The Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) is asking drivers to be patient when crossing the picket line to enter Lambton College or Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
Local 125 Vice President Lisa Bicum says a few workers have been bumped by vehicles and police have been called, but fortunately no one has been seriously injured.
"99% have been very positive and supportive, but it's the other 1% who have been super aggressive and might be angry in the first place," says Bicum. "Some people are angry that they can't get into the arena but I want to stress that they can. They're just in a line. We've not been holding up cars for a long time. We just ask people to think of our issues and explain why we're out. I implore people to please slow down, keep us safe, we work like everybody else does and we just want to go home to our families."
Bicum stresses the strike is not about money, but instead the continued decline in the number of full time faculty being replaced by partial load instructors.
The union says the part time workers do not have any job security, must reapply for the same job every semester, and are paid an hourly wage that doesn't cover time spent marking papers or preparing lectures.
There are 126 full time and 79 partial load faculty at Lambton College.
Half a million students have been impacted including 10,000 at Lambton College.