By a two-to-one margin, members of the Dawson Teachers’ Union voted in a referendum yesterday to disaffiliate from the Fédération autonome du collégial (FAC) and to join the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN).
This affiliation with the FNEEQ is significant. It confirms the movement of CEGEP teachers toward the FNEEQ that was initiated by the Syndicat des professeurs du Collège de Valleyfield in 2006 and followed by the Lionel-Groulx teachers’ union in 2008. This momentum is helping unite the strength of CEGEP teachers and make their union representation more efficient and coherent.
Teaching in an English public college, Dawson’s teachers affirmed their willingness to join the struggle driven by Quebec’s college teachers, the vast majority of whom are represented by the FNEEQ and the CSN. Their choice reflects the FNEEQ’s determination to improve the working conditions of CEGEP teachers throughout Quebec.
The FNEEQ now represents unions in 38 colleges – more than 75 per cent of CEGEP teaching staff – and is the most representative union organization in higher education in Quebec.