Teachers at English Cegep John Abbot College knew a big labour struggle was building when the collective agreement expired in April 2023. Maria Mastorakos, physics teacher and faculty president, talks to Kalden Dhatsenpa about the buildup and frustration leading up to the teachers' participation in the historic common front strikes. 

The common front is the name given to an alliance between some of the province's largest union federations. The alliance is made up of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ, Quebec Federation of Labor), the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN, Confederation of National Trade Unions), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ, Quebec Labour Congress), and the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS, Alliance of Professional and Technical Health and Social Services Personnel). This alliance represents over 420,000 public sector workers like Mastorakos and the workers at John Abbot College.

"It was clear that the frustration was bigger than it usually is," shares Mastorakos. "Even people who are not usually interested were ready and willing to go ahead." She tells me that the tensions and will to fight in this labour struggle were exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. Teachers were already stressed coming out of COVID, but uniquely as an English CEGEP, they are even more pressed by the need to incorporate Law 14, formerly Bill 96. Evidently, teachers are feeling the crunch. Public support was high. 

Mastorakos details some of the mobilizations her union local held which was received with very vocal support and understanding from students and their parents.

After our interview the membership of John Abbot College's unions voted 72.9% in favour of the central offer given to the entire common front. They also voted 88.2% in favour of the sectoral offer given specifically to CEGEP teachers.

Mastorakos wrote to me that "the sentiment regarding the salary offer was not necessarily that is wasn't enough for us (i.e. Cegep teachers), but that it was a barely acceptable offer for the public service as a whole - our members were cognizant of the fact that generally our salaries are good, but weren't convinced that it was enough for all workers within the common front (who have an entire range of salaries)".

As public sector workers are voting for the new offers most seem appeased at the effectiveness of the leveraging power of labour strikes.