TSSU Solidarity Statement

The faculty members in Labour Studies stand in solidarity with our colleagues and coworkers in TSSU. We also must express our grave concerns about how TSSU members have been treated by SFU administration. SFU as an institution states, “SFU is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community where all feel welcome, safe, accepted, and appreciated in learning, teaching, research, and work.” The current strike and the way in which SFU administration has dragged bargaining out for so long show little regard to creating an inclusive community let alone one that makes integral members of that community in TSSU feel welcome and appreciated in the work of teaching and learning that they do. We call on the Simon Fraser University Administration to negotiate a fair settlement that meets the concerns of TSSU and provides equitable working conditions and pay for the most vulnerable within our teaching community. The disparity in pay between all the ranks of instructors is glaring but even more so the gap between the lowest paid instructors and our senior administrators. This is unconscionable for a university that prides itself on promoting EDI principles. We know that SFU is in a solid financial position and has the means to settle this dispute. We ask the SFU Administration to live up to the professed commitments of the university and reach a fair settlement with TSSU. We stand in support of our colleagues in TSSU until they win a contract worthy of their work and one that lives up to the principles that SFU claims to hold.