INSIDE THE FIGHT TO UNIONIZE SFU.

WOMEN'S rights; UNIVERSITY & college employees; PICKETING

Simon Fraser University (SFU) has faced criticism for its tactics to prevent workers from unionizing, including hiring a security firm to surveil and film picketers. However, after public outrage, SFU ended its contract with the security firm. The Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) at SFU has successfully organized research assistants (RAs) and is now bargaining for better wages and working conditions for teaching assistants and sessional instructors. The TSSU engaged in a strike that received overwhelming support from the SFU community and employed tactics such as open bargaining. Eventually, a deal was reached that included wage protections, a pension plan for sessional instructors, and pay commensurate with class size for online courses. The TSSU is also fighting for RAs to be recognized as workers and have the right to unionize, with the outcome pending. [Extracted from the article]

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