LETTER TO THE PRESS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE & THE MANY STUDENTS, PARENTS, MCGILL WORKERS & BROADER MCGILL UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY THAT THIS IMPACTS
**une version française sera publiée dès que possible**

McGill University’s Sudden Decision to Abolish the Floor Fellow Position, a Unit of 65 Unionized Workers, A Vital Support System for First-Year Students

Montreal, February 16th, 2024 – 

On February 15th, 2024, McGill Student Housing and Hospitality Services abruptly announced that next academic year, the decades old position of Floor Fellow would be permanently eliminated with no comparable position created to replace it. In doing so, McGill is left as one of the very few major universities in North America without a peer support system in residence, and amongst the only in history to eliminate such. This decision has left us alarmed and deeply concerned for the future safety and wellbeing of residents, and the quality of residence life at McGill.

Floor Fellows - a unionized position under The Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) - have for decades played an indispensable role as live-in peer support for first-year students. We are the primary point of contact for students in times of crisis, and help students navigate through university bureaucracy, government agencies, and the day-to-day difficulties of adapting to life away from home. Through our support, care, and unwavering dedication to our residents, McGill’s Floor Fellows have enriched the lives of tens of thousands of students, parents, and members of the McGill community. Our job is not just event planning, decorating the halls, and enforcing rules. Our purpose is to ensure students are safe, seen, and comfortable asking for help. We are the first to respond in moments of crisis, great and small. Floor Fellows save lives.

The decision to abolish an entire bargaining unit - AMUSE Unit B, representing 65 Floor Fellows - and partially replace us by hiring additional non-unionized “residence life facilitators” is telling, and speaks volumes to McGill’s devaluation of their unionized workers and the incalculable value we bring to the University. For decades, Floor Fellows have relied on the position as an invaluable work-study resource, allowing many to complete their studies without incurring debt, gain professional skills, and give back to the McGill community. In light of the rising cost of living, the abolishment of the Floor Fellow role will only serve to make McGill less and less accessible to students without external financial support.

The unilateral decision to abolish the Floor Fellow position has been taken without any consultation with the Floor Fellows, the students we support, or any of many other residence staff we work side-by-side with. Put simply, many residents in times of crisis will not be able to access the university’s support services without the mentorship of a Floor Fellow. It is not feasible or acceptable for a first-year student in crisis to seek support by navigating a complex bureaucratic and technical process involving entering their credentials, verifying their email address, and then booking a virtual meeting with a counselor that has a wait-time of 2+ weeks. This is the state of the alternative services students will be receiving in Fall 2024 if the position is abolished. Residents need and deserve the instant, on-the-ground, flexible, and personal support and advocacy that only Floor Fellows can provide. Residence students, parents, and community members know from personal experience that security guards, front desk staff, and faceless student support offices cannot replace the intimate and personal support work of Floor Fellows.

In less than 24 hours since McGill’s announcement, hundreds of students, parents, and McGill workers have voiced their opposition through a survey released by AMUSE. The responses to the survey highlight the profound impact the abolition of Floor Fellows would have on the student community.  If you or someone close to you has been positively impacted by a Floor Fellow, we invite you share your experiences, share this letter far and wide, and contact McGill Student Housing and Hospitality Services and urge them to reconsider.

We implore McGill to listen to the hundreds of voices from students, parents, staff, and the broader McGill community and reverse this decision. To continue to uphold the invaluable community, safety, mutual support, and long lasting connections that Floor Fellows create, McGill must recognize the value that the Floor Fellows bring to the McGill sphere and beyond.

For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:

Harlan Hutt 

AMUSE President 

president@amusepsac.org

Graeme Scott

VP Floor Fellows

floorfellows@amusepsac.org 

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Do you want to share your experiences with Floor Fellows and how you feel about the abolishment of the position? You can do so here: https://forms.gle/YbGhHSUzVUJwLgV99

About AMUSE:

The Association of McGill University Support Employees is a labour union that represents ‘casual’ or ‘temporary’ employees (Unit A), and Floor Fellows (Unit B) at McGill. This includes both students and non-students in part-time and full-time positions. In fact, around 35% of casual employees are non-students. In total, our approximately 1500-strong members make up about 55% of McGill’s non-academic employees.

AMUSE is a directly chartered local of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), one of the largest public sector unions in Canada. The PSAC provides council and legal support, strengthening AMUSE from the first steps of unionization, the signing of the first Collective Agreement and on to the everyday functions of an effective union.

The union was founded and is administered by casual employees at McGill. We ground our advocacy on the principles of shared humanity, respect, and fairness, within the specific goals of protecting and improving working conditions and labour rights.