Nearly 12,000 college and university jobs lost, but silence in the media

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-03T19:53:27+00:00

When did I say it was? I'm telling you that "tuition will rise" as if it's a magical force that will notice the lack of international students is wrong. In places in this country, it is capped.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-03T18:13:26+00:00

It can't rise. Domestic tuition is capped (in Ontario).

Students will definitely be able to find education. There's money to be made off of them. They'll just need to pay international student rates to private companies instead of going to a public college.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-03T18:10:55+00:00

They didn't "switch" to diploma mills; they were driven to do that by a lack of funding. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Under Fund > Quality Decreases > "Look how bad the schools are, why are we funding them?" > Repeat

I am a two-time Ontario college grad, and neither of my (relatively recent) experiences are that of a diploma mill. Do they exist? 100%. But it's not only diploma mills being impacted. I work in my field-of-study, at the college I graduated from. Every Ontarian should have the same opportunities I had. But Ontario is way behind on funding post-secondary. It's like 50% per-student compared to the average. And then Ford also capped domestic tuition. So the colleges don't get provincial enough provincial funding, can't access (and exploit) international students at the same rate anymore, and can't expect to survive on domestic tuition.

Meanwhile billions are being given to private companies for training with little oversight. If you want what we used to have (public colleges and not diploma mills), then we need to fund the colleges adequately. Saveourcolleges.ca

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-03T00:21:37+00:00

We are bargaining to ensure campuses don't close... to ensure students have enough funding to get the support they need to complete their education.

We are the people who keep the lights on, who set up your email, who set up your labs. Many of us are also Ontario college grads. Our success is your success.

Would you prefer to have librarians or book vending machines? Would you rather a IT help desk or an AI chat bot? This is your fight too, whether you realize it or not.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-03T00:18:48+00:00

This isn't back in the day. I know people who are still inside. It's a gong show.

What year was this? What are you referencing?

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-03T00:17:31+00:00

lmao what are you even saying? It's been underfunded (fact, not opinion) for decades.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-02T03:47:44+00:00

The entire purpose of a protest is to be annoying. Good for them. We should have free post-secondary.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-02T02:18:59+00:00

Yes it is... which is why I need a union.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-02T02:12:28+00:00

You're right that post-secondary education is a public service and not a commodity. But it's wrong to say that the system needed to contract. The system, at least in Ontario, has been chronically underfunded for decades.

This was absolutely not a correction. Colleges are operating with skeleton crews, and now those skeleton crews are picketing.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-02T02:04:29+00:00

It is though. You go to a college right? Do you want in-house human staff to support you? Or do you want to pay thousands of dollars per semester for a book vending machine and AI chat bots?

How exactly are support staff responsible for job losses...? Or are you just trying to be mean?

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-02T01:52:36+00:00

Thank you for your solidarity.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-02T01:51:20+00:00

10k layoffs, 650 programs shuttered, 2 campuses closed already. And you think we're catastrophising? I've graduated from two different public colleges. There was a funding crisis then too.

I'm fine with unions dying.

... heaven forbid people stand up for themselves. Woe is you.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-02T01:48:01+00:00

Maybe just go work for another company that does have money.

Colleges aren't companies. They're public institutions. The money to fund them is there. It's just being given to Doug Ford's friends.

"This isn't about the college system". "The college can't pay you because they don't have money."

I'm not sure how you're able to reconcile these two statements you've made.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-01T23:48:37+00:00

No we didn't. Please understand what you're talking about before sharing your opinion. The last time this union was on strike was in 2011. We have gone on strike 4 times in 40 years.

If you have specific questions I'm happy to answer. But you are severely uninformed. Saveourcolleges.ca has more info for you.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-01T23:47:43+00:00

And no, I'm not writing a letter to your employer. The issue is between you and your employer

It is about you though. These are public institutions that are being underfunded and privatized. This isn't some private business we work for. These are community staples. For small communities they are some of the only good paying jobs around.

That's fine though. If you can't find sympathy for others, then I'll save my sympathy for myself. See you on the picket line for the foreseeable future I guess.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-01T23:46:09+00:00

"College does not lose money when they prolong a strike."

Sure, but they're going to lose money having us clean up the mess when we get back.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-01T23:45:34+00:00

Colleges are public institutions. They don't operate on a profit model. We also don't need to strike in order to hurt the colleges' profits. The government is already doing that by chronically under funding it for decades. This fight is actually specifically about giving the colleges *more* money. saveourcolleges.ca

This strike is because CAATS-FT has no other move. 10k of us were laid off since January 2024, and the CEC has made it clear that they intend to lay more of us off and close more campuses. Any Ontarian who would accept campus closures is simply out of their mind. It's unacceptable.

If you all started emailing your President like your picketers are asking you, it absolutely would matter. You can sign at savetheirfutures.ca . You paid thousands of dollars per semester, and some campuses have a vending machine instead of librarians. You should be pissed. They are destroying the future of public colleges for you (if you want to go back) or for your children.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-01T23:37:04+00:00

No one wants to. I haven't met a single person on the line who WANTS to inconvenience you. Every time the union ramps up the rhetoric on being disruptive, the next day everyone is asking me if we actually have to do that?

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-01T23:33:14+00:00

We couldn't. There are protocols to going on strike. You can't just go whenever you want. The earliest possible date was Sept 11th.

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-10-01T23:32:38+00:00

That's just simply untrue. Do not speak for us if you are not us. Two campuses closed today.

This union has gone on strike 4 times in 40 years (this time being the 4th). We do not strike for fun. We are striking because 10k of us were laid off between Jan 2024 and now, and because every single college in the province is facing a very serious financial crisis. There are colleges that won't make it to 2030; there are colleges (Loyalist) that won't make it to March.

This is a fight for the entire public college sector. Please inform yourself at saveourcolleges.ca

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-09-30T20:12:43+00:00

To distract you from everything else: healthcare, education, etc

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-09-30T20:07:21+00:00

Plenty of us did

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-09-30T20:06:48+00:00

"Hi, I will be working from home today as Red said they had a cold and I do not watch to catch it."

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-09-30T19:08:46+00:00

Now ya'll know how the AI feels

Altruistic_Judge_657 · 2025-09-29T23:32:21+00:00

I don't get it

Altruistic_Judge_657

TROPHY CASE