About
Certified in 1978, the Teaching Support Staff Union represents teaching assistants (TAs), tutor markers (TMs), sessional instructors (SIs) and language instructors (LIs) at Simon Fraser University. Since December 2004, we also represent the English Language and Culture (ELC) and the Interpretation and Translation Program (ITP). The Union functions as the sole bargaining agent for these employees during contract negotiations and represents any and all members in work-related conflicts and problems.
The TSSU began as Local 6 of the Association of College and University Employees (AUCE 6). AUCE was a feminist trade union movement which developed out of the Vancouver Women’s Caucus in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The feminist roots of TSSU make it strikingly different from more conventional unions: both AUCE and TSSU rejected the tradition in the Canadian union movement that tended towards hierarchical structure and centralization. It also worked to organize large numbers of women working in underpaid positions, mostly as clerical and teaching support staff. All of the other AUCE unions have joined up with larger unions, such as the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), but we have maintained our independent status.
OUR STRUCTURE
We are a grassroots union, which means that we are not affiliated with any other larger union or umbrella organization—all of our decisions come from the General Membership. We have three Salaried Officers who are part of the larger Executive Committee, which handles the day to day running of the Union; all of our Executives are also members, which helps make sure that Executive members are in touch with issues of concern to TSSU members. As well, the Executive positions all come up for re-election once a year, and no member is allowed to occupy a position more than two years consecutively, which encourages skills development among a broad portion of the Membership, and helps to prevent the concentration of knowledge in the hands of a few members. The Executive normally meets every two weeks; meetings are always open to any TSSU member who wishes to attend.
General Membership Meetings (GMs) take place three times every semester and a minimum of 20 members (quorum) must be present before any decisions are made. The Membership has control of the Union resources and must approve the annual budget, financial statements, and most expenditures of the Union. Committees and Executive members make regular reports to the GM and are guided by the motions put forward at these meetings. As well, any member can bring forward a motion at a GM—this motion can be about supporting other social justice organizations, starting a new committee, putting on an event, the possibilities are endless.
WHAT WE DO
While many of us are students, what that brings us together as a Union is that we are workers. As workers, our most important function is the negotiating and enforcing of our Collective Agreement (CA). Our CA is negotiated between Members of TSSU and representatives from the University administration, and it guarantees us certain rights and responsibilities as workers at Simon Fraser University. It secures our wages, limits class size, provides health and dental benefits, protects us from discrimination and harassment, and generally makes our working conditions better. We recently came out of a tough round of bargaining where we secured pay increases for all our members, as well as securing agreements around classroom and lab size, workload reviews, childcare bursaries and workspace. The present CA expires in 2010.
Now that we have a CA, the most important thing we can do is fight to ensure that the University follows it. For example, if the University (or a particular department) wants a TSSU member to work more hours than is outlined in your contract, the member has a right to say no, and if the University disregards the position of the member, the Union can file a grievance where we can make sure that the member’s contract is respected. If you think your contract or rights are being violated, contact us immediately.
Not only do we fight to improve the working conditions of our own members, but we are also active in fighting for labour rights and social justice locally, nationally and internationally. We have struggled with and supported CUPE’s University Bargaining Sector, the BC Teachers’ Federation, and other striking teachers from Hamilton, Ontario to Oaxaca, Mexico. We have also initiated a Social Justice Committee to expand the scope of the Union’s advocacy, with the mission of fighting the root causes of injustice, inequality and poverty. For more information on the Social Justice Committee, contact the TSSU’s Organizer: organizer (at) tssu.ca.