TSSU to vote on SFU’s package deal

After two days of bargaining and three days of mediation with experienced mediator Vince Ready, SFU and the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) emerged still without a Collective Agreement.

According to the university, the union is withholding grades for approximately 10,000 students and over 800 students “may be denied the opportunity to graduate and for some students, job offers are being revoked.”

 Administration presented the union with a package deal, bundling together several proposals, all of which the TSSU could either accept or reject. The TSSU bargaining committee recommended refusal of the package to its members. At a Special General Meeting on Sept. 16, members debated the issue and the union authorized for members to vote on the final package. The vote is to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Upon reviewing the deal, the TSSU tabled it, determining that the package contained “a whole range of takeaways or cuts to the rights of our members,” they stated in a bargaining update.

The results of the package deal addressed many of the core issues that had been discussed during bargaining, but TSSU feels that the deal was lacking in certain respects, naming various “cuts” to union members’ rights.

Though monetary issues had not previously been brought to the bargaining table, SFU’s final package proposed wage increases in line with Public Sector Employers’ Council mandate, but also some decreases in certain members’ pay, which the TSSU claims will bring them below the mandate.

The TSSU stated that the packaged was particularly unfair to English Language and Culture/Interpretation and Translation Program (ELC/ITP) instructors. The union has requested access to SFU’s standard benefits package for continuing instructors and this has proven to be a sticking point between their bargaining committee and SFU administration.

SFU expressed in a labour update that “regrettably,” they were “unable to find common ground” on the issue of ELC/ITP benefits, “including the option of maintaining the current language,” and offering to set aside a fund for ELC/ITP instructors.

Another issue that the union has with the deal pertains to a particular proposal that would change the existing grievance process. Currently, issues that cannot be solved informally with the individuals involved are brought to the union and then there is the option of involving the department chair. The proposed change would require all grievances to go through Human Resources before contacting the chair.

TSSU spokesperson George Temple expressed that the majority of issues are settled informally, directly with the chairs. “SFU Administration’s proposal would undermine the autonomy of faculty and dismantle our informal problem solving process,” he continued, “TSSU is here to bargain a fair contract for our members, not collaborate with Human Resources’ surveillance of SFU Department Chairs.”

The TSSU did respond positively to the aspect of the deal regarding the Childcare Fund: “The only real improvement in the package is the fix to the Childcare Fund that would actually get money into the hands of children.”

SFU is offering to assign 50 per cent of all sessional appointments to prioritize graduate students, post-docs, or discretionary hires, with the other half of the appointments being open to external hires. The TSSU does not believe that the language SFU has proposed provides seniority to sessional instructors.

Other topics of discussion at the table that made their way into the package include having work mail delivered to members on satellite campuses and not only Burnaby Campus, aswell as paying members who sit on health and safety committees, which is required by law in BC.

Despite being without a Collective Agreement with the TSSU for over a year, SFU cited other recent labour negotiations that have been resolved without any job action: “This lack of progress stands in stark contrast to the success SFU’s negotiating team has enjoyed recently when bargaining with our other employee groups.”

No future bargaining or mediation has been scheduled as of press time.