On February 10th, Trent’s Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) 365 branch hosted a rally to protest proposed budgetary reductions, with cuts up to 12% looming large over departmental operating budgets for the 2026-2027 school year.

OPSEU 365 members make up most of Trent’s non-academic campus staff, including custodians, academic advisors, IT support, and librarians. 

“Since November of 2025, your action committee has been doing a grassroots campaign, engaging students about all the work you do on campus,” Michael Audet, OPSEU 365 secretary, said to union members. “It's hard to know [on] the surface how much we do, but it's pretty much everything on campus on the non-academic side. You are amazing.”

Part of this campaign was “Students Heart OPSEU,” a Valentine’s Day-themed project in which students were asked to write messages about their experience with OPSEU members on cardstock hearts.

“The convocation team was amazing and created a beautiful experience for me and my family, who came all the way from Mexico City,” one student said.

“The campus is always so clean and well maintained. I really appreciate learning in a nice facility. Thank you,” said another. 

While OPSEU 365 members and their supporters were chanting and reading out messages from students, members of their action team delivered a letter to Trent President Dr. Cathy Bruce’s office, calling on the administration to “properly fund vital student services and choose healthy staffing levels,” according to Alisha McGregor, a member of the Action Committee.

Accompanying the letter was a petition with over 500 signatures from students, staff and community members echoing this request.

“[During the campaign,] we were out here on Faryon Bridge talking to students and they were thrilled to sign our petition,” said Adam Murphy, another Action Committee member. “They wrote lovely comments, as you heard in our little Valentine's Day shoutouts. So yeah, we feel the love from students and faculty, and we thank them for their support.”

“We know that austerity will come at a cost to our members, work/life balance, mental health, and overall well being,” Murphy told attendees. “Budget cuts like these will hurt our people and cost good jobs in Peterborough and in Oshawa, when our local economies are already suffering. We heard a lot about creating a sustainable future for Trent during the President's budget conversation with our members. This is not it.” 

According to Murphy, OPSEU representatives “aren't formally included in budget deliberations, but [are] determined to give ourselves a voice around that.” 

“We want to work with the administration and not be told how we fit within a flawed budget narrative,” Murphy told Arthur. “And we want to see the university get creative. The President told us in our meeting that they would leave no stone unturned when it came to finding savings at the university, and we're not seeing that right now. We want to see them really look hard at their finances and make good decisions that protect our staff.”

You can find more coverage of this event at @arthuronline66 on Instagram.

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