George Brown College’s Student Association disapproves the bargaining team’s demands for Final Offer Selection that arose as a result of faculty labor dispute in Ontario College. If the Ontario Public Employees Union’s (OPSEU) suggestion for “Voluntary Binding Arbitration” is not accepted by Ontario College management to stop the faculty strike, it will be obvious that the management does not think about students’ interests. Students are being unnecessarily kept out of classes and thus deprived of getting education.

Elected Vice President for the SA, graduating Agricultural student Nathan Sheils and elected Vice President Academic for the Student Association Dan Roffey wonder what message college managers send to the public and in particularly to the students who after the graduation will move into the unions of auto workers, educators, nurses, and many other labor movements with long and important historical background. Sheils and Roffey are completely convinced that Ontario college management’s behavior is nothing but demonstration of disregard for the collective bargaining process.

It does not matter whether a student will join unionized or unionized labor environment, the Student Association protects the rights of all college students. In any case it’s vital to understand the advantage of fair arbitration that makes possible to generate a compromised and just solution for both parties. Meanwhile such “fine” people responsible for our education offer a cruel process generating either a win or lose decision and which is called Final Offer Selection.

The above mentioned students are sure that it’s high time to stop gambling with their futures, and students should be returned to the classes, as education is not the thing to be taken lightly. In any case management pretending not to notice what is going on and their ostrich-like behavior won’t solve the problem. They should act!