By: Sofia Chassomeris, News Writer

The Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) returned to bargain with SFU, beginning with the non-substantive terms of their collective agreement. On their website, the TSSU refers to this period as the first stage of bargaining following their initial bargaining session on August 29. In the first stage, the TSSU Contract Committee aims to change the language of the collective agreement to include all research assistants (RAs) and ensure they are granted the same rights as the rest of the TSSU.

The TSSU has been in dispute with SFU for years about whether graduate student RAs are considered employees of the university. In fall 2023, the TSSU went on an indefinite strike citing “SFU’s refusal to offer a reasonable contract after 41 sessions of bargaining and 19 months without a collective agreement.” The parties reached a tentative agreement on October 19 and the TSSU resumed work. The TSSU now waits for the results of a spring hearing in which the university challenged the unionization of RAs at the BC Labour Relations Board. SFU’s director of labour relations stated there was an “interpretive difference” in defining “employment versus scholarship, with respect to research.”

The TSSU plan to continue bargaining under the premise that they won the hearing, in which RAs would be considered employees under the labour code. SFU stated that “the parties are still awaiting a decision from the BC Labour Relations Board around whether graduate student research activity is considered academic activity or work under the Labour Relations Code.” They “anticipate receiving the decision in October.”

The Peak spoke with Kayla Hilstob, TSSU chief steward, and Yameena Zaidi, TSSU chair. Zaidi emphasized that SFU is currently “discussing non-substantive things.” She referred to these as “housekeeping changes” that are not considered controversial between the TSSU and SFU. Included in these changes were amendments to the collective agreement to “tweak that language and make sure that it is interpreted or rewritten in a way that it includes research workers at SFU.

“Our employer’s tactic is to divide people,” said Hilstob, explaining that there are RAs paid by hourly wage and then there are RAs paid by stipend or scholarship. “They have divided those folks and said ‘they can’t be workers, they can’t be employees, they can’t be in the union,’” she said. “Of course, that’s not the case. We know research is work, people work hard for this.” 

While there are still disagreements between the TSSU and their employer, Hilstob mentioned this stage of bargaining seems hopeful so far. “There are some things that we will have to fight hard on, we can see that already,” she said. “But there are some key differences from the last round [of bargaining] as well.” The TSSU noted SFU’s compliance in scheduling regular sessions for bargaining and securing an “explicit timeline for the exchange of substantive proposals.” This is in contrast to the university’s previous record of delaying negotiation.

The TSSU and SFU have agreed to exchange proposals no later than November 15, which will begin stage two of the bargaining process. The second stage will negotiate substantive proposals and consist of in-person sessions with SFU’s bargaining consultant, Geoff Tierney. Hilstob described substantive changes to include “things like wages and benefits; the monetary items that are much more contentious at the table.”

On their website, the TSSU reports that nearly 600 RAs responded to a survey reconfirming their “mandate to bargain for better working conditions for all RAs.” They outline the changes they are fighting for, including respect, fair wages, job security, and accessible benefits. “We expect a lot to happen after November 15,” said Hilstob. 

This is an ongoing story The Peak will continue to cover.