room for negotiation, according to CEO Graham Lloyd.  

“We are not prepared to have an arbitrator “split the difference” on key issues that colleges have already stated are unacceptable to begin with and this vote result has not changed that. In essence, there is nothing to split,” he said.   

The CEC has said that there are only “very few outstanding union demands” to be addressed. In contrast, OPSEU’s information session made it clear that issues such as intellectual property and Indigenization have not been adequately resolved in the offer proposed by the CEC. 

As of this moment, faculty are prepared to continue their work-to-rule campaign. The CEC has not moved from its initial position.