Voluntary Recognition Agreement

A comprehensive guide to the RAs fight for workers rights

By: 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 (RAs). The TSSU made the decision to fight for the rights of RAs, giving every individual more protection under the umbrella of a collective.  From 2018–19, the TSSU built a union drive at the grassroots level, leading to 924 RAs being signed on as union members. Then, on November 15, 2019, SFU signed an agreement to recognize TSSU members as…

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