On Monday September 25, TSSU will meet with the Employer in the Student Union Building (SUB) ballroom at 11AM for our 41st bargaining session. It has been over 500 days since our contract expired in April 2022—that’s over 500 days that the Employer has been withholding increased wages, improved benefits, and enhanced protections that they owe us. Join us again for a pancake breakfast at 10AM before bargaining. The ballroom has a capacity of 200, and we need to fill every seat.
At yesterday’s bargaining session the Employer persisted in wasting our time, pondering the difference between “office hours” and “consultation,” pretending that paying Teaching Assistants the same for different work is “equivalent,” and refusing to commit to implementing the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. If after 40 bargaining sessions the Employer is still confused about how our compensation model functions, then either they lack the capacity to bargain or are intentionally wasting our time.
We have said that enough is enough. It’s time to show them what we mean. Monday is the Employer’s last chance to avoid a full and complete TSSU work stoppage. What they can do is very simple: give us a contract that meets our needs. If they don’t, then on Thursday September 28 we will begin a full work stoppage across all campuses, and we will picket at Surrey.
After months of a strike the Employer finally nervously admitted that not every improvement to our Collective Agreement has to count against wage increases. They are starting to crack.
We need to go all out to break through and get a contract that has a Cost of Living Adjustment, to Stop Wage Theft, and ensure a Better Future for Instructors. Be the first to know if TSSU will begin a full work stoppage and pickets by joining us in bargaining on Monday. Stop by a strike info session to learn more about job action, picket lines, and strike pay.