Two thousand Queen’s University graduate student workers, represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), are on strike as of March 10, 2025.
As of 8 a.m. on Monday, Mar. 10, 2024, picket lines were set up at entrances across Queen’s campus, with the main strike line at Joseph S. Stauffer Library Entrance at the intersection of Union and University. This strike will impact nearly 26,000 undergraduate students enrolled at Queen’s University who rely on teaching assistants, research assistants, and teaching fellows to deliver tutorials, research activities, and grade papers and exams.
The union reported in a news release that after 15 hours of negotiations on Sunday, Mar. 9, 2025,
“Queen’s rejected PSAC’s attempts to resolve workers’ key bargaining demands and avoid strike action today.”
President of the PSAC Local 901, Jake Morrow, indicated the student workers were well organized, saying, “We are ready for this strike and have trained over 80 picket captains.”
“We ask that students and faculty stand with us in our fight for a fair contract and respect our picket lines,” Morrow stated in a release.
A statement from PSAC pointed to the union’s key sticking points in negotiations: “Queen’s refuses to create a guaranteed funding model, provide compensation for the creation of course content, address Bill 124’s impact on wages, and provide tuition relief.”
Craig Reynolds, PSAC Ontario Regional Executive Vice-President, stated, “Queen’s has shown it does not care about the financial crisis that its students and workers are facing. Without guarantees offered that the University will not claw back money from workers in their funding packages, we cannot agree to a contract that could see our members work more for the same amount of money.”
In a strongly worded social media post directed at the university, PSAC indicated they were insulted by the university’s offers in the final hours of negotiations. “HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE – 901 IS GOING ON STRIKE STARTING MONDAY MORNING,” it reads, “We could not thank our bargaining team more for enduring the horrific disrespect that the employer continued to show them, from the start of negotiations in November 2024, to the very last minute, today, March 10th.
There will be more information on the employer’s final proposal in the next few minutes – a proposal which was so offensive to the 901 membership that our team had no other option but to walk from the table.@queensuniversity. – we will not stand for this disgusting treatment. Members of PSAC 901 are the reason why this university functions. We are worth a million times more than what you presented to our team today.”
The Queen’s Coalition Against Austerity, an alliance of staff, faculty, and students at Queen’s who have actively opposed the recent budget cuts mandated by the Board of Trustees and the Provost, also released a statement on Sunday, March 9, 2025, about a memorandum from the University’s Provost, Dr. Matthew Evans memorandum for “continuity planning” in the case of a PSAC strike or lockout.
“It is evident that the administration intends to use the well-established tactic of advertising
‘business as usual’ during a potential strike or lockout; it’s their effort to minimize the impact of collective action. It is equally evident that business as usual at Queen’s is only possible with the essential work of the 2000 PSAC members who are now in the 11th hour of negotiations trying to win a fair contract. Without their labour, it will be impossible for the University to function as normal, despite claims made by the Provost,” it reads. The author goes on to share what they call
“misleading language” in the provost’s memo, which they submit is intended to weaken any attempts by faculty, staff, and students to support the strike. The full statement can be read here.
Queen’s University released its own statement on Monday, Mar. 10, 2025, informing the public that the university is “implementing continuity measures,” campus remains open, and classes and other academic activities continue during the strike.
More information from Queen’s for staff, students and faculty can be found in the Labour News Frequently Asked Questions section on the university’s website. More information from the Union’s perspective can be found on the Local’s webpage.
Meanwhile, the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2010 reached a tentative agreement with the university on Sunday, Mar. 9, 2025, narrowly averting strike action of that union’s employees at Queen’s University happening in tandem with that of the PSAC workers.
