The Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) is the oldest Teaching Assistant Union in the province of Quebec. As a labour union, AGSEM represents graduate Teaching Assistants, Invigilators, and Course-Based Academic Casuals at McGill. AGSEM has bargained with the McGill administration to produce TA and Invigilator Collective Agreements, which are legal documents that protect student workers.
Recent NewsUnit 3 Bargaining Newsletter #0: AGSEM’s Unit 3 is ready to negotiate—why isn’t McGill?
Course-based academic casuals hold their first assembly and elect their first bargaining committee! It’s was a historic day for course-based academic casuals at McGill! On 27 November 2024, the recently unionized unit (Unit 3) of course-based academic casuals held their first Unit Assembly as a part of AGSEM. At this assembly, members set their priorities for negotiations, elected their first bargaining committee, elected a bargaining support committee, and agreed on a mobilization strategy.
Statement on assault of AGSEM member on Dec 11, 2024:
On Dec 11, 2024, an armed security agent assaulted and detained an AGSEM member and worker in the McConnell Engineering building. When this member saw an armed security agent, she took a photo. In response, the security agent put his hand to his gun, grabbed her arm, and held her against the wall. He attempted to question her and said that he would break her camera while refusing to identify himself or tell her what she was accused of.
AGSEM Adopts the Palestinian BDS National Committee Guidelines
On November 20, the General Assembly, AGSEM’s highest governing body, overwhelmingly voted to adopt the Palestinian Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) Guidelines. Since 2005, the BDS movement, a broad coalition of organizations from Palestinian civil society, has called on “international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era.