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Salaried Officers

Chief Steward

Kayla Hilstob (she/her/hers)
chief_steward@tssu.ca

(a) The Chief Stewards shall be jointly responsible for knowledge of the Collective Agreement, Health and Safety regulations, and other relevant legislation. They will be responsible for communicating monthly updates on the status of ongoing grievances to the Executive and General Membership in order to facilitate mobilization and organizing. Both shall also be responsible for the Grievance Procedure including meetings, research, and legal activities. Both shall work in conjunction with the Member Representative to ensure member rights are enforced and protected as outlined in the Collective Agreement. The two Chief Stewards in consultation with the Member Representative will also be responsible for maintaining any seniority lists and for checking position postings in relation to the Collective Agreement. Each semester, these two officers shall mutually agree on the division of the responsibility for the following tasks:
- Chairing and coordinating Steward meetings.
- Chairing and coordinating Grievance meetings.
- Serving as the resource person for the OH&S Commissioner
(b) In addition to these duties Chief Steward I shall act as the TSSU Executive’s primary point of contact with the Union’s Member Representative concerning the Member Representative’s employment and will sit on and be the resource person for the Contract Committee.

Organizer

jorji Temple (they/them/theirs)
organizer@tssu.ca

Organizer jointly with the Chief Steward-Organizer shall be responsible for:
1) coordinating union campaigns and new member organizing drives;
2) the development and maintenance of membership networks; and
3) working with other parts of TSSU to achieve goals set by the membership.

Each semester these officers shall agree on the division of duties outlined below:
(a) Coordination of union campaigns and new member organizing drives, including: working with the union’s committees and general membership to set campaign objectives and timelines; coordinating volunteer networks and mobilization schedules, overseeing campaign communications, and managing teams; identifying groups of workers with a similar community of interests to our membership who are interested in joining the Union.
(b) Development and maintenance of membership networks, including: developing and maintaining a mapping system of the membership, work sites, common areas, bulletin boards, etc and relationships; actively recruiting volunteers from within the membership, for committees, stewards, etc.; developing membership outreach and education initiatives, which include, but are not limited to: workshops, socials, orientations, and trainings; ensuring there is TSSU representation at departmental and special orientations including, but not limited to the International TA Program and the Teaching Orientation Program opening plenary.
(c) Working with other parts of TSSU to achieve goals set by the membership, including: resourcing and coordinating the activities of the Membership Mobilization Committee (MMC); ensuring that MMC activities support union campaigns, new member organizing drives, member education, as well as other internal and external outreach initiatives; administering MMC’s membership, maintaining the committee’s internal communications, and calling meetings; resourcing the activities of the Solidarity and Social Justice Committee (SSJC); working with the Chief Steward-Organizer in the orientation and training of Stewards; ensuring that Steward activities support union campaigns, new member organizing drives, member education, as well as other internal and external outreach initiatives; working with the Chief Steward-Organizer in administering the Steward network and ensuring that its membership list is up-to-date.

Chief Steward-Organizer

Liam Kennedy-Slaney (he/him/his)
cs-organizer@tssu.ca

The Chief Steward-Organizer shall be responsible for taking on duties from both Chief Steward II and Organizer I outlined in Bylaws E.2.7 and E.2.9, including but not limited to:
- Assisting in coordinating union campaigns
- Development and maintenance of membership networks
- Handling grievances
- Chairing and coordinating steward meetings
- Strike Committee voting member

Coordinator

Abhishek Nanjundappa (he/him/his)
coordinator@tssu.ca

The Coordinator shall be responsible for coordinating General Membership and Executive meetings including setting the agenda, and shall act as resource person for the TSSU Finance and Internal Relations Committees, and for the MMC Committee if/when mutually agreed upon by the Coordinator and Organizer. The Coordinator shall also coordinate all union referenda including strike votes. The Coordinator is responsible for ensuring the TSSU logbook is produced. In addition the Coordinator shall assist the Organizer in cultivating and maintaining external contacts with other trade unions and social justice organizations on and off campus as well as communicating with the media; the Coordinator will also assist the Organizer in their organizing work, including attending caucus meetings and recruiting volunteers. The Coordinator shall perform daily bookkeeping duties in consultation with the Treasurer; this will include day-to- day check requisition and bill payments. The Coordinator shall also be in contact with the TSSU Bookkeeper and Auditor. The Coordinator is also responsible for the preparation of the annual audit and the communication with the Union’s financial institutions.

Staff

Advocate/Member Representative

Derek Sahota (he/him/his)
dereks@tssu.ca

The Member Representative, in collaboration with the Chief Stewards, shall be the principal person within the Union to handle grievances and prepare cases for arbitration, and perform research necessary to carry out these tasks. In all decisions made pertaining to grievances and arbitration, the Member Representative must consult with the Chief Stewards, who maintain authority on these matters, except, where appropriate, the grieving member. The Member Representative will respond to members’ questions related to their employment and the Collective Agreement. The Member Representative shall be responsible for reviewing and maintaining the contracts of TSSU members, and contacting departments to address any problems that arise from the contracts. The Member Representative shall serve as a non-voting member of both the Contract and Grievance Committees, and will keep an ongoing diary of contractual issues to be used as a resource by the Contract Committee. At the discretion of the other members of the Contract Committee, the Member Representative may be involved with bargaining. The Member Representative should principally work from the TSSU’s main office.

Executive Officers

Chair

Yameena Zaidi (she/her/hers)
chair@tssu.ca

The TSSU Chair’s primary responsibility shall be to facilitate all GMs, Special GMs and Executive Meetings as well schedule executive meetings of the TSSU in accordance with by law H.1.2. and Bourinot’s rules. The Chair must be a signee on all legal documentation for the union, and shall also have financial signing authority. In the absence of the Chair, those in attendance at such GMs/Executive Meetings shall designate one of themselves, other than a Trustee, to chair the meeting. The Chair shall also be a member of the Internal Relations Committee. The Chair shall have a working knowledge of Bourinot’s rules.

Ex-Officio

Scott Yano (he/him/his)

The Ex-Officio, or advisor to the Executive, is intended to improve continuity between out-going and incoming Executives, particularly regarding reasons for previous Executive decisions. The Ex-Officio helps to ensure the non-hierarchical nature of the TSSU by maintaining an institutional memory based on lived experience. The Ex-Officio is a stipended, non-voting position to be filled by any member who served on the Executive during the previous twelve (12) months.

Occupational Health & Safety Commissioner

Jess Hercus (they/them/theirs)
ohs_commissioner@tssu.ca

The Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Commissioner shall be responsible for sitting on the Central OH&S committee of the university and performing associated duties, in addition to coordinating between all local TSSU OH&S area committee representatives. The OH&S Commissioner shall attend executive meetings as a voting member and liaison between the Central Committee, Local Area Representatives, the Executive, and the General Membership Meeting when needed. The OH&S Commissioner will work in conjunction with the other TSSU representative who sits on the Central OH&S committee. It is expected that the OH&S Commissioner attend all available employer-funded training, provided by Worksafe BC.

Secretary-Treasurer

Whitney Qualls (she/her/hers)
secretary-treasurer@tssu.ca

The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for performing daily financial duties of the Union. They shall also be a legal and financial signing authority and be a member of the Finance Committee and Internal Relations Committee. Financial Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer include: chairing the Finance Committee; maintaining an accurate and proper internal bookkeeping system, including coordination with an external bookkeeper, if/when one has been hired; regular review of the union’s budgeted vs actual revenue and expenses, and providing regular updates to both the Executive and Finance Committees; regular bookkeeping duties, including bank reconciliations, payroll, remittances, stipends (including coordination with the committee chairs), and receiving & depositing dues and other revenue (these duties exclude regularly paying bills and membership dues to organizations, which shall normally be a duty of the coordinator); preparation and payment of taxes, including generation of T4s, T4As, and Records of Employment; preparing the annual budget, in consultation with the Finance and Executive Committees, normally for presentation at the February GM; assembling the annual audit documents, and coordinating with the auditor; presenting a financial update to at least one GM of each semester, including circulating an audited financial report, and appointing (or reappointing) the auditor.

Trustees

Dalton Kamish (they/them/theirs) & Kyle Simpson (he/him/his)
trustees@tssu.ca

The two Trustees shall ensure that the TSSU By-Laws are adhered to and be responsible for keeping these same By-Laws up-to-date. They shall also ensure that proper procedures are adhered to at GMs in accordance with Bourinot’s rules. Trustees must have the ability to obtain all non-email account passwords that pertain to common union business. Trustees will have access to membership lists but shall not make any changes to the lists. They shall oversee the work done by Executive Members and report any atypical decisions to the General Membership of the Union. They shall be involved with the scheduling and publication of GMs in conjunction with the salaried officers; and schedule and oversee all elections/referenda. The Trustees shall be responsible for inspecting the financial records of the TSSU on a monthly basis in consultation with the Coordinator. One Trustee shall be a member of the Internal Relations Committee and the other shall be a member of the Finance Committee.

Solidarity and Social Justice Commissioner

Temporarily in abeyance. In the meantime, send an email to tssu@tssu.ca

The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner (SSJC Commissioner) shall be responsible for coordinating the activities of the Solidarity & Social Justice Committee. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall call meetings and ensure that meetings are chaired and minuted. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall coordinate with union volunteers, outside allies, events, and vendors to further the goals of the Solidarity & Social Justice Committee. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall attend Executive meetings and act as a liaison between the Executive and the Solidarity and Social Justice Committee in conjunction with the Organizer. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall also act as liaison between the Solidarity & Social Justice Committee and other TSSU committees to facilitate the flow of information between committees and the General Membership.

Since 1978

The Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU)