Thread by @bryinlyin

i know a lot of ppl (myself included) who've gone through an ontario college video game/narrative design/digital arts program

whether you're a current or former student, if you missed my thread this weekend, please know that college faculty need your support *right now*

for the sake of not repeating myself (much as i love to), here's the original thread:

https://twitter.com/bryinlyin/status/1462118424386191360?s=20

a lot of people in the video game industry are just catching up to the idea *of* labor unions and how essential they are to worker safety & solidarity

but existing unions are also under constant threat from management & governments that put profits over people

in this case, the province of ontario (represented by the benign-sounding but devious College Employer Council) is trying to force college faculty (who are part of a province-wide bargaining unit called CAAT-A) to accept terms that are unequivocally bad for staff AND students

this isn't a fight over salaries or benefits; the union is struggling against a higher level strategy by the province to privatize learning, strip academic freedom & ownership from faculty, & lock part-timers (of whom there are more every year) out of bargaining

why is this relevant to you, a video game developer, a, digital artist, a writer? well, apart from the benefits of standing in solidarity with other workers, a very common job trajectory for creative industry folks is...teaching!

if you're familiar with the college system at all, you know that secure jobs are scarce. this is all the more true in newer digital & arts industry programs. when i was in school, i don't think i had a single full time prof; even the coordinator had to fight for permanent status

sure, in some cases these were folks who didn't *want* to teach full time, but there was no other option.

think about that for a second: a college collects tuition for a year long (or multi-year) program, but won't even create secure jobs for the people who run it?

and that's where things are at right NOW. if the CEC gets what they want, even existing full time jobs may be eliminated.

worse yet, the curriculum you teach as a contractor, if it's even yours to begin with, could be repurposed or *sold* by your employer WITHOUT your consent

the impact on current faculty is bad enough. but for (esp younger) ppl considering teaching as a career, the future could be even MORE bleak.

and this isn't even touching the student experience; under the CEC plan, colleges could quickly become credential farms for corporations

getting back to the current situation: after weeks of refusing to consider the union's demands for institutional accountability, the CEC is on the verge of obtaining a "no board" report, which starts a 16 day timer beyond which college management can legally do *very* bad things

they could suspend classes and lock faculty out of pay; they could hire scabs to teach; worst of all, they could eventually force faculty back to work under conditions they *unilaterally* impose

obviously, these are all very bad scenarios. luckily, you can help prevent them!

right now, the union is laying the groundwork for a strike mandate. this isn't the same thing as an actual strike; it's a voting process by which members of a union say whether they're willing to withhold their labor to force management back to the table

make no mistake, strikes are *hard* on everyone: teachers, students, support staff, contract & precarious workers.

but they're also one of the best tactics we have to get the CEC to listen to the community of people who work for and rely on and believe in the college system

so if you're one of the people i described - a student, a former student, an aspiring prof, a faculty member - and you want to show up for a better future for college education, now is the time to LOUDLY support the strike mandate at the CAAT-A bargaining team

- you can retweet this thread (or my original or any like it!)
- you can reach out to me with questions!
- you can raise consciousness about the situation w other students or workers
- importantly, you can share your support with your profs, admin/support staff, and other faculty

- you can follow @StandWithFac for updates & content to share
- if a strike or other labor actions happen, you can commit time & energy to supporting affected faculty
- you can start this conversation at your video game studio/on your discord/anywhere else it might be relevant

& remember: it's OK to find this stuff confusing! labor & unions & collective bargaining are convoluted; you don't have to know all the ins and outs to get involved

the important thing is to keep the dialogue open & challenge the CEC's dishonest, dangerous narrative