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TSSU
Update on GSRA Unionization Process
On November 6, 2025, the BC Labour Relations Board granted the Teaching Support Staff Union’s application to include Graduate Student Research Assistants (GSRAs) as Teaching Support Staff Union members and employees of the university.
For the purposes of the Board’s decision, a GSRA is defined as:
A person enrolled at the University as a graduate student in either a master’s program requiring a thesis or a PhD program; and
Receiving payments through the University’s payroll system, which are characterized by the University as a scholarship or stipend for a Graduate Student Research Assistantship.
After careful consideration, the university has decided to file an application for leave and reconsideration with the Labour Relations Board, requesting that the November 6, 2025 decision be reconsidered.
In the meantime, the university is complying with the Labour Relations Board’s decision and will continue collective bargaining negotiations with TSSU on a without prejudice basis to the reconsideration process throughout December and January.
Once the university and the TSSU agree on terms and conditions of employment for GSRAs, and subject to any reconsideration of the Board’s decision, each party must go through its ratification and approval process before implementation.