SFU: Pay for RA Healthcare Now!

The VDLC supports the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) in its campaign for healthcare benefits for Research Assistants. 

Please take a moment to sign TSSU’s petition – SFU: Pay for RA Healthcare NOW!

The petition reads as follows: 

Simon Fraser University (SFU) has continually delayed the process of bargaining for recently unionized Research Assistants and Grant Employees (RAs), so over a thousand RAs are still bearing healthcare expenses rather than receiving employer-paid coverage that all other SFU employees receive. Sign this petition to demand that SFU immediately cover RA benefits, including the onerous and discriminatory International Student Health Fee (ISHF), and stop their delays!


We demand that SFU Admin immediately:

1. recognize all RAs as workers, including those whose work overlaps with their studies;

2. provide healthcare and dental benefits for all RAs, including group MSP enrollment for the International Student Health Fee;

3. reimburse the International Student Health Fee for all RAs, backdated to September 1, 2020, to provide immediate relief;

4. begin bargaining with TSSU for a first collective agreement for RAs.

For more information about TSSU’s Research is Work campaign, click here.