Algonquin College Unionized Faculty Stage Vote to Consider calling for President's Resignation

Unionized faculty at Algonquin College are staging an unprecedented vote this week on whether to call for the resignation of president Robert Gillett.
The vote is largely symbolic because the college's appointed board of governors is the only body that can remove Mr. Gillett. But it points to an increasingly tense relationship between the college and its 500 full-time teachers following last month's three-week strike....
Algonquin's teachers are also bitter over Mr. Gillett's handling of the walkout, saying he has refused to acknowledge the need for the college to hire more full-time faculty.

Both the umbrella group representing Ontario colleges and former premier Bob Rae, in his review of Ontario's higher education system, have drawn a link between chronic understaffing and a decline in community college education quality.

Workload, along with salary, were key issues during contract talks and remain unresolved. They are expected to be heard by a provincially appointed arbitrator next month.

"There is a sense of intense frustration at a number of colleges over the conduct of the presidents during and after the strike," said Paddy Musson, an OPSEU representative.