On Friday, April 5, just before 2 p.m., a few signatories of the below open letter walked over to the James Administration building to deliver it in person, accompanied by about a dozen members of AGSEM. The plan was for three professors to walk in and deliver seven copies of[Read More…]
Tag: teaching assistants
AGSEM attempts to unionize academic support workers amid TA strike
As the Teaching Assistants (TAs) strike rolls into its second week, the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM)—the union that represents TAs and Invigilators—has continued to negotiate over TAs’ new collective agreement (CA) with McGill and has called for all other academic support workers to sign union cards. [Read More…]
1,600 TAs go on strike as negotiations with McGill stall over collective agreement
Students walking through Roddick Gates on Monday, March 25 were met with the sounds of bells, chants, and honks, as well as a massive banner that read “McGill is a union university.” This picket line marked the start of McGill Teaching Assistants’ (TAs) strike for better pay, healthcare, and indexed[Read More…]
AGSEM completes contentious fifth round of negotiations over TA contracts with McGill
Content Warning: Discrimination, sexual violence A fifth round of negotiations between McGill and the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) over teaching assistants (TAs)’ collective contract took place on Nov. 22. According to a press release sent to The Tribune by AGSEM, the primary issue on the table[Read More…]
AGSEM and McGill’s third bargaining meeting: New demands over collective agreement
On Nov. 9, the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) entered its third bargaining meeting with the McGill administration. Since Sept. 21, AGSEM—the union representing teaching assistants (TAs) at McGill—has been negotiating terms for improved working conditions and wages following the expiration of their collective agreement in July.[Read More…]
‘United we bargain, divided we beg’: AGSEM begins negotiations with McGill
The Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) commenced a series of bargaining sessions with the McGill administration on Sept. 21. AGSEM’s collective agreement with the university expired on July 31, 2023. Since then, the union has been negotiating a new collective agreement and is demanding several changes be[Read More…]
McGill TAs allege $1 million in wage theft by the university
As McGill students returned to campus for the first day of classes on the morning of Aug. 30, they were greeted by food trucks and music on McTavish Street as part of the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM)’s rally for better contracts. AGSEM, the union representing teaching[Read More…]
Fall 2020 TAs still missing payments as the semester nears end
Following various technical issues with Workday, McGill’s new human resources (HR) system, the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) has filed several individual, union, and collective grievances against the university in accordance with their Collective Agreement (CA). Some problems included lack of access to technology necessary to teach[Read More…]
Unresolved issues with Workday HR system leave hundreds of TAs unpaid
A variety of issues have persisted since McGill’s Human Resources (HR) system transitioned from Banner to Workday in August 2020. Eight weeks into the Fall 2020 semester, hundreds of McGill employees—teaching assistants (TAs) in particular—experienced delays in payment, and some have still not been paid at all. McGill staff have[Read More…]
Online discussion forums are the future of conferences
In light of McGill’s announcement that instruction will continue primarily online during the Winter 2021 semester, students in the Faculty of Arts must prepare for the possibility that most of their conferences will remain remote. This new reality will disappoint those who miss direct face-to-face interaction with their peers. However,[Read More…]
