Picket lines are up at St. Clair College, but the college is open and classes are not cancelled.
Full-time support staff went on strike early Thursday morning at St. Clair and at Ontario's 23 other public colleges across the province.
Talks between the Colleges Employer Council and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union failed to reach a tentative deal by the midnight strike deadline.
Senior Vice President of Communications, Advancement, and External Affairs, John Fairley, suggests students leave a few minutes early.
"There may be delays for students. That's a little different, so think of that when they're coming in, what their start times are," said Fairley. "It doesn't affect varsity sports. You know, people can still come to the games. The big Family Fun Day, which is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., doesn't affect that. Any events at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts on the weekend — doesn't affect that either."
Schlegal Villages is also open during the strike.
"The support staff are part of our family, so they're doing what they need to do, given the situation with their contract, and we're still trying to make it a good environment for school during our second week of classes," added Fairley.