Dear NASA Members:
Last week, I shared the disappointing news that NASA received nothing from NAIT after our most recent four days of informal mediation. Today, I want to provide some additional perspective and discuss next steps.
This is a lengthy update, but please read to the end.
NAIT’s Proposal Received – In Error
Earlier this week, your NASA bargaining committee received a proposal from NAIT’s bargaining committee. Your committee met, reviewed the document, and were prepared to share the details with you – as we have done from the beginning of negotiations – but we have since been asked by the mediator to not provide details of this document as it was provided in error. We continue to be reasonable and to work to get the best agreement possible for all of you, so we have agreed to keep the specific details of this one document confidential. What I can tell you is that within this proposal, the bargaining team did not see significant movement from NAIT on the items that matter most to you: wages, workload, and job security. Also, it is very important to note that many egregious concessions are still being proposed by NAIT, even after 7 days of informal mediation.
Formal Mediation
To ensure momentum at the table, we have asked NAIT to finalize an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) with NASA, which is necessary for us to file for formal mediation. During formal mediation, we can continue to negotiate with NAIT, but the difference is that there is a consequence for NAIT prolonging negotiations. If a tentative agreement is not reached, or if negotiations are unreasonably slow, we can ask the mediator to declare an impasse, which would then lead to a two-week cooling off period and a strike vote. It is our hope that this consequence will motivate NAIT to actually negotiate during mediation and move off their positions that would increase class sizes, diminish our benefit coverages, stop benefits and LAPP for some on Long Term Disability – just to name a few.
It is important to note that most unions in Alberta that have ratified agreements this year with more than just the anticipated 12% wage increase (by getting increases in other areas of their agreements, also known as “mattress stuffing”) did so by moving to formal mediation and/or voting down tentative agreements and/or taking strike votes. This is how we can create leverage too.
Your bargaining committee acknowledges that this process may feel long, difficult, and frustrating for NASA members. We too are tired and want to get a collective agreement in place, but we are not ready to give up because we know we can get more from NAIT as long as we have your continued support.
Strike Pledge Cards
We have several hundred strike pledge cards signed by NASA members, as this is an additional way you can apply some pressure on NAIT. These pledges are not official strike votes, but rather a symbolic showing of solidarity that we will share with NAIT. Names will not be shared, only numbers. If you have not yet signed a card, or if you would like to volunteer to collect more signatures from your colleagues, please reach out to Jason Rockwell at [email protected].
Bargaining Town Halls
NASA will be hosting three online town halls next week on Zoom to discuss bargaining to this point as well as future steps. Members from the bargaining team will be present at each town hall to answer your questions and listen to your perspectives. We hope that holding one during the day, one during the evening, and one on the weekend will allow for you to participate in one (or all!) of the town halls. Watch for invites to come from Stephanie later today.
- Tuesday, October 14 from 6-7 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 15 12-1 p.m.
- Saturday, October 18 12-1p.m.
Open House Reminder
Please remember that according to 15.03 of your Collective Agreement, you cannot be required to work Open House on Saturday, October 25. Each program has a program delivery window, typically from Monday to Friday, and being scheduled outside of this window can only happen if mutually agreed to. If you choose to work on the Saturday, there is no provision in the Collective Agreement that states how much time you will receive in lieu, if any at all, so it is important to get agreements in writing ahead of time.
As always, please get in touch if you have any questions.
Have a great long weekend,
Shauna MacDonald
President, NAIT Academic Staff Association