The other two major SFU unions are also in similar phases of renegotiating their various collective agreements. Members of the Teacher Support Staff Union, which represents teaching assistants at the university, including ATTs and training teachers, continue to work under an expanded agreement that was originally due to end on 30 April. TSSU representatives did not respond to an interview request when The Peak went to the press. B.c.. Finance Minister Colin Hansen announced that unions representing the faculties and specialized staff of the SFU concluded two-year collective agreements with the province and the university last week. “It is great news that SFU administrators and specialists have reached an agreement,” Said Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Moira Stilwell in a press release. “They play a key role in supporting the academic mission and are an integral part of our post-secondary system in B.C.” Although union stages were rare at the SFU – the most recent strike took place in the fall of 2007, when SFU Society employees went on strike for four weeks before agreeing to a mediation arrangement – , strike action posed a particular threat to post-secondary institutions in Ontario. Last February, the faculties of the university faculty were removed from office in an extremely close 51.45 per cent strike order, and a three-month strike by CUPE employees at York University closed the institution until the provincial government ordered these workers to return to their posts in January 2009. The Teachers` Support Union (TSSU) represents about 1,000 non-university teachers who are assistants, tutors and meeting teachers. The Poly Party is made up of eight unions representing the university`s maintenance and crafts staff. You are the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1995, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 213, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 882, International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades, Local 138, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipetting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 170, the International Association of Machinists and Aeroed Worksspace , Lodge 692, Teamsters, Local 213, and the Union of Construction Workers and Skilled Workers, Local 1611.
The polyparty represents about 85 employees and 10 employees. The Administrative and Professional Personnel Association (APSA) represents approximately 821 permanent and temporary administrators and professionals. Currently, 46 administrative and professional positions are excluded from the association. Although the details of the agreements have not been made public, Hansen revealed that the agreements were concluded as part of the provincial government`s public sector bargaining mandate in 2010. However, a key element of the 2010 mandate was the absolute refusal to increase the net cost of compensation. Therefore, if one of these agreements involves wage increases, those expenses are offset by cuts in other areas. The first union to reach an agreement was the Professional Administration and Administration Corporation, which continued to represent 800 non-faculty, supervisory and professional officers at the SFU. APSA members include health professionals, office administrators and administrative coordinators. The SFU Faculty Association has also agreed that the university`s teachers and researchers should continue their work continuously until at least 2012. The provincial government`s website states that “the objective of the 2010 mandate is to reach collective agreements in the public sector that will be negotiated voluntarily and that will continue to help the province provide public services at a lower cost and with fiscal prudence.” Hansen added in a press release: “I am pleased that real progress continues to be made at the negotiating tables.