The fonds consists of records created and received in the course of the formation, establishment and operation of the union, primarily during the period 1976-1987. The records reflect the initial drive to charter, organize and certify the union; the internal administration of the union, including elections and finance; negotiations with the administration to establish and renew contracts; efforts to maintain, expand, represent and inform the membership; participation in the provincial organization of the Association of University and College Employees and cooperation with other AUCE locals, and other unions; and involvement in industrial action. Also included are records of the Graduate Students' union, a forerunner, though not direct predecessor, of TSSU. The records include the charter and bylaws; committee agendas and minutes; financial statements; correspondence; membership lists; election materials; reports; negotiation minutes and collective agreements; mediation and hearing records; convention minutes; strike materials; publications and publicity materials. The records as received had no obvious overall arrangement. Duplicate material has been removed where practicable, but the mixed nature of the files requires researchers to be prepared to search for records on matters of interest.

Series consists of records relating to the formation, chartering, growth, and official recognition of AUCE Local 6/TSSU. Activities documented include the charter application; early organizing, steering, executive and membership committee meetings; the identification, lobbying, and processing of new bargaining unit members; training departmental representatives; publicizing union activities; informing departments of the implications of unionization; researching and preparing submissions for Labour Relations Board Certification hearings; attending and recording LRB hearings; and pursuing members' grievances through LRB hearings. Records include the AUCE 6 charter and by-laws; meeting agendas and minutes; membership publicity and correspondence (including correspondence with TSSU opponents); instructional materials; TSSU publications, including AUCE and TSSU: memoirs of a feminist union 1972-1993; anti-TSSU publicity and petitions; LRB certification drafts and submissions; LRB hearing transcripts (re Labour Code sections 42 [bargaining unit], 51 [certification] and 52 [decertification]) and related correspondence; and LRB grievance submissions, evidence and correspondence.

Series consists of records relating to the development, agreement and renewal of contracts between SFU and the TSSU. Activities documented include preparatory research by the TSSU contract committee; article by article negotiation meetings between the administration and union; LRB mediation hearings (re e.g. alleged violations of section 51 and 61 freezes on working conditions); ratification ballots of the union membership; and the implementation and monitoring of the completed agreements. Records include comparative tables of articles from similar agreements at other Canadian universities; workshop and seminar notes; union and administration drafts of contract articles; transcripts and minutes of negotiation meetings (some from identified personal files); administration/union correspondence; mediation applications and notices; draft and signed copies of final agreements; letters of agreement; ballot notices, instructions and results sheets; press announcements; and implementation documents (e.g. pay schedules) and correspondence.

Series consists of three sub-series of records relating to TSSU's involvement with AUCE Provincial, its sister locals, and other unions and union organizations. Activities documented include participation in provincial conventions and committees, liaison with AUCE locals, and the exchange of information with other unions and provincial and national labour organizations. Provincial records include the AUCE Provincial constitution, policies and procedures; convention agendas, reports, minutes, proposals, resolutions, and press releases; Affiliation Committee agendas, minutes, transcripts, reports and bulletins; Executive Committee agendas, local reports, financial statements, minutes and correspondence; and provincial bulletins and resource lists. Local records include by-laws; committee reports and minutes; correspondence; bulletins, press releases and press clippings; cross-local packages; and Labour Relations Board appeals. Other union records include, variously, constitutions and collective agreements; bargaining unit profiles, handbooks and information sheets; reports and newsletters; and resolutions and correspondence with such organizations as the Service, Office and Retail Workers' Union of Canada (SORWUC); the B.C. Federation of Labour; and the Confederation of Canadian Unions.

Series consists of records relating to TSSU's financial accounting and audit. It comprises an incomplete sequence of financial statements and audit reports.

Series consists of records relating to TSSU's participation as an affiliate of Operation Solidarity and the Solidarity Coalition in the province-wide opposition to the 1983 Social Credit government budget and its proposed legislation. Activities documented include TSSU membership meetings and resolutions in support of the B. C. Government Employees Union and Operation Solidarity; the formation and operation of a Strike Coordination Committee; involvement in the SFU Budget Coalition; picketing and labour withdrawal; liaison with other labour organizations; and communication with SFU administration and TSSU members. Records include TSSU resolutions and strike vote sheets; SFU's affidavit and Labour Relations Board complaint against TSSU and other unions for illegal labour withdrawal and picketing; TSSU Strike Coordination Committee meeting notes; SFU Budget Coalition minutes and press releases; picket schedules, lists of participants and of those observing picket lines; motions, minutes and notices from the steering committees of Operation Solidarity and the Solidarity Coalition; bulletins and press releases from the Solidarity groups and the B.C. Federation of Labour; correspondence with SFU administration and TSSU members; and various strike and meeting notices, and press reports.

Series consists of records relating to the election and business of the executive committee. Activities documented include the nomination and election of committee members; committee discussions, decisions and actions; and executive correspondence. Records include nomination calls and notices; candidate biographies and statements; ballot instructions, forms and result sheets; minutes (1980-81 only); telegrams and letters concerning union business to members, the university administration, and other unions.

Series consists of records relating to the work of the TSSU's departmental representatives, and the work of chief stewards. Activities documented include the training of stewards, publicizing of stewards' activity, and the chief stewards' supervision of stewards' work. Records include lists of stewards, stewards' bulletins, reports of chief stewards to the executive and membership, training materials, correspondence and notices.