A strike is the coordinated stoppage of work by the members of a bargaining unit. Labour unions call a strike when negotiations for a collective agreement—the contract that determines all our working conditions—have stalled, and the union’s members want to pressure the Employer into accepting their demands.

In practical terms, for the duration of the strike all TAs and non-bursary RAs are legally obligated to stop performing all duties associated with their contracts. Activities related to your studies are not impacted by the strike.

In response to the strike, Concordia may lock all TAs and non-bursary RAs out of their employee accounts. We recommend that you take steps to move any important correspondence on your employee email account and download copies of any important documents (e.g., T4s and RL-1 tax slips for 2024) associated with these accounts prior to the start of the strike. Our CAs typically last for three years and are renegotiated when they expire.

The strike will begin on Wednesday, March 12 at 12:00am.

The strike has no fixed duration; it will end when the members vote to accept a tentative agreement reached with the Employer.

Our union has been in negotiations for a new collective agreement since the summer of 2024. After reaching an impasse in February 2025, we held a series of three Special General Assemblies to authorize a strike. The strike vote was adopted with 95% voting in favour. 

With the leverage of the threat of a strike, enough progress was made in our next two negotiation sessions with Concordia to reach a tentative agreement. Two Special General Assemblies were held in March to vote to ratify or reject the tentative agreement. The agreement was rejected with 66% voting against. 

At this stage, the only way to gain further leverage and win more of our demands is to go on strike.

Since we are withholding our labour, we will not receive pay from our TA and/or RA contracts for work done during the strike. However, there are two weekly strike benefits available for CREW members who suffer a loss of income because of the strike. Access to these benefits is contingent on participating in strike activities.

The first, the CSN’s Professional Defence Fund (PDF), is a benefit of $325 that is available to members who participate in 20 or more hours of strike activities in a seven-day period. Read the complete rules of the PDF.

The second, the CREW Strike Fund, is a benefit of $100 that is available to members who participate in between 10 and 19 hours of strike activities in a seven-day period. It is not possible to combine these benefits for the same seven-day period. To be eligible for these strike benefits, you must register using this form.

Please note that the seven-day period for the strike benefits does not correspond to a calendar week (e.g., Sunday to Saturday). Because our strike commences on a Wednesday, the seven-day period will run from Wednesday to Tuesday (e.g., March 12 to March 18 for the first seven-day period).

Picketing is the primary and most important strike activity—a well attended picket line puts more pressure on the Employer. Pickets will be maintained for the duration of the strike. They will run every weekday on the Sir George Williams campus and, to start, two weekdays on the Loyola campus. Sign up for picketing here.

Starting the week of March 16th, we will hold mandatory, weekly Special General Assemblies on Monday mornings. These meetings will be an opportunity to receive updates from the Bargaining Committee, to collectively deliberate about the strike, and, beginning on March 24th, to receive cheques for the Professional Defence Fund. If you have a serious reason that you cannot attend one or more of these Assemblies, please write to hello@crew-csn.com.

There will be some non-picketing strike activities, such as participation on the various strike committees (e.g., being a driver for the Logistics Committee, preparing food with the Food Committee, phone banking with the Mobilization Committee). A limited number of these activities may be completed remotely. For more details regarding the possibility of committee work, please write to hello@crew-csn.com.

Sometimes it takes a little while for us to validate you in the system, and sometimes codes don't send if we've already validated your registration multiple times. There is no need to sign up multiple times, even if you do not receive a code right away! If you come to HQ on the day you're planning on picketing we will be able to help you out. If possible, please have the email you used to register for the strike on hand.

At Picket HQ, we will be able to support you by:

Confirming that you're registered and your validation status;

Re-sending the QR codes to your email;

Scanning your QR code in our binders with paper copies;

Recording your attendance with a back-up form while we get your account working!

CREW is committed to doing our best to make the picket line accessible to individuals with disabilities and other accessibility needs. 

Please note the following:

• There are curb ramps available at the intersection of Bishop and Mackay (SGW), and the Rue Sherbrooke Ouest (Loyola) to provide easier access to the sidewalk.

• The Hall Building (SGW) and the Library and the Oscar Peterson Hall (Loyola) have main entrances with ramps and automatic doors that should be easy to navigate.

• There are accessible washrooms near both picket lines. At Loyola Campus, these are in the basement of the CJ building and at the Vanier Library. At Sir George Williams Campus (SGW), they are in Frigo Vert (Rue MacKay) and the Webster Library. 

• At both pickets, we will have a few chairs available for those who cannot stand for long periods of time. If you have your own portable chair, you are more than welcome to bring it.

If you have specific mobility needs or require further assistance navigating the area, please let us know via the accessibility request form.

Picketing shifts will occur in two-hour intervals, where you will be outside on the sidewalk, either standing or in a chair. It is likely that there will be large signs to wave around, noise makers, and music. During each shift, there is a picket captain who will be your point of contact for guidance and access needs. 

At the picket line, we will have the following available:

• Breakfast, lunch, and snacks 

• Ear plugs

• Folding chairs

• Hand warmers

• Masks. Masking is encouraged, and masks will be available at the picket station

Yes. The right for members of a labour union to strike is legally protected by the Quebec Labour Code. These protections extend to all members of a bargaining unit on strike, including those on a student visa.

Yes. Every member of the bargaining unit is on strike regardless of how they voted or whether they voted.

No. While an individual may resign from the union at any time by submitting a written request to this effect to the union (Article 10 of the CREW-CSN Constitution), they remain a member of the bargaining unit if they hold a TA or RA contract.

Resigning from the union deprives you of the right to attend, participate, and vote in union meetings, including any meetings to ratify a tentative agreement and end the strike. Resigning from the union also makes you ineligible to receive the CSN Strike Benefit and the CREW-CSN Strike Benefit. Thus, we strongly recommend you maintain your union membership.

It is illegal to perform work as part of a TA and/or non-bursary RA contract during the strike. Any work performed in contravention of the strike cannot be paid by the Employer nor can it count towards completing hours in a contract.

Additional legal repercussions are possible: per Section 142.1 of the Quebec Labour Code, an individual can be fined up to $1000 “for every day or part of a day” that they perform struck work.

No. RAs paid by bursary are not considered employees and are not represented by CREW. As such, they cannot go on strike.

When the strike ends, the union will negotiate a back-to-work agreement . This will determine how much, if any, of your hours need to be completed once the strike has ended. Members will vote on the back-to-work agreement at the same time as a new tentative agreement. 

You will be paid for all hours that you have already worked. If you have worked more hours than you have been paid for as of March 12, please contact grievance@crew-csn.com.

Under Section 109.3 of the Quebec Labour Code, the Employer may “take the necessary measures to avoid the destruction or serious deterioration of [their] property” during a strike. If this applies to you, please contact hello@crew-csn.com so we can make Concordia aware of any such situations and take the appropriate action.