Open Letter to President Petter and Chris Hatty at Simon Fraser University

Nadine Flagel, fifteen-year sessional at SFU, speaks out against cutting member benefits:

...the one quantifiable asset of working [as a sessional] at SFU was coverage of my MSP premiums. With a family of four, this was a significant benefit. Even though I cannot currently contribute as much as I would like to my family’s finances, I could tell myself that through my work at SFU I earned our health coverage.

The news that SFU’s bargaining team has threatened this basic health coverage was shocking.

Flagel - Letter to Petter

Click the image to read Flagel's open letter.

The Peak: University revokes Union’s health benefits amidst ongoing dispute

Said TSSU Chair Derek Sahota, “People were upset given that they’re still willing to basically do 99 per cent of their job [. . .] that the administration would revoke what are really critical benefits for people.”

Click the image to read the whole article.

Photo by Max Hill. Click the image to read the whole article.

SFU Admin targets “economic weapons” on vulnerable members.

carecardLate Monday, the TSSU Strike Committee was informed that SFU Administration intends to use “economic weapons” to cut off our members extended health, MSP, and dental benefits, effective October 31.

Rather than come to the bargaining table and negotiate, or accept binding arbitration as proposed by Labour Mediator Vince Ready, SFU Administration chose to escalate the labour dispute by cutting benefits to our most vulnerable members. These cuts to benefits are targeted at international graduate students, families, and sessional instructors: three groups that SFU Administration has repeatedly targeted with cutbacks and increased fees. By cutting benefits to our most vulnerable members, SFU Administration has chosen to exploit the poverty they’ve created by cutting education funding and bloating administrative overhead for the past decade.

The use of “economic weapons” will not bring the sides closer to settlement; instead they threaten to escalate a dispute that could have been resolved last month, had SFU Administration come to mediation with the intention of negotiating fairly.

TSSU members who would like more information are asked to attend the Greater Committee Meetings:
Tuesdays (October 6th, 13th, 29th, etc.)
11:30am-1:30pm in AQ 5007 on Burnaby Campus.

TSSU Stewards are also reminded of their meeting:
Thursday, Oct 8, 2015
11:30am-1:30pm in MBC 2290 on Burnaby Campus.

(Click here for the original post.)