Welcome to Your Union! Knowing—and USING—Your TA Rights

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Series: Online Pro-D for Graduate Students Pro-D for Teaching Assistants

Event Date & Time

  • January 20, 2022
    3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Event Description

Eligibility:  The TA Institute is open to all undergraduate TAs, graduate students who are interested in teaching, and all graduate student TAs. This session is not open to general undergraduate students, post-doctoral fellows, staff, or faculty.

Being a TA is hard work. We’re in between our students and our instructors. Sometimes this is a comfortable place to be; sometimes it’s decided uncomfortable. Fortunately, our Collective Agreement (work contract) provides us with ample tools to make our work environment safe and enjoyable. Welcome to Your Union is an introductory session to all things TA union. In this session, we will cover some important topics to help make your life as a TA easier. These topics include:

  • What even IS a union?
  • What’s a collective agreement and how is it made?
  • Building a good TA-Instructor working-relationship
  • Key elements of your contract (hours of work, vacation, etc.)

We’ll give you a breakdown of the most important parts of your contract—the ones you’ll most likely engage with—and talk about strategies for handling tough scenarios with students and faculty. Already have questions? Great! Bring them with you. There will be ample time for questions and discussions.

Facilitators

  • Gillian Glass, PhD Candidate, Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies
  • Phyllis Pearson, PhD Candidate, Department of Philosophy

Theme

If you wish to complete this workshop as part of either of the themes below, you must complete the pre-session online module by January 17, 2022 by 9:00 am and the post-session online module by January 24, 2022 by 12:00 pm to receive the letter of completion. This session falls into the following themes:

  • TAship 101 (Essentials to prep for TAship)
  • Exploring and Supporting Inclusivity, Equity, Accessibility and Wellness

Click HERE to access all pre- and post-session modules for each theme. If you have any questions about the pre or post work please reach out to CTLT.TAInstitute@ubc.ca.

TA Institute

This year, workshops in the TA institute are organized into 5 themes and if you complete 4 workshops in a theme, and do the related pre- & post-session online modules, you are eligible for a letter of completion that you can include in your Teaching Portfolio and CV. These letters will include a brief description of any themes that you completed, and how the work you did in those themes supports your development as a teacher.

This event will be hosted online on Zoom.

Venue:  

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