Unit 3 Bargaining Newsletter #1: AGSEM United for Quick Negotiations and Open Bargaining
Following two months of delays from McGill, negotiations have finally begun with AGSEM’s Unit 3!!! The first bargaining session on March 27 kicked off with a breakfast barbeque in front of Sherbrooke 680, with workers grabbing coffee and food while showing solidarity with AGSEM’s Unit 3. Beyond the graders, course assistants, graduate fellows, and McGill Writing Centre employees that are part of AGSEM’s Unit 3, members from AGSEM’s Units 1 and 2 representing Teaching Assistants and Invigilators showed up early to give their support to the bargaining committee and stand united with their fellow workers! They were also joined by comrades from our affiliate union, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), and Radisson Hotel workers.
For our side of the table, Jordan Cowie (1L, Grader & Course Tutor, Management/Law), Bronwyn Walsh (4th year Undergraduate, Grader & Course Assistant, in Math & Stats), and Donald Morard (PhD Candidate, Grader, History) sat as the Bargaining Committee. They were joined at the table by Cal Koger-Pease, our Unit 1 Grievance Officer, and Guillaume Forest-Allard, our advisor from the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ).
We were also joined in the room by eight other AGSEM workers! Our union engages in a practice of open bargaining, where any worker from the unit can attend the session with the goal of maximizing union democracy and transparency among the membership. Members who attended open bargaining were helpful with taking notes during the session, sharing information with the table during caucuses, and overall giving us support throughout the session!
On the McGill side, we met with a labour relations advisor, along with representatives of various faculties who work either in administrative roles or as associate deans.
The meeting started with some initial pushback from McGill on open bargaining. This is despite the fact that McGill had previously agreed to open bargaining during Unit 1 negotiations, which helped build trust between the bargaining committee and the workers who elected them. Open bargaining also gives workers a direct line of contact to the table, allowing for smoother communication with the membership and overall more constructive bargaining. Open bargaining was crucial to the speed of Unit 1’s negotiations, which wrapped up in a record ~8 months, culminating in a historic strike in March and April 2024. Unit 3’s members have given their bargaining committee a mandate to pursue speedy negotiations. Ultimately, McGill agreed to let the negotiation continue with the additional members in the room.
After establishing some basic norms of the negotiation, like no gag-orders and the possibility of a hybrid option, AGSEM presented its non-monetary proposal to the employer. Some of the demands included stronger language against harassment and discrimination, a conflict of interest policy, and standardizing the hiring process for workers in the unit. After fielding some questions from the employer’s side, we scheduled bargaining sessions for the next few months.
Want to see what comes next? Sign up to attend one of our next negotiation sessions! Your participation helps us bargain in your best interest and have AGSEM stand united <3
Stay tuned for future newsletters and other announcements!
In solidarity,
Your Bargaining and Bargaining Support Committees