Teaching Support Staff Union – SFU

The positions of Coordinator, Organizer, Secretary, Chair, Ex-Officio, Education Commissioner, Communication Commissioner and Trustee I are now open and will close at the October GM. Nomination forms for these positions can be found here http://www.tssu.ca/forms, for positions descriptions/information see the by-laws or stop by the TSSU office (AQ 5129).

At our July GM we passed a motion to that defined the composition of the 10 member contract committee as: Organizer, Chief Steward, Grievance Officer, 2 stewards, 1 Sessional Instructor, I executive member, 1 ELC member and 2 general members.

At the September GM (Sept.21) we will nominate and elect members to populate this committee. The contract committee requires a level of commitment that exceeds that of other committees. If you are interested in becoming part of the contract committee please prepare a written paragraph that outlines your union involvement and qualifications for the September GM. There is a brief description of the contract committee in our by-laws. If you have any questions please contact us at tssu@tssu.ca

Come out to one of our General Membership meetings:

September – Monday, Sept. 21, 12-1:30PM in MBC 2290
October – Thursday, Oct. 22, 4:30-6PM in Harbour Centre 1510
November – Wednesday, Nov. 25, 12-1:30PM in MBC 2290

FREE FOOD!

Other Canadian universities and colleges waive tuition for TA/TM/Sessionals who are students. SFU waives tuition for other employee groups on campus, but not for TSSU members. Should a demand for tuition waiver be successful, it would put us on a more equitable footing with the other employee groups on campus.

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Our priority system works differently for TAs and Sessionals.

TA Priority
TAs have a priority system in the Collective Agreement, which gives a priority to TAs with less assignments than the number set out in the contract – for Masters students those with less than 25 base units have priority, and for PhD students, those with less than 40 base units have priority. Departments can set their own additional priorities, as long as they provide a copy of their system to the TSSU and post it prominently within the department.

Sessional Instructor Priority
For our Sessional Instructors it is more complicated. There is a priority system that gives priority to someone who has taught the identical course for a minimum of 2 semesters and where the last appointment has occurred within the last 3 years, unless there is a candidate with a Right of First Refusal or whom the department considers to have better qualifications.

Right of First Refusal provides that a Sessional Instructor who has taught the identical course for either 3 consecutive semesters or for a 5th semester within 3 years AND 3 times within the previous 9 semesters, will have the first option to teach that course. However, once they have used this right 3 times (including turning down an offer), they will lose it and have to re-earn it again. In addition, the Sessional Instructor is to inform the department chair that they have earned the right, and have this acknowledged, in order to be informed before the course is posted as a Sessional vacancy. If two people have the Right of First Refusal, there will be a competitive selection between them.

The information on benefits for TSSU members is on Pages 48 to 53 of the Collective Agreement. Application forms for the plans are available in Strand Hall, at the Human Resources benefits office. YOU MUST MAKE APPLICATION IN ORDER TO BE COVERED. Unfortunately, the University does not believe that it has to ensure that you are enrolled in the plans.

Medical
“The University will pay the required premiums for MSP.” (This is for TA/TM employees and their dependents. ELC and ITP employees must pay 40% of the cost of their MSP).

Extended
“The University will pay the required premiums for Extended Health Benefits and will deduct twenty five (25) percent of that premium from the eligible employee’s salary.” (Again, for employees and their dependents).

Our extended plan DOES NOT INCLUDE vision care benefits – there is no eyeglass coverage. In addition, it does not cover birth control medication, and it provides very limited coverage for professional practitioners such as psychologists, physiotherapy, etc.

Dental
The University does not have an actual plan for dental for TSSU members (except for Continuing ELC/ITP employees – see page 113 of the Collective Agreement). If you carry the Pacific Blue Cross Personal Dental Plan as an individual, you can apply to have SFU reimburse a small amount of the premium cost. “$11.35 per month for single coverage; $22.70 per month for couple coverage, or $24.50 per month for family coverage for each month in that semester for which an employee was enrolled in that dental plan.”

The application must be received no later than the end of Week 12 of the semester for which you seek reimbursement.

What if I am not working for a semester?
If you want to maintain coverage, but you are not teaching, you may do so for up to two semesters after your last appointment. You must advise Human Resources in writing before the end of your last contract that you wish to carry on for one or two more semesters. You will have to pay 100% of the premiums for the first semester before the end of your last contract. The second semester is prepaid before the first semester of such coverage ends.

Other benefits
In addition, the contract provides for up to a month of sick time per semester for all TSSU members EXCEPT ELC and ITP, who are entitled to 12 paid sick leave days per year, compassionate leave, maternity and parental care leave, and family care leave (up to 5 days unpaid to meet family responsibilities), pay during University closure, etc. (Please take the time to read about your benefits).

The contract sets out when the review of one’s workload is required, and how it should be done.

Determining workload starts with the fact that every TA and TM must have received a Time Use Guideline (TUG) by the 5th day of classes. That guideline tells you how many hours of work you are being paid for, and how those hours should be spent. Every TUG must provide AT LEAST 42 hours of preparation time.

A workload review looks at whether or not enough hours of paid time have been given to you to complete the work assigned to you. If it is determined that there are not enough paid hours to do the work, the department can either decrease the work or increase the paid hours in your contract.

In all cases, “W” courses must have workload reviews done. For other courses any TA or TM can request a review at any point during the semester and it must be done. They must be automatically done in W courses, as well as when the criteria set out in the agreement are present (see page 24). At the end of week five, course supervisors are supposed to get a reminder to do a review from the department. A review consists of the Course Supervisor having a discussion with the TA or TM, reviewing their hours, and assessing if there is a workload situation that should be addressed. They are supposed to give you the results of your review and send a copy to the TSSU.

There are problems ensuring that departments are actually providing every TA with a Time Use Guideline, and performing workload reviews when they are required. Many TA/TMs are concerned that raising concerns about workload will lead to criticism of their work. We need a system to control workload that does not make members feel vulnerable for insisting that we are paid properly for our work.

Our contract that expires on April 30, 2010, provided general wage increases of 0% in the first year, 1.8% in the second, and 2% every year thereafter for TA’s and TMs. Sessionals received 0% in 2004 and 2005, 3% in 2006 and 2007, and 2.5% in 2008 and 2009. From 2004 to today, the Consumer Price Index rose by 10.2%, while basic graduate tuition rose by 27%.

Below are the starting and finishing rates of pay for each category in the agreement: