CREW demands fair pay and job security amid bargaining

After demands for fair wages and better working conditions, Concordia’s TAs and RAs are headed to mediation with the university.
CREW members vote to adopt a pressure tactics mandate at their General Assembly. Photo courtesy of FNEEQ–CSN

After months of bargaining with Concordia University, the Concordia Research and Education Workers Union (CREW) says it is still waiting for a response to its monetary demands.

The union representing teaching assistants (TAs) and research assistants (RAs) has been in negotiations since the spring of 2024. CREW is demanding a pay increase of $45 an hour, job security, a fair workload with no unpaid hours, and an end to academic retaliation.

“Our goal as a union is always to protect the conditions of learning,” said Nathan Ferguson, CREW’s grievance officer. “We believe that poor working conditions for us mean poor learning conditions for the students.”

Infographic by Keven Vaillancourt / Graphics Editor / @kindaokev

TAs at Concordia currently earn $29 an hour, one of the lowest rates among major Canadian universities. McGill graduate students make $36.25, while Western University pays $51.35, and the University of Toronto pays $51.92.

CREW presented its proposal to Concordia in December 2024, but the university has yet to provide a counteroffer. Instead, on Dec. 16, it requested conciliation, a mediation process where a government-appointed third party facilitates negotiations.

“We presented our initial monetary offer to Concordia [about] eight weeks ago, and we still haven’t heard anything back,” Ferguson said. “Instead of presenting a response in the negotiating room, they just went straight to conciliation.”

According to Bargaining Committee Member Jason Langford, Concordia used the significant divide between the two parties to excuse its silence. Langford explained that Concordia opted for a conciliation, likely because the university’s wages are significantly lower than what the union is demanding. 

“Their response was that they would give us the counteroffer in conciliation because, on their end, they see such a gulf between us that to give us the monetary demand would be potentially inflammatory,” Langford said.

Beyond wages, CREW is pushing for fair workloads and an end to unpaid labour. 

“It’s a really big problem in a lot of our different departments where people are given way too many exam copies to grade and don’t actually have enough hours to do it,” said Lauren Laframboise, CREW’s external affairs officer.

Last semester, CREW secured an indemnity payment for TAs who had to mark exams after their contracts ended.

“We became aware that a lot of our members had contracts that ended on the last day of class. But of course, a lot of our members are expected to mark exams, so that takes place after class ends,” Ferguson explained.

The union is also pushing for protections against academic retaliation, as there is none in the current collective agreement. Without this safety net, supervisors could penalize workers for speaking out about work issues through grading, withheld academic support, or delayed graduation, jeopardizing their employment eligibility. 

“Students are often scared to report problems with their contracts because their supervisor is also their employer,” Laframboise said. “They don’t want to impact their relationship, so they might work over their hours or not report problems.”

While Concordia has been slow to respond, the union said faculty members have shown support. 

“We had a lot of professors who were really supportive of us during this sort of negotiation with the university,” Ferguson said. “That was crucial to our success.”

At the latest general assembly, CREW members voted to increase pressure tactics, including demonstrations and department-level organizing. 

“We passed a pressure tactics motion,” Laframboise said. “It shows that our members are ready to ramp up the pressure.”

Concordia refused to comment on any discussions regarding union-employer relations.

CREW shared that conciliation is set to begin by Feb. 10 and Feb. 24, and the union remains firm in its demands.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts