Voting Open: Summer 2018 MMC Commissioner By-Election

Unique voting tokens will be emailed to all members today, Monday, June 18 and the election will remain open until 11:59 pm on Monday, June 25.
An "Unfair Election" complaint can be lodged at trustees@tssu.ca until July 3.

If you did not receive an emailed token, please email trustees@tssu.ca with your full name, SFU email address, and the most recent semester in which you held a TSSU appointment.

The results will be ratified at the General Membership Meeting in Harbour Centre on
Wednesday, July 18, 4:30-6:30pm, HC 1415.
For a short description of position duties, click HERE to review By-Laws Article G.10.

(You are eligible to vote if you have held a TSSU position in any of Fall 2017, Spring 2018, or Summer 2018, or if you have paid to extend your membership.)

Candidates

Membership Mobilization Committee (MMC) Commissioner: 

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Nastaran (Nas) Yousefi -

Dear TSSU members,

My name is Nastaran Yousefi and I am running for the position of Member Mobilization Committee (MMC) Commissioner. Since starting my PhD in chemistry nearly two years ago, I have taken an active role with the TSSU. It is my sincere belief unions are the leading force towards democratization and progress for workers – TSSU is a prime example whereby allowing for fair representation of SFU teaching staff. As a teaching assistant at SFU and a TSSU Steward, I have become familiar with my rights as a student worker. Moreover, this has motivated my continued involvement as a TSSU member with the focus of improving communication between the TSSU, administration staff, and members within my department. Furthermore, I have represented TSSU on the Faculty of Science Safety Committee to ensure the safety of teaching staff is protected.

In addition to my duties as a TSSU Steward and a member of the Faculty of Science Safety Committee, I have been an MMC member for nearly two years. Through my work here, I have devoted significant effort to educate and inform members of their rights, union policies, initiatives and motivations. Additionally, I have used my graphic design and technology skills to create several pamphlets and posters for the TSSU. I have also helped host different workshops and training days, as well as work endlessly towards campaigning for the next round of bargaining.

I believe my experience and continued involvement in the MMC projects over the period of 18 months makes me a qualified candidate for the position of MMC Commissioner.  I am confident I will manage the meetings efficiently and respectfully while addressing agenda items effectively. If I get elected as MMC Commissioner, my initial focus will be on:

-Building stronger relationship between union members and executives

-Introducing MMC’s newest campaign, “Illegal SFU”, which is based on some of the violations of the collective agreement that the administration has been perpetrating/defending

-Organizing workshops and training days for members to improve their teaching, technical, and communication skills

-Empowering members to speak up and support new ideas that can collectively put pressure on the administration to stop violating our collective agreement

Seeking fair equality for teaching staff has been my passion during my time with TSSU and I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve the union as one of the executive members.

In solidarity,

Nastaran Yousefi

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Christine Pan -

Dear TSSU members,

My name is Christine Pan, and I am running as a candidate for TSSU Membership Mobilization Committee Commissioner. I graduated from SFU Master of Education in Teaching English as an Additional Language program in 2016. I worked for Simon Fraser Language Training Institute as a Japanese TA from January, 2014 to December, 2017, and as a Chinese TA in 2015. I also taught IELTS workshops for Linguistics Department from 2014 to 2015. From 2015 to 2016, I worked as a research assistant for Education Faculty and The Centre for English Language Learning, Teaching and Research.

I joined TSSU because I was attracted by the MMC blog poster to write blog posts for the committee. In response to the motivating and welcoming recruitment, I immediately wrote two blog posts, “Student-Centred Teaching Practice” and “Technology Use in the Classroom”. My purpose was to encourage TAs, TMs and Sessionals to pay attention to what is truly important in the classroom - the responsibility of nurturing the students and paving the way for further improving their technology literacy in this digital era. I am privileged to have this opportunity to work with all the brilliant and welcoming people from MMC. Having involved in taking meeting minutes and making decisions for TSSU Day, MMC Pamphlet, Bargaining Survey, Contract Wins Poster and Illegal SFU Campaign, I have learned how MMC operates to urge all of us to abide by the law. In particular, the struggles of the TAs, TMs and sessionals have made me certain that through communication MMC can support them in the face of professional and financial challenges.

Following the law to support the employees through challenges and struggles is the foundation which drives me to work hard for the employees. I believe MMC blog can be a platform for the employees to not only share valuable knowledge and experiences for professional development, but also support one another through ups and downs. We can categorize the blog posts we have as well as any future ones. Categories such as “What to Pay Attention to as a SFU TA/TM/Sessional”, “Steps for Professional Development at SFU”, “Empowering Precarious SFU Workers” and “Hope in the Midst of Insecurity” can be used to organize existing posts and recruit more employees to support and encourage each other through words. I hope that we can empower precarious employees by persisting in regularly recruiting them to share their assets on this platform. Furthermore, the upcoming opportunity for the delegates to go to CGEU and COCAL conferences and write blog posts gives the employees a chance to read the up-to-date information on organizing faculty, gaining equitable working conditions, legislative solutions, and the effects of globalization on higher education. I believe MMC blog can indeed give the employees support to overcome insecurity. In addition to MMC blog, events such as TSSU Day can support the employees by creating a welcoming atmosphere. Ice-breaker games and food are all ways to show warm welcome and unity. Preoccupied with study and teaching assignments, the TAs, TMs and Sessionals may not be able to find the time to attend, yet email, social media and on-campus advertisements and a welcoming environment can draw more employees to future events.

I hope to serve TAs, TMs and Sessionals more at TSSU. I also wish that I can serve the multilingual Chinese employees by translating TSSU survey. Thank you for your consideration and taking the time to read my statement.

In solidarity,
Christine Pan

June 18-25: MMC Commissioner By-Election Voting

The nomination period for this by-election closed at the June 12, 2018 General Membership Meeting. Voting for the position via online ballot will open on Monday, June 18. All members in good standing should receive an emailed voting token with a link to the ballot. The ballot will include candidate statements; these will also be posted to the website once available. You may review the position description in Article G.10 (pg. 9) of the By-Laws here. Voting will remain open from June 18-June 25.

If you are a member and do not receive a voting token once the election has opened, please contact trustees@tssu.ca. In your email, please include your full name, your SFU email address, and the most recent semester in which you held a TSSU appointment.

Summer 2018 By-Election: nominations for MMC Commissioner now open!

Looking to become more involved with the TSSU? Consider running for the MMC Commissioner position on the TSSU Executive! Nominations for this by-election are currently being accepted for the position of MMC Commissioner; please see the MMC Commissioner By-Election Nomination Form for more information including a description of the position. As always, full position descriptions can also be found in the TSSU By-Laws and Policies.