OFL President Sid Ryan to Party Leaders: "Put Good Jobs in Your Platform or Expect More Strikes Like Today's College Workers"

WHITBY, ONTARIO and OSHAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 1, 2011) - OFL President Sid Ryan joined picket lines today at both the Whitby and Oshawa campuses of Durham College to show support for the province's 8,000 college support workers. Picket lines went up across the province this morning after negotiations with Ontario's 24 community colleges failed to reach a fair settlement to protect good jobs for current and future employees.

"These college workers have been pushed into a strike after 32 years of labour peace because college presidents are hell-bent on converting good, full-time jobs into precarious and temporary ones," said OFL President Sid Ryan. "It is a cruel irony that Ontario's record tuition fee levels are consuming an unprecedented portion of family income and the province is doing nothing to ensure that students will be able to find decent employment after graduation."

College support workers, represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU), have been forced into a strike position by proposed concessions that would entrench a two-tiered workforce, threatening the job security of current employees and cutting the wages and benefits of future employees. The union has been in talks with the employer since early June but has been unable to secure a fair settlement that would protect good jobs for current and future employees.

"Throughout the province, workers are fed up with politicians sloganeering for votes while we face massive unemployment and the erosion of good jobs with good benefits," said Ryan. "This election is going to be fought and won on the issue of the future of work in Ontario. Any politician vying for office had better table a clear vision for creating permanent and stable employment for the next generation of workers."

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. OFL President Sid Ryan is the voice of Ontario's labour movement.

Visit www.opseucaatsupport.org/ for more information on the strike.

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