The GLU is the union for academically employed graduate students (AEGS) at the University of Calgary. According to the Alberta Labour Relations Code, a trade union means an organization of employees that has a written constitution, rules, or bylaws and has one of its objects the regulation of relations between employers and employees. The GLU is the union for academically employed graduate students (AEGS) at the University of Calgary and GLU’s Terms of Reference constitute a set of rules which fulfils this definition.
Under the Labour Code, the GLU must—under the leadership and oversight of the GLU Executive Committee—provide fair representation to its members in case of workplace grievances, negotiate the Collective Agreement between AEGSs and the University, and advocate for all labour matters between graduate students and the University*.
Note that the Graduate Student Association is the legislatively mandated bargaining agent for AEGSs, however the union is only AEGSs. The legislative change granting bargaining authority to the GSA came with a requirement that the GSAs form a subcommittee to oversee all labour relations. To avoid conflicts of interest between the GSA’s obligation to represent all graduate students in their academics and the committee’s obligation to represent only about one third of those graduate students in labour, the provisional formation of this committee required that it function autonomously from the GSA Board and its governing council. This committee is now your GLU Executive Committee.
*There are some instances where graduate workers are represented by AUPE 52 (support staff) and TUCFA (faculty association).
If you have any questions or concerns about your working conditions or the Collective Agreement, contact lrc.gsa@ucalgary.ca.
Finances and Operations
The Graduate Labour Union is governed by the GLU Bylaws, which operate within the GSA Bylaws. The GLU Bylaws were passed by membership in July 2024, and were developed to replace the GLU Terms of Reference, which only provided guidance for a committee to make operational decisions and was not sufficient for a member-driven union.
The Graduate Labour Union collects a 0.6% levy from your earnings as a Graduate Assistant. These funds are used to ensure the Graduate Labour Union is able to advocate for your rights as workers, educate our members, and negotiate a better Collective Agreement going forward. Unused funds go towards our contingency fund, which consists of a legal fund and a strike fund.
Our annual budget can be found here: 2024 – 2025 Budget.