Teaching Support Staff Union
GradCOLA protests against the student funding crisis at SFU
January 23, 2023By: Natalie Cooke, News Writer On December 12, 2022, the SFU Graduate Student Society (GSS) and Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) organized a noise demonstration in response to the funding crisis that many students across North America face. Most graduate students rely on the income they receive from teaching or departmental scholarships. The precarious nature of these jobs does not offer stability to the many graduates paying off student loans. According to Statistics Canada, roughly half of graduate students have student debt upon their graduations. The Canadian Federation of Students reported in 2019 the average debt for bachelor’s and master’s…
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A comprehensive guide to the RAs fight for workers rights
February 6, 2022By: Kelly Chia, Staff Writer Editors note: The article has been updated to reflect that some RAs are recognized as workers as of last Spring. In 2014, graduate students approached the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) to unionize research assistants…
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Research assistants need healthcare and SFU’s labour practices need reform
March 21, 2021by Emma Jean, Staff Writer Over the past month, the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) has been circulating a petition that demands research assistants (RAs) — who fall under the TSSU — be granted the benefits they were promised by…
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C19 Coalition answers student and worker questions in virtual Town Hall
July 29, 2020Written by: Devana Petrovic, Staff Writer Updates from student and faculty organizations C19 Coalition representative, Alison Wick, provided some background on the recently formed advocacy group. The Coalition was formed as an alliance between the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS),…
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Council Corner: June 9, 2020
June 25, 2020Written by: Michelle Gomez, News Editor Discussion with SFU senior leaders about student services in COVID-19 The GSS meeting began with a presentation followed by discussion with Rummana Khan Hemani (SFU’s Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students & International) and Erin…
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