PSAC 901, Unit 1 negotiations kicked off this Monday with optimism and solidarity.
April 30. With negotiations happening at the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, union ers gathered outside at 11:30 a.m., holding signs and chanting, blocking traffic in a show of solidarity.
“This University doesn’t run without its staff, without its teaching assistants, without its postdoctoral scholars,” an event spokesperson said.
Negotiations for Unit 1 follow PSAC Unit 2’s recent success in securing the second-highest minimum base salary for postdoctoral researchers in Ontario, a significant achievement reached after their contract expired in June 2023.
READ MORE: Postdocs secure 39 per cent salary increase in a new tentative agreement
In a pamphlet handed out by ers, PSAC 901, Unit 1 outlined five key priorities for their bargaining with the University: securing a living wage or stipend, tuition minimization, affordable housing access, funding to labour ratio, and paid hours to learn course content.
According to the last collective agreement, as of May 2023, teaching and research assistants earn $44.02 per hour. Meanwhile, teaching fellows earn $8,737 per regular half-year course, an additional 10 per cent pay if their responsibilities include labs or tutorials, and a 12.5 per cent increase in pay if the course enrollment exceeds 100 students, the agreement states.
A Political Studies teaching assistant and mobilizer for PSAC 901, Unit 1 Elliot Goodell Ugalde, a current PhD student, attended the rally and outlined his thoughts on how the University has responded to the concerns of of Unit 1.
Goodell Ugalde highlighted how he hopes the event will send a message of solidarity with their bargaining team to both Principal Patrick Deane and Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Matthew Evans, adding that from Unit 1 know their labour’s worth.
“We’re here to tell Matthew Evans and Patrick Deane that we have solidarity and collective action and that we’re going to demand a contract because we know what our labour is worth,” Ugalde said in an interview with The Journal.
PSAC 901, Unit 1 expressed strong confidence in their bargaining team’s abilities. Claire Genest, MA ’21, current PhD student, and a teaching assistant in the Department of Geography shared her optimism about the negotiations.
“Our bargaining team has been very heavily involved with the locale for many years and they’re extremely sharp people. They have the interest of the at the front of their minds at the table. I know they’re going to be doing an excellent job,” Genest said in an interview with The Journal.
The negotiations were scheduled to begin at noon, but at 11:55 a.m., ers were informed the negotiation meeting would be delayed by 15 minutes. In response to this, one er holding a microphone described Queen’s istration as “cowards.”
The Journal didn’t see any member of Queen’s istration enter the building before the negotiations started.
Shortly after, a PSAC 901, Unit 1 member announced they’d received permission from PSAC regional to begin strike training, preparing in case the negotiations don’t progress as hoped. The union is aiming to be strike-ready come Jan. 1.
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