AGSEM News and Statements
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At the 16 November 2023 General Assembly, AGSEM members passed a Motion in solidarity with the Mohawk Mothers/Kahnistensera. In this motion, the assembly voted to stand “with the Kahnistensera in their struggle for dignity, truth, and reconciliation.” Almost a year later, McGill’s morally reprehensible actions remind the McGill community of the pertinence of AGSEM’s position and the need for solidarity with the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers). On the morning of 17 November 2024, over a hundred members of the McGill community gathered for the planting of a Great White Pine—a powerful symbol of peace for the Kanien’keha:ka, since time immemorial—on “McGill’s” Lower Field.Unit 3 Newsletter: All course-based Academic Casuals have a union! All graders, course tutors, undergraduate course assistants, graduate student assistants, student course assistants, course assistants, and graduate teaching fellows now have a union as AGSEM’s Unit 3!
What we are able to win in our upcoming negotiations with McGill depends on the work we can accomplish, together.
This newsletter has some important information to get involved in your new union.Dear AGSEM members, old and new,
We wish you a successful start of the academic year!
Our union, the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) is the oldest TA union in Quebec, and represents graduate Teaching Assistants (Unit 1), Invigilators (Unit 2), and Course-Based Academic Casuals (Unit 3) employed at McGill.
Sign your AGSEM Membership Form!
Sign your membership form for every semester that you work as a Unit 1 TA, Unit 2 invigilator, and/or Unit 3 academic casual.In light of the recent events in Bangladesh, the AGSEM Executive Committee condemns the extreme police brutality and spread of disinformation in response to the student protests, which took the lives of at least hundreds of students, left many with life threatening injuries, resulted in a nationwide, multi-day Internet blackout, police enforced curfews, and hundreds of arrests.
The AGSEM Executive Committee stands in solidarity with all Bangladeshi students advocating for equitable access to employment and a fair and transparent democracy.On June 6th, 2024, an autonomous group of students peacefully occupied the James Administration building at McGill University in the name of Palestinian liberation. In response, university administration authorized the presence of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) on campus and granted them permission to enter the James Administration building. The police response included riot police (Section du support et interventions spécialisées or SIS).
The police unequivocally displayed excessive force against protestors.The Association of McGill Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) wants to express its deepest words of solidarity with the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) currently on an unlimited strike as of April 24, 2024.
After 18 months of negotiation, it is deplorable that it has come to this point but unfortunately, we can fully relate to AMPL’s cause as it seems to be an acceptable avenue for McGill to refuse negotiating with their employee groups in an efficient way to prevent striking to happen.Content warning: this newsletter describes AGSEM’s negotiations with McGill around policies on harassment, discrimination, and sexual violence.
In the evening of Monday April 15th, 2024, after eight months of negotiations for a new contract, AGSEM and McGill reached a Tentative Agreement. Whether this Tentative Agreement will be ratified and become the new Collective Agreement is entirely in the hands of TAs.
This coming Thursday, April 18th at 5pm we will be holding a Ratification Assembly, open to all who have held a TA position in the last 12 months, at which the Bargaining Committee will present the tentative agreement and members will decide whether to accept it or not.