TSSU

A labour union is an organization that allows workers to band together to better improve their working conditions by collectively strengthening their power to negotiate (bargain) with their employer. This means that your rights, responsibilities, and benefits as a worker are governed by a Collective Agreement (CA) that has been bargained by TSSU and the SFU Administration. Our CA is current through 30 April, 2022. Even after this date, the CA is stays in place while the parties negotiate and ratify an updated Collective Agreement.

Labour unions are also responsible for ensuring that the Employer respects the legally-binding rules set out in the CA. TSSU does this through educating members about their rights, pursuing formal grievances for infractions, and organizing the membership to campaign around different issues. 

Over the past 40 years, SFU has sought to pull more work out of less funding. This means TAs, TMs, SIs, and ELC/ITP Instructors do approximately 50% of all in-person teaching at SFU, while earning less than 5% of the University’s annual budget. Meanwhile, the cost of living in Greater Vancouver area continues to skyrocket.

The history of the working class has proven that only by organizing around our collective interests can workers secure the economic means for a decent life. Labour unions mean better wages, more benefits, and a safer, more respectful workplace for all.

TSSU is a member-run union, which means that all decisions and activities are undertaken by the general membership. All major decisions are made at General Membership meetings, which take place three times per semester and dinners are always provided (when it’s possible to meet in person safely)!

Five elected salaried officers (Coordinator, Chief Stewards I & II, Organizers I & II) and one non-member staff person (Member Representative) do the everyday office work, while most wider union activities are the responsibility of TSSU’s ten committees. 

Executive Committee: Composed of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Trustees I & II, Chief Stewards I & II, SSJC Commissioner, MMC Commissioner, Organizers I & II, Ex-Officio, Coordinator, and OH&S Commissioner. Elected for one-year terms in the Fall and Spring semesters each year. The Executive ensures that all branches of the union are working in unity. 

Outreach Branch: Relations with members and progressive  groups on- and off-campus. Resourced by the Organizers.

• Membership Mobilization Committee (MMC)
• Solidarity & Social Justice Committee (SSJC)
• Anti-Harassment Committee
• Vancouver & District Labour Council representatives (VDLC)
• Graduate Student Society representatives (GSS)
• Coalition of Student Employee Unions representatives (CSEU)

Administrative Branch: Day-to-day operations. Resourced by the Coordinator.

• Finance Committee
• Internal Relations Committee (IR)

Legal/Advocacy Branch: Assist and defend members’ rights through CA. Resourced by the Chief Stewards, assisted by Member Representative.

• Central University + Local Joint Health & Safety Committees (OH&S)
• Contract Committee
• Grievance Committee
• Stewards Network

It is a fundamental belief of the TSSU that labour should be paid. All committee members are stipended in recognition of the work they do for the TSSU.

Non-hierarchical:

• No one person is the TSSU boss!
• What TSSU does is decided by its members and committees
• All major decisions are made by the members at General Membership (GM) meetings
• All members can attend GMs and join committees

Feminist:

• We recognize and organize against sexism and gender oppression in academia and the labour movement
• Firmly support other feminist groups, actions, and struggles against patriarchy 
• TSSU was founded in 1978 as Local 6 of Association of College and University Employees (AUCE), a feminist labour union that emerged from the Vancouver Women’s Caucus in the early ‘70s

Direct democracy:

• Decision-making is one member, one vote
• Agendas of meetings decided by members
• Any member can propose a motion at GMs or the committees they are a part of
• Executive positions are elected by the membership, from the membership

TSSU is relatively unique in the labour movement for having these three principles enshrined in its structure. TSSU is an independent union, which means that it only represents workers at SFU, and that it does not report to a larger union body. After our old parent union AUCE folded in the ‘90s, TSSU members voted to maintain independent status so as to hold on to these democratic principles. 

The union works through direct member involvement. Only together can we make SFU a better, safer, and more equitable workplace!

The easiest way to get involved with the TSSU is to attend a General Membership meeting. These are scheduled three times per semester. Fall 2021 dates will be determined soon.

Links for the virtual GM will be sent out via email. All TSSU members will receive these emails in their inboxes.

At a GM, you can be ratified by the membership to one or more committees. However, you don’t have to wait for ratification to begin attending committee meetings. 

All members are welcome to join committees. No expertise required. All committee meetings, including the Executive, are open to all members. For more info: www.tssu.ca/committees/