Hello NASA Members,
It with great frustration that I am emailing you this bargaining update. Yesterday, after a total of seven days of mediation (three in April, four in the last week), we received no counter proposals from NAIT, other than the one in April that made our workload review process worse. We spent the four most recent days working on the tasks requested of us by the mediator, including compiling a table of priorities and reviewing and responding to 10 outstanding articles/proposals. While completing each of those activities, your bargaining committee agreed to “park” 7 of our ingoing proposals to streamline the negotiation process and work towards an agreement. We were told for three days that NAIT was working on a “comprehensive package” for us, but we never did receive it.
You, NASA members, made it clear that you want transparency throughout the bargaining process. When we transitioned to mediation in the spring, we emphasized to NAIT and the mediator that we would continue to honour this practice, and they both agreed. Unfortunately, at the end of yesterday, after seven total days of mediation, they tried to change the rules: We would not receive the package that had been promised to us for days unless we agreed to change the way we communicate with you. Your bargaining team decided to stand firm on our commitment to you and to open bargaining, while remaining hopeful NAIT would provide the package that had been promised to us anyway. They refused.
I am profoundly disappointed that after paying for a mediator, reimbursing NAIT so your bargaining team could attend, and investing energy to get an agreement, that after four full days we come away with no proposals from NAIT. Again.
NAIT needs to hear clearly from you that you support your bargaining team and that they need to stop stalling and put some meaningful offers on the table regarding wages, workload, and job security. This is why we are currently running the “strike pledge card” campaign. Please contact us so that we can put you in touch with a volunteer in your area to sign a card. Your name is kept confidential, but your support will help send a clear message to NAIT that 14 months of bargaining and 7 days of mediation with no meaningful proposals is unacceptable.
Please stay tuned for more updates about next steps and bargaining town halls.
Sincerely,
Shauna MacDonald
President, NAIT Academic Staff Association