PSAC

PSAC

In July 2021 a contract was signed between the ULGA and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which will expire July 1, 2022. This service agreement is required as currently the Labour Relations Code (see 58.2(2) and 58.4) deems the ULGA, as filed under the Labour Relations Board, the sole bargaining agent until July 1, 2022. Afterwhich, the academically employed graduate students at the UofL may seek certification with outside groups (such as PSAC).

We as a committee chose to enter a service agreement with the PSAC for a few reasons. First, their track record. The PSAC is a national union founded in 1966 and represents over 220,000 workers across Canada and even around the world. The PSAC has been at the forefront of the labour movement in Canada, leading the way for equality in the workplace. Second, expertise in the academic sector. The PSAC represents over 30,000 members within the academic sector. This includes graduate workers, post doctoral fellows, research associates and faculty. Third, resources. As a small union and people who are not labour relations experts it is imperative that we have the resources available to serve you, our members. With this agreement we are assigned a regional representative, Dr. Rachel Stark, who assists and guides our day to day operations. During bargaining we are assigned a professional negotiator, and a research team that comes with the negotiator, to ensure that we are best represented at the table. We also have access to the PSAC legal team and strike fund so that if we need to take action we have the necessary resources to do so.