Dates have been secured for mediation to begin between NAIT and NASA. This will be all three days from Monday, April 28 to Wednesday, April 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Additional dates, if necessary, have been scheduled for June 2 & 3, with more to potentially be added.
Until meditation begins, negotiations continue and right now that is only this Friday, April 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. where NAIT has said they will present financial information and finally table their wage offer. Look for another update tomorrow about what we could expect from the wage offer.
Previously scheduled dates on May 5 and June 9 will no longer be taking place as the mediator is not available on those dates.
You can RSVP to be an observer at this link. We will update you as more dates are added.
Mediator Greg Francis would not agree to hold any sessions in the evening. However, he is open to observers attending the sessions which will remain in person at NAIT, and has said he sees no issues with NASA’s most recent bargaining update as an example of open communication provided to members. This is a relief as other unions have had more closed off communications imposed on them as a condition of undergoing mediation.
It is possible that mediation could result in a tentative agreement that you would be able to vote on. There will be surveys throughout April for you to provide feedback to your bargaining committee on your top priorities, which can help shape the discussions at mediation.
During town halls earlier this year, we asked you about concessions, and we want to ask you about them again.
Concessions are proposals from NAIT that would make the collective agreement worse for NASA members, such as:
- Increasing the class size formula, allowing them to further increase class sizes without additional SIHs.
- Requiring continuing staff to pay 40% for extended health benefit premiums and removing the need for NASA’s approval for any reduction in your benefits coverage.
- Expanding the program delivery window from 10 hours to 12 hours.
Your bargaining committee unanimously voted in the fall of 2023 that one of the goals for this round of negotiations would be to have no concessions – that your collective agreement should not get worse. NASA members agreed to a significant concession in your current contract – that your wages would not keep up with decades high inflation, and so the belief is that the pendulum should swing in your favour this time.
A clear majority of NASA members participating in town halls earlier this year agreed with this approach, and this is now a chance for all members to weigh in:
The survey questions asked was: “Do you agree with NASA’s Bargaining Committee that there should be no concessions in this round of negotiations?”
Your feedback is always welcome through this process. Unless an agreement is forced on NASA and NAIT by binding arbitration (which is highly unlikely), a vote of you and your co-workers will determine if any tentative agreement is good enough to become your new contract.
We appreciate everyone’s engagement through the process.
In solidarity,
Trevor Zimmerman
NASA Labour Relations Director and Bargaining Committee Spokesperson