A reminder that over the summer there were 5 bargaining updates:
- Details of our first day negotiating with NAIT on July 10
- A summary of our proposal exchange with NAIT on August 1
- The full proposal packages as tabled, and a look at NAIT’s many concessions
- Highlights from NASA’s proposal package
- Information about the bargaining in bad faith complaint NASA filed against NAIT
All updates are posted at https://www.nasafaculty.ca/bargaining/
Also a note that NASA bargaining updates through email will come from either Trevor Zimmerman, Shauna MacDonald, or nasa@nait.ca with the NASA logo. Anything else discussing bargaining is likely coming from NAIT.
Your bargaining committee met last week on August 28.
ALRB Complaints
We briefly discussed the upcoming Alberta Labour Relations Board hearing on October 8 & 9 where the ALRB has accepted NASA’s application to have the hearing handle both NAIT’s unnecessary bad faith complaint around bargaining scheduling, and NASA’s complaint on NAIT’s barriers to observers listening in.
Reorganization and representation
There is ongoing discussion about NAIT’s reorganization into seven schools and bargaining representation. The move of programs into different and new departments has created some more vacancies on the committee, and an issue of some representatives being moved into the same department. If you’re thinking of putting your name forward, please reach out if you have any questions about what joining the committee would involve. Otherwise, do think about who could be a good rep for your area and encourage them to step forward!
Picket Captain training
Negotiations of course are still ongoing, and a labour dispute is not on the immediate horizon. That said, responsible and successful unions make preparations for picket lines ahead of time rather than scrambling when you may be faced with a lockout or need to take a strike vote. We still need picket captain volunteers including for Souch and Patricia campuses. Please be in touch if you have any questions. A one day in-person training is scheduled for Saturday, September 21 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the main campus.
Member involvement in the fall
We now know NAIT has at least 35 concessions proposed for your collective agreement, and despite their refusal to table their wage proposal, we see the provincial public sector pattern where no employer proposal has yet to meet inflation or go above an average of 1.875% per year.
Two survey questions were asked during summer updates:
- Should NAIT table their monetary proposals including wages at the next bargaining meeting?
- Do you feel NAIT’s ingoing proposal package is what NASA members deserve in recognition of the work they have done?
The responses were clear: on #1 92% said yes, and on #2 90% said no.
NAIT’s position on those matters will not change easily. While the committee attempts to negotiate a no concessions agreement, NASA members may have to demonstrate not just by electronic surveys but through pressure tactics like the rally you attended in May to convince NAIT to drop concessions.
The committee is currently discussing possible actions members can take during the fall semester. Let us know your suggestions!
Last of the proposals adopted
The committee discussed and adopted the final three proposals to be tabled at a later bargaining session, meaning NASA will have tabled its entire proposal package in full including wages, and will be asking NAIT to do the same.
These were the proposals previously discussed around adding on call and call-in pay, strengthening intellectual property rights, and protections and boundaries for the use of generative artificial intelligence.
Bargaining without NAIT’s wage proposal
Despite NAIT’s refusal to table their wage proposal, the committee recognizes that there can be some productive use of time discussing things like housekeeping items to fix some clarity and grammatical issues in the agreement, some low or no-cost proposals that NASA has tabled, and the possibility of finding agreement on NAIT’s proposals if that would not result in your agreement getting worse.
If those discussions do not prove fruitful, then tabling of the monetary proposals becomes more important for meaningful negotiations where both parties have transparently disclosed the full scope of their offers.
Please be in touch if you have any questions.
In solidarity,
Trevor Zimmerman
On behalf of the NASA Bargaining Committee.