Delegate Resources and FAQ

The information on this page is intended for AGSEM members who have been elected or appointed as Delegates. If you have any questions about the Delegates’ Council or would like to become an Invigilator or Teaching Assistant Delegate for your department or hiring unit, contact mobilization@agsem-aeedem.ca

You must be logged into your AGSEM Delegate email account to access forms and documents. If you do not have access to your account, please contact mobilization@agsem-aeedem.ca

Delegate Training

Training is offered by members of the Executive Committee for Delegates and Volunteers. The Mobilization Officer is responsible for arranging training times.

On top of attending the training, please make sure to read the most current version of the Delegate Training Manual.

Tentative Appointments (Unit 1)

One of the main duties of a Teaching Assistant (Unit 1) Delegate is verifying the Tentative Appointment List for their Hiring Unit. As a Delegate, you should receive a tentative list of TA appointments from your Hiring Unit within thirty (30) days following the application deadline (or no later than December 10 for appointments made for the Winter term). If the Hiring Unit does not send you the list, it is your duty to contact them as soon as possible.

Please read carefully the following instructions and fill out the verification form.

The Tentative Appointment List should include:

• Identification of the Hiring Unit
• Name of Teaching Assistant
• McGill ID of Teaching Assistant
• Indication whether or not the Teaching Assistant is a member of the Hiring Unit’s priority pool
• The course title and number
• Total hours of the appointment
• Teaching Assistant’s degree level (Master or Doctorate)
• Initial Registration
• Identify if the Teaching Assistant was selected based on the reserve clause, as per article 13.02.01 paragraph 1
• E-mail address of Teaching Assistant
• Course Supervisor
• Hiring Unit Designee
• Any extensions of the Employee’s priority pool entitlement granted according to 13.01.02
• A list of all priority pool applicants from the Hiring Unit who did not get a Teaching Assistant position

Before sending notifications of appointment to TAs, the Hiring Unit must consult with you about the appointments and provide clarifications, if necessary. Details are found in Article 13 of the Collective Agreement, but important things to look out for are:

• All TAs must be graduate students (Article 2.11)
• Priority pool regulations must be followed (you will have access to TA applications in order to verify whether TAs have TA’ed before, and the appointment list will tell you their degree and year). TAs are not given priority for more than one appointment.
• There are (normally) no appointments of less than 45 hours per semester.
• Any appointments over 180 hours need to be signed off by the Union, Human Resources and the Hiring Unit.
• The priority pool entitles the applicant to a position as available, but not to the specific positions for which they indicated preference on their application. Administrators will make an effort to assign courses according to both TA and instructor preferences, but a TA’s rights have not been violated if they are assigned a course that is not in their top 3. Likewise, an instructor’s preference cannot override the priority pool (i.e. it cannot result in a priority pool applicant not being offered a position for that semester so that someone outside the priority pool or with lower priority can be hired).

Please fill out the form while verifying the Tentative Appointment List. Note that you will have to sign into your AGSEM email account to access the form.

Following your review of the appointments, you must notify your department whether you approve the appointments and forward the Tentative List to the Grievance Officer. The list should be emailed to the Grievance Officer as soon as you have checked it (i.e. within one week of receiving it) because the clock for filing a grievance (30 working days) starts ticking the moment you receive the list. If this process needs to be delayed for any reason, you must notify the Grievance Officer immediately of the circumstances.

Reimbursement Procedure

If you have spent your own money on a mobilization event for AGSEM, this is the reimbursement procedure:

1. Fill in the Reimbursement Form (Excel: name, date, amount, details, etc.)
2. Make sure that you have kept all the original detailed receipts with the total amount claimed! Otherwise you will not get reimbursed. If you are paying with a credit card make sure you keep both receipts (CC + Detailed).
3. Scan your receipt(s) and send them to sec-treasurer@agsem-aeedem.ca
4. Submit the completed form in hard copy along with your original detailed receipt(s) or other relevant invoices.
5. Receive your cheque!

Delegate FAQ

Is my training mandatory?

Yes it is. You will not be paid if you do not attend training. If you have not been trained, please, email your Mobilization Officer.

Do I have to attend the Delegates’ Council meetings?

Yes. If you know from the beginning that you will not be able to attend all DC meetings due to conflict, please consider giving your position away.

Currently we hold Delegates’ Council meetings in a hybrid format. It is very important that you RSVP to each meeting ahead of time. Once you RSVP, the Zoom link and the meeting agenda will be emailed to you ahead of the meeting.

To see the dates of the upcoming DC meetings and to RSVP, go to the “Campaigns and Events” section on the homepage.

Should I organize a mobilization event in my department?

Yes. It can be organized either remotely (e.g. via Zoom) or in person. If you decide to organize an in-person event, AGSEM will provide a maximum budget of $100 for food and drinks.

Not sure how to organize a mobilization event? Email your Mobilization Officer. You can also notify the Mobilization Officer if you want them to attend your event.

How and when will I get paid?

Please consult the Delegate Training Manual.

I encounter a serious problem in my department regarding hiring, priority pool, or any TAs related issues, can I bring it up during a DC meeting?

Absolutely. DC meetings are here to help us better understand problems related to TAs, and how we, as a Union, can resolve them.

I would like to run for one of the Chief Delegate positions, when are the elections held?

The elections are held during the first DC meeting in September. We are calling for nominations during the meeting, so feel free to raise your hand and run from the floor! If a Chief Delegate position is currently open, you can run at any DC meeting.

If you have any other questions, please, feel free to email your Mobilization Officer at any time