Unit 3 Negotiations Continue Full-Steam Ahead: Negotiating YOUR Working Conditions!
As summer winds down, our bargaining team is pushing forward to secure strong protections for academic workers. With several key non-monetary issues still on the table, our final session of the season focused on strengthening our rights at work - from job security and workplace solidarity to control over our personal information. Every article we sign brings us closer to a fair and dignified contract for all academic casuals. Read on to find out what we accomplished and how it impacts you.
Have you recently worked as a grader, course tutor, course assistant, or graduate teaching fellow? If you have, make sure to sign your union card through this link! This officially gives you the right to participate in AGSEM, allowing you to help shape our policies and attend future negotiation sessions. We are stronger together, and your voice deserves to be heard!
Sign your membership form!
In our last bargaining session of the summer on July 29th, Jordan Cowie (1L, Grader & Course Tutor, Management/Law), Bronwyn Walsh (Recent Graduate, Grader & Course Assistant, in Math & Stats), and Donald Morard (PhD Candidate, Grader, History), along with our advisor from the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ), Guillaume Forest-Allard and AGSEM Co-President Dallas Jokic gathered to negotiate outstanding non-monetary clauses. We also had two open bargaining members in the room.
During this session, we were able to sign three articles with the employer! We began the session by signing an article focused on progressive discipline, which directly protects every union member on the job.
After discussion and clarification, we also signed two additional clauses – one that protects our ability to picket in solidarity with other striking McGill unions, and one that covers how and when your employment information can be released and used. Both clauses protect you by ensuring we can support fellow unions without fear, along with having control over how our employment information is shared.
We are looking forward to scheduling our next bargaining session in September. If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend one of these sessions, the Fall semester will be a perfect opportunity to do so! Attending a bargaining session lets you see firsthand how your rights and working conditions are negotiated. It shows solidarity with the bargaining team and keeps pressure on the employer – your presence makes our union stronger, more democratic, and harder to ignore. We look forward to seeing you then!
In solidarity, Your Bargaining and Bargaining Support Committees