Support staff at Ontario's 24 Community Colleges, including Lambton College, have ratified a four-year contract extension,voting 75% in favour of the new collective agreement. The new deal, which will be in place until August 31, 2022, includes a 7.75% salary increase, as well as improvements to drug coverage, leave provisions and contracting-out language. OPSEU spokesperson Janice Hagan says stopping contracting out has been their number one bargaining demand for the last 20 years. Union President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says they are backing the "We Own It" campaign". "I believe it is the biggest anti-privatization campaign in Canadian history," says Thomas. "This new collective agreement opens a door that will allow us to pour all the energy of that campaign into stopping the privatization of college services."
