On Tuesday afternoon, June 30, SFU Administration threatened TSSU with going to the Labour Board to declare our strike unlawful. We see this threat by SFU Administration as a sign of desperation caused by the impact of your efforts to withhold grades. However, they may have a case due to a technicality, so as a result we will hold a new strike vote on July 15th and 16th.

SFU's Administration argues we did not properly deliver strike notice in April due to a technicality around what's known as the Essential Services Order. It's the Administration's responsibility to obtain this Order well in advance of a strike vote in order to designate the number of workers who must continue to work to protect vulnerable people in the event of a picket line. For example, the boiler operators at SFU are essential because the boiler would explode if left unattended. None of TSSU's members are designated as essential. TSSU requested SFU Administration get this letter in March, and a full timeline of the events is included below.

Our strike action was consistently acknowledged by SFU on their website, starting with our overtime ban in April and more recently our grade withholding. We believe that the Administration has cynically manipulated a law designed to protect vulnerable people in order to impede our ability to strike. They waited just long enough, three months, to allow our strike vote to expire before they raised this issue.

This means that another strike vote must be held to allow us to safely recommence strike action. It is important we get another strong "yes" vote because your pressure was working, and we need that pressure to get to a fair Collective Agreement.

As a consequence, your Strike Committee has decided the following:

1. All strike action shall cease as of 1pm, Thursday, July 2nd.

2. All members shall return to inputting grades as normal.

3. All members shall hand in all grades and assignments they have withheld as a result of the previous strike action.