The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is looking represent part-time support staff at all 24 public community colleges around the province, including Canadore.

OPSEU has asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to schedule a vote this June that would allow thousands of part-time workers to unionize.

Union officials say they’ve talked to workers who’ve been doing the same job for eight years but still can’t get a sick day, don’t have job security and seldom get the same wages as full-timers doing the same work.

“Part-time support staff at the colleges are now just one step away from being able to negotiate for fair wages and working conditions,” said. OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “It’s a very exciting day.”

Andrew Cash, co-founder of the Urban Worker Project, called the union application “a major step forward in the battle against precarious work” and called on the colleges and the provincial government to make unionization easier for all workers.