Category: Bargaining Updates (2019-2020)

After several more bargaining sessions, TSSU and SFU reached a tentative agreement to settle bargaining for Graduate Facilitators who work in the Student Learning Commons. The membership sent the agreement for a vote among members in the department, who ratified it with a 78% vote in favour. Graduate Facilitators are now protected with a substantial…

The TSSU bargaining team met with SFU administration today, Thursday, September 3, 2020, and presented our revised proposal on Graduate Facilitators and answered questions about the language. The Employer team reacted with reserved optimism and suggested the possibility of moving towards an agreement. Future dates were discussed for the Employer team to present its counter-proposal,…

After a very hectic week, last night the TSSU general membership voted to send the tentative agreement that settles bargaining for TAs, TMs, SIs, GFs and ELC/ITP instructors to an online ratification vote. The vote will take place from March 27th (TODAY!) to March 30th. Members will receive a voting token sometime today, and if you do not…

In February, the TSSU Contract Committee met with SFU Administration for three days of negotiations. The main focus of these bargaining sessions was the general articles which apply to all employees. Although we have reached agreement on a number of these articles, we have reached impasse or are close to impasse on a few of…

This week saw the most promising and effective bargaining session this round. Both sides started the day keen to get an agreement concerning the Graduate Facilitators. TSSU tabled a proposal in response to the Employer, and the first ninety minutes were spent in productive discussion and exchange of questions, particularly around the area of qualifications…

November 13 In negotiations November 13, the Contract Committee presented a proposal package to SFU Administration. This group of proposals illustrates to SFU Administration that we are willing to negotiate and happy to update our workplace. For example, we proposed, and have now agreed, that Administration can deliver members’ Union check-off forms in electronic form,…

After seven months of negotiations and six months without a contract, bargaining progresses at a snail’s pace. In our meetings, SFU Administration shows a strong attachment to the bargaining positions they took back in April, but no willingness to address TSSU members’ needs as expressed through our proposed contract language and reiterated at the table.…

Monday, September 16, 2019 & Thursday, September 19, 2019 This week’s negotiations focused on Teaching Assistants, more than 1,000 teachers who deliver laboratory, tutorial, workshop, and studio instruction at SFU every semester. TSSU had previously presented our proposals for TAs multiple times, including a detailed explanation May 14th, but this week SFU Administration brought their…