Picket lines planned for SFU Burnaby

This message has been sent to all faculty, staff and students at Simon Fraser University

The Teaching Support Staff Union has provided SFU with notice of plans for picket lines tomorrow, June 15, starting at 7 a.m. at the following locations:

• Shrum Science Centre (C,B,P, and K)
• TASC 2
• South Science Building
• Science Road
• South Hallway on the 3rd floor of the AQ

Students, faculty and staff who choose to cross a picket line should be allowed to do so. Please contact security if there are any issues with access, 778-782-7991.

We expect everyone to be respectful of strike action, however, SFU is hopeful that the parties can resume negotiations at the bargaining table as soon as possible.

Students:

If you are a student who has classes, tutorials, labs, in these buildings tomorrow, please check with your instructor or TA on the status of any activities planned in these areas.

Faculty and staff:

As there are essential services within these buildings, an essential service order will be put into effect at SFU. Supervisors will be connecting with employees scheduled to perform essential services to advise of required scheduling and processes. If you have questions about if and how the essential service order impacts you, please check with your supervisor. 

Other employees who belong to unions or employee groups will be instructed about impacts to their work through their responsible employee group.

All faculty and staff are to notify their Department Chair or supervisors if they chose not to cross a picket line and will not be reporting for work. Employees who do not report to work will not be paid for that time.

Bargaining status

In the most recent proposal, SFU’s bargaining team tabled the maximum allowable monetary package under the Province’s Shared Recovery Mandate. Despite this healthy offer, the parties were unable to reach agreement and TSSU has indicated their intent to pursue strike action rather than continuing negotiations at the bargaining table.

SFU’s bargaining team continues to look for solutions to present to TSSU that could lead to a negotiated settlement with members when TSSU is prepared to return to the bargaining table and continue negotiations.

We recognize that this is a challenging time and want our community to know that supports are available, even during strike action:

• Employees who are concerned about strike action can connect with their supervisor to learn about business continuity and essential services requirements and connect with their union to learn more about their rights and responsibilities during a strike. The Employee and Family Assistance Program is also available. 
• Students who feel uneasy about the impacts of a TSSU strike can connect with SFU Health and Counselling and MySSP for 24/7 mental health support.

The university is focused on resolving this challenging situation as quickly as possible to ensure the academic success of our students, and support for our outstanding faculty and staff.